Annie Dressner’s lyrical life has seen her trot from the US to the UK throughout the development of her musical identity. With roots sewn in Continue Reading
Music Dose
Bully's 'SUGAREGG' Is Loud and Noisy
The good news is that Bully are still loud and noisy. That’s what makes them such a great live band. Alicia Bognanno explodes with energy. Continue Reading
Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'The Dirt and the Stars' Is Warm and Sublime
The Dirt and the Stars is Mary Chapin Carpenter’s first all-new album since 2016. In the intervening period, she recorded a collection of gentle, acoustic Continue Reading
Electropop's Cut Copy Discuss New Album 'Freeze, Melt' As They Continue to Evolve
Transitioning from their neon synthpop towards a more atmospheric sound, Freeze, Melt pays tribute to Cut Copy’s heritage but extends into new territory inspired by Continue Reading
Hip-Hop Since the Don of Rhyme: Shabazz Palaces' 'The Don of Diamond Dreams'
To mention Ishmael Butler’s integral influence on hip-hop culture is overstating the obvious. His work with the groundbreaking Digable Planets has been needlessly shoehorned into Continue Reading
Electropop's Amethysts Sparkle on "Alone" (premiere)
British electropop duo, Amethysts return with another gently gripping slice of alt-pop taken from their forthcoming debut album. The subtly drawn “Alone” is the kind Continue Reading
L'Orange and Solemn Brigham Bring Dissentient Experiments and Dangerous Poetry in 'Marlowe 2'
In just under ten years, music producer L’Orange has managed to make a much sought-after name for himself amongst hip-hop circles. His creative prowess, coupled Continue Reading
Jon Hassell's Argument for a Fourth World Continues with 'Seeing Through Sound'
Two years ago, the then 81-year-old Jon Hassell claimed in an interview that he was working on a book, The North and South of You. Continue Reading
Sheena Kamal's 'No Going Back' Unfurls a Thrilling Noir
“Everywhere you look there is a story of a man terrorizing a woman for reasons of his own” (229). No Going Back by Sheena Kamal Continue Reading
Webber/Morris Big Band Are Tightly Arranged and Gorgeously Free on 'Both Are True'
The new jazz of the last 20 years is an exciting and mutable thing—a combination of composition and improvisation that draws from the rich 20th-century Continue Reading
Meridian Brothers Get Funky and Experimental on 'Cumbia Siglo XXI'
Cumbia seems to be around every corner in today’s broadly-construed folktronica scene, a versatile base for plugged-in pop music from the atmospheric to hard-hitting dancefloor Continue Reading
H.C. McEntire Delivers Her Masterpiece with 'Eno Axis'
The Eno River flows through Orange and Durham Counties in North Carolina, settling at Falls Lake in Wake County. For 40 years, the Festival for Continue Reading
Katy Perry's Coming-of-Age Album 'Teenage Dream' at 10 Years Old
Like it or not, three things are certain: we are born, we will die, and Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream is a perfect album. These are Continue Reading
'Gender Explorers' Offers Insight into Youth Perspectives on Gender
Juno Roche’s previous two books – Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to Intimacy, Pleasure and Relationships (2018) and Trans Power: Own Your Gender Continue Reading
'The Lady Eve' Indulges Preston Sturges' Humor, Both Literate and Broad
Writer-director Preston Sturges is the model subversive of classic Hollywood comedy, and The Lady Eve (1941), one of his biggest hits, serves that legacy better Continue Reading
A New Erasure Album Is Precisely What This Pandemic Needs
Erasure to the rescue once more. Stuck in lockdown, barricaded in our homes, fearful of contact with strangers, every expedition to the grocery or drug Continue Reading
Less Bells Offer Poignant Post-Classical Ruminations on 'Mourning Jewelry'
There is a visible, conscious process of decision-making, maybe even a brand of self-reflection, behind the constructions on Mourning Jewelry, the sophomore outing by post-classical Continue Reading
Cajun Popsters Sweet Crude Get Deep and Emotional with "Impuissance" (premiere)
Louisiana’s Sweet Crude released their latest album, Officiel-Artificiel earlier this year and now offer a video for “Impuissance”, which accentuates the groups devotion to Louisiana Continue Reading
The Pretenders' 'Hate for Sale' Maintains a Formidability That Rejects Compromise
The Pretenders’ 11th studio album, Hate For Sale, is a return to their musical base. Rejecting the overly adorned styling of their 2016 release, Alone, Continue Reading
The Deep and Distant Roots of the Ska-Punk Hybrid
In Jamaica reggae came after ska; conversely, when hybridizing with punk in late 1970s Britain this historical succession was reversed. The main appeal of reggae Continue Reading