Viking’s Choice: Pygmy Lush, ‘On A Plain (Nirvana Cover)’
Pygmy Lush doesn’t stray too far from the version of the song heard on MTV Unplugged. But then it brings the Crazy Horse-punk chaos.
Tag: NPR
As Joan Jett Is Inducted, Women Still Scarce At Rock Hall
Of the more than 700 artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, only about 8 percent are women. Joan Jett is now one of them.
Viking’s Choice: Red Death, ‘Strategic Mass Delirium’
One of the pit leaders of today’s stellar D.C. hardcore scene is Red Death, a band that more than lives up to its name.
First Listen: Wire, ‘Wire’
Even after nearly 40 years of making records, Wire still sounds like itself — contrary, obtuse, thoroughly cool but oddly soulful, and full of wit.
Review: Villagers, ‘Darling Arithmetic’
Once a bandleader with a flair for complex orchestration, Conor O’Brien sings and plays every instrument on Darling Arithmetic himself, for an album that feels surprisingly muted.
Review: Calexico, ‘Edge Of The Sun’
Though the scenery of the American Southwest remains largely unchanged, the band’s sense and understanding of it continues to deepen and grow.
First Listen: Lowland Hum, ‘Lowland Hum’
Benefiting from a freewheeling, beefed-up studio band, the dynamic range of this 13-song set runs from hushed insularity to ardent expansiveness, alighting on dozens of gradations between.
Viking’s Choice: Pinkwash, ‘Cancer Money’
With striking gold-on-purple artwork and a provocative title, “Cancer Money” finds catharsis in head-bashing repetition.
How To Be Alone: Musicians Confront Solitude
On new albums, Sufjan Stevens, Kendrick Lamar and Laura Marling all hold the world at a distance in order to embrace creation.
Musician Joni Mitchell Is ‘Awake And In Good Spirits’ In Intensive Care
The folk music icon was hospitalized in Los Angeles after being found unconscious in her home Tuesday.
Jay Z’s Music Service, Tidal, Arrives With A Splash, And Questions Follow
The premium streaming service, which will be owned in part by musicians, was unveiled in a star-packed ceremony. The first question it needs to answer: Can it attract listeners?
Sylvan Esso: Tiny Desk Concert
Performed softly in the light of day, the duo’s year-old material feels fresh and lovable when performed outside of a dark, loud club setting.
Review: Jessie Baylin, ‘Dark Place’
The singer-songwriter reconvenes with her longtime co-writer and producer, Richard Swift, to craft 11 seductively seclusive pop songs about motherhood, exile, insecurity and devotion.
Review: Drenge, ‘Undertow’
On its second album, the British rock duo moves smoothly from tantrum to anthem, crafting songs with singalong hooks and buckets of sweaty, cathartic rage.
Review: Toro Y Moi, ‘What For?’
In recent years, Chaz Bundick’s sound has traveled down some unexpected side roads. But What For? takes a U-turn back to feel-tingly guitar-pop, with winsome results.
Review: Royal Thunder, ‘Crooked Doors’
Writing a breakup album is one thing. Writing a breakup album with your ex is another. A stunning hard-rock record, Crooked Doors grapples with what it means to live with your own history.
Review: Say Lou Lou, ‘Lucid Dreaming’
Though the twin sisters in Say Lou Lou don’t plumb the depths of human understanding with these 11 songs, they clearly and keenly feel the weight of all that glitters.
First Listen: The Mountain Goats, ‘Beat The Champ’
On an unlikely concept album, John Darnielle takes a nostalgic but realistic look at the workaday underworld of the pro wrestlers he idolized as a kid.
First Listen: Waxahatchee, ‘Ivy Tripp’
On her band’s new album, Katie Crutchfield sounds nervier and more confident than ever before, while remaining true to her role as an analytical but artful chronicler of youthful uncertainty.
Influential Guitarist John Renbourn, Co-Founder Of Pentagle, Dies
Renbourn co-founded the popular folk/jazz group Pentangle and was one of the most respected and influential acoustic guitarists in the world. He died this week at his home in Scotland; he was 70.