While ‘Saint Cloud’ reinvented Waxahatchee for the sake of a redemption narrative, ‘Tigers Blood’ shows how her older sound, and older self, are still part of her even amidst that reinvention.
Read moreJulien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus Deliver a Definitive Musical Statement with boygenius' ‘the record’ | Album Review
The lack of center is very much the point: three gifted musicians looking at the calamity of our modern world and saying, “here’s what we’ve got.”
Read moreRayland Baxter’s Songwriting and Sound Soar on Transformative ‘If I Were A Butterfly’ | Album Review
Throughout the record, there’s a tension between Baxter’s soul-searching, his fear of adulthood, his deep sense of love and hope, and his romantic yearning.
Read moreSoccer Mommy’s ‘Sometimes, Forever’ is a Revelatory Journey in Sound | Album Review
Sophie Allison’s third full-length LP is an unapologetic rock record with massive hooks, dynamic instrumentation, spectacular mixing, and a definable arc.
Read moreCraig Finn Crafts Vivid, Veracious Tales of Human Fragility on ‘A Legacy of Rentals’ | Album Review
The Hold Steady frontman’s fifth solo affair revels in contradictions and places the listener in more provocative situations, further solidifying his proven penchant for masterful storytelling.
Read moreFather John Misty Sprinkles Musical Magic Amidst the Monotony of ‘Chloë and the Next 20th Century’ | Album Review
Is ‘Chloë and the Next Twentieth Century’ just worse than Misty’s other records or an album whose aesthetic choices and concept are inseparable?
Read moreJulien Baker Expands Her Sound, Advances Her Songcraft on ‘Little Oblivions’ | Album Review
Evolving her musical tool set allowed Baker to make her most thoughtful and, in some ways, quietest record to date.
Read moreBruce Springsteen Reunites with the E Street Band, Delivers Varied Results on ‘Letter To You’ | Album Review
A long dip in the middle of the record makes it difficult to see Springsteen’s twentieth studio affair matching up to his other great works.
Read morePhoebe Bridgers Floats in Unsettled Space on Magnificent, Melancholic ‘Punisher’ | Album Review
While the author can’t say he was prepared for ‘Punisher’ to ask as much of him as it did, he’s still moved by it, unsettled by it, and captivated by it.
Read moreIlliterate Light’s Eponymous Debut Album Builds Upon Their Dynamic On-Stage Energy | Album Review
Jake Cochran and Jeff Gorman seem to have used their studio time to reproduce the most feasible version of the sound that’s made them a thrilling live act.
Read moreThe Hold Steady Traverse a Few Too Many Twists & Turns on Patchwork ‘Thrashing Thru the Passion’ | Album Review
While the band’s structural experimentation could be fun, in very few instances does it feel necessary or even authentic across the duration of their seventh studio album.
Read moreBon Iver Summon Their Signature Strain of Enigmatic Musical Magic Once Again with ‘i,i’ | Album Review
The band’s fourth studio LP is yet another installment in a series of never-ending layers that are labyrinthine upon close inspection and, from a distance, so simple and clear.
Read more‘Western Stars’ Is Bruce Springsteen’s Eloquent, Empathetic Elegy For An Alienated America | Album Review
When Springsteen’s nineteenth studio album succeeds, it uses themes of cowboys and the West to come to an understanding of humanity, rather than simply replicating its tropes.
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