From Ryan Lott’s earliest work under the Son Lux moniker — several years before touring members Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang joined him full time Continue Reading
Music Dose
Divide and Dissolve Release the Demons on 'Gas Lit'
Sometimes it feels good to have one’s head crunched in the morning. Divide and Dissolve do a great job of releasing the demons—not the ones Continue Reading
Tertia Challenges Stereotypes On “Overly Emotional Women”
Ahead of her forthcoming debut EP, 21-year-old London/Dublin-based multi-instrumental artist, songwriter, and producer Tertia has shared Overly Emotional Women. Fusing elements of her classical training with Continue Reading
Pallbearer's Brett Campbell on Facing the Inevitable
Like all of Pallbearer’s records, Forgotten Days is resonant with arched, dramatic melodies in the classic heavy metal tradition. Conceptually, it insists on confronting hard Continue Reading
'Stealing from the Saracens' Pursues Its Own Broken Crusade
The title of Diana Darke’s 2020 book, Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, promises the reader that they are about to embark Continue Reading
Elori Saxl Fuses Technology and Nature on 'The Blue of Distance'
The term “The Blue of Distance” comes from Rebecca Solnit’s acclaimed 2005 nonfiction book A Field Guide to Getting Lost. It refers to the phenomenon Continue Reading
Boris and Merzbow's '2R0I2P0' Howls Defiance
Apparently, the title of the latest outing for these titans of righteous noise-making, 2R0I2P0, translates as “2020 R.I.P.” Too damn right. I can’t think of Continue Reading
Farhot's 'Kabul Fire Vol. 2' Is a Luscious Look at Afghanistan
Prolific, Hamburg-based producer Farhot has not been back to Afghanistan since leaving it as a child with his family during the Soviet-Afghan War. Distance notwithstanding, Continue Reading
Singer-Songwriter Pony Bradshaw Searches for Meaning on 'Calico Jim'
Calico Jim‘s songs take place mostly in rural North Georgia, where James “Pony” Bradshaw has lived for the past 15 years. The location is essential. Continue Reading
Smoking Saved My Life: A Skinny Jewish Kid Comes of Age in the Haze of American Violence
“…Well, I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer The future’s uncertain And the end is always near…” – Jim Morrison, Roadhouse Continue Reading
Lana Winterhalt & MoonBell Share Stunning “I Will Hold You”
I Will Hold You is the first single off Winnipeg-based Lana Winterhalt’s forthcoming album, ‘Still’. Working with her husband MoonBell (Josh Richert) – which is Continue Reading
Massimo Pupillo's 'The Black Iron Prison' Runs the Gamut of Modern Composition
Reviewing music built primarily on instrumental ambience and drone is a Rorschach Test. Ambiguous responses may or may not reveal something about the imagery flowing Continue Reading
Leyya Say "I'm Not Sure" But Look for Hope
Austrian indie-pop duo Leyya have played some of the world’s best festivals, including the Reeperbahn Festival, Primavera, Iceland Airwaves, and SXSW. Their catchy music has Continue Reading
How the Cultural Revolution Turned China Against Itself
In 2008, Chinese journalist Yang Jisheng published Tombstone, a now-definitive account of how Mao’s ill-considered plan to industrialize the nation failed to bring about the Continue Reading
Candice Bergen's Latest Role Gets Them All Talking
Film critic Pauline Kael once declared cattily that the only flair in Candice Bergen’s acting work is in her “nostrils”. For over 50 years, Candice Continue Reading
Daptone Records' Gabriel Roth on Sharon Jones and the Power of Music
When Sharon Jones tapped her feet on stage, singing and shaking in a glitter dress, the dust from everyday life turned into sparkle to let Continue Reading
Steven Wilson Goes Electronic on 'The Future Bites'
Steven Wilson has long been one of the most distinguished and adventurous, yet heavily scrutinized, artists in modern art/progressive rock. Be it the harsher trajectory Continue Reading
A Krautrock Maestro and Folk Singer Team up for a Masterpiece
You’d be forgiven if you never foresaw Detlef Weinrich and Emmanuelle Parrenin teaming up. The former is a Dusseldorf DJ known for his machine-like krautrock Continue Reading
Shame Are an Unstoppable Force on 'Drunk Tank Pink'
“I think the idea of the leather jacket-wearing, womanizing, drug-fuelled rock star should be burned,” Charlie Steen, the frontman for London’s Shame, told The Guardian Continue Reading
'City So Real' and the Politics of a Modern Metropolis
One of the first sequences in the documentary series City So Real shows the mayoral candidates in Chicago marching in the 2018 Bud Billiken Parade, Continue Reading