During a recent session at the Thriving Roots AmericanaFest event, the multi-Grammy award-winning producer John Leventhal and singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz discussed the problem of “demoitis”. Continue Reading
Music Dose
Tim Bowness of No-Man Discusses Thematic Ambition Amongst Social Division
A global pandemic, populist authoritarianism, fake news, police brutality, terrorism, widespread socio-political discontent. There’s been a good reason to feel a certain existential dread over Continue Reading
Alright Alright's "Don't Worry" Is an Ode for Unity in Troubling Times (premiere)
Alright Alright is a husband-and-wife duo comprised of Seth and China Kent. Based out of Denver, the couple’s latest album, Crucible (out 23 October), is Continue Reading
The New Release “Joker” From Revolutionary Band RADIOGASMO Is All We Need In Those Troubled Times
The Italo Berliners calling themselves RADIOGASMO have the goal to “reform the system through art,” and their new release, “Joker,” will surely convince you that Continue Reading
Gloom Balloon Deliver an Uplifting Video for "All My Feelings For You" (premiere)
Des Moines, Iowa, has long been best known to Midwesterners for its luxurious truck stops and proliferation of corporate restaurants, which line the fertile interstate Continue Reading
The Grahams Tell Their Daughter "Don't Give Your Heart Away" (premiere)
Jersey-born, New York-raised, and Nashville-based, the Grahams subvert genre expectations on their upcoming album, Kids Like Us. Released last March, Kids Like Us is equal Continue Reading
Paul Reni's Silent Film 'The Man Who Laughs' Is Serious Cinema
17th century England: King James II (Sam De Grasse) enjoys being entertained by his court jester, Barkilphedro (Brandon Hurst), who is a cruel and Machiavellian Continue Reading
Ranking the Seasons of 'The Wire'
Like Prop Joe in his last moments, I found myself at a loss for words as the static shot of the Baltimore city skyline faded Continue Reading
Dream Folk's Wolf & Moon Awaken the Senses with "Eyes Closed" (premiere)
Berlin’s Wolf & Moon are an indie-folk duo with a dream-pop streak. They call their sound “dream folk”, which is pretty dead on the mark. Continue Reading
'What a Fantastic Death Abyss': David Bowie's 'Outside' at 25
Emerging with a clatter at the beginning of the internet age and peddling millennial paranoia through a confoundingly labyrinthine cyber-noir narrative, David Bowie’s 1995 album Continue Reading
Paul Leni's Silent Film 'The Man Who Laughs' Is Serious Cinema
17th century England: King James II (Sam De Grasse) enjoys being entertained by his court jester, Barkilphedro (Brandon Hurst), who is a cruel and Machiavellian Continue Reading
Brian Cullman Gets Bluesy with "Someday Miss You" (premiere)
“Someday Miss You” is taken from Winter Clothes, the latest release from New York City-based singer-songwriter Brian Cullman. Tracked with a core band featuring Ollabelle’s Continue Reading
The Avett Brothers Go Back-to-Basics with 'The Third Gleam'
One of the great things about popular music is that it’s layered. You can peel away the glamorous reverbs and studio trickery, the Auto-Tune, and Continue Reading
NYFF: 'Notturno' Looks Passively at the Chaos in the Middle East
There are glimpses of many unique and illuminating human stories in Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno. But this elegantly lensed yet emotionally frigid documentary (screening at the Continue Reading
Napalm Death Return With Their Most Vital Album in Decades
It’s no exaggeration to say that Napalm Death are one of the most important acts in popular music history. In fact, it’s an understatement, because Continue Reading
IDLES Have Some Words for Fans and Critics on 'Ultra Mono'
IDLES don’t care what you think. Or at least they don’t care what you think about them. Or they care enough to make sure you Continue Reading
Wolf Parade's 'Apologies to the Queen Mary' Turns 15
Wolf Parade’s debut album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, is an indie rock classic. It is a testament to how creative, vital, and exciting the Continue Reading
South Africa's Phelimuncasi Thrill with Their Gqom Beats on '2013-2019'
The first beats of “Ngavele Ngagaxela” are crisp and bare; the vocals atop them nimble and bold. Such straightforward musical bones are the foundation of Continue Reading
NYFF: 'American Utopia' Sets a Glorious Tone for Our Difficult Times
When David Byrne, still reedy and diffident as a silver-haired 68-year-old, says to the audience at the beginning of American Utopia, “Thank you for leaving Continue Reading
Landowner's 'Consultant' Is OCD-Post-Punk With Obsessive Precision
Landowner’s second LP, Consultant, is a beautiful bundle of chewed-raw nerves, with intensely geometric post-punk motifs providing the razor to scrape back and forth over Continue Reading