The alt-R&B of Rhye The alt-R&B of Rhye
Despite all of the sex baked into Blood, the album is striking for the sense of solitude that lurks beneath its surface.
Feb 15, 2018 / Bijan Stephen
Lil Peep’s Optimist Love Songs Lil Peep’s Optimist Love Songs
Gustav Åhr was emo-rap’s most visible representative and the genre’s most mainstream success, but what set his music apart was not its despair but its deep sense of hope.
Dec 15, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen
Songs of Aggression Songs of Aggression
A review of popular music reveals striking and distressing similarities in the way men talk about and deal with women in today’s society.
Dec 8, 2017 / David Hajdu
Shamir’s Reinvention Shamir’s Reinvention
On Revelations, he trades the glitz and brashness of his early work for a more ruminative and uncertain sound.
Nov 17, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen
The Satisfactions of St. Vincent The Satisfactions of St. Vincent
There’s a full band’s worth of talent in that name.
Nov 1, 2017 / David Hajdu
Laetitia Sadier’s New Alliance Laetitia Sadier’s New Alliance
The Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble is a great argument for the type of experimentation that only comes from a solid knowledge of music history and decades of experience making it.
Apr 7, 2017 / Erin Vanderhoof
GoldLink’s Local Sound GoldLink’s Local Sound
The DC rapper’s new album raises the question of what “place” in the pop-culture landscape even means anymore.
Apr 4, 2017 / Marcus J. Moore
Syd’s Quiet Storm Syd’s Quiet Storm
No longer in the background of Odd Future, the Los Angeles singer is finding her voice.
Mar 2, 2017 / Marcus J. Moore
Keith Jarrett: In Search of Inspiration Keith Jarrett: In Search of Inspiration
To the degree that there was spontaneity in his latest concert, it was spontaneous regurgitation.
Mar 1, 2017 / David Hajdu
The Ten Best Albums of 2016 The Ten Best Albums of 2016
As the business of recorded music roils, the making of music rolls on.
Dec 14, 2016 / David Hajdu