Review: Charles Bradley, ‘Changes’
Hear the new album by “The Screaming Eagle of Soul,” which cleverly balances the vintage and the modern.
Category: Music Reviews
Review: Eric Bachmann, ‘Eric Bachmann’
The Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers frontman keeps his rough edges and wit in a charming, impressionistic meditation on America.
Review: Margo Price, ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’
A debut solo record, born of both heartache and imagination, is saturated with sounds of ’60s and ’70s Nashville.
Review: The Thermals, ‘We Disappear’
Fatalism and hope, realism and romance from the acidic, adrenalized Portland punk trio.
Review: Parker Millsap, ‘The Very Last Day’
A young Oklahoman with Pentecostal roots looks at apocalypse from surprising angles, in music ranging from rockabilly to blues.
Review: Bwana, ‘Capsule’s Pride’
A young Toronto-based producer plunders the riches of the animated science fiction classic Akira to create a sweeping sonic experience.
Review: Shearwater, ‘Jet Plane And Oxbow’
Jonathan Meiburg sounds as focused and intense as ever on his band’s ninth album, which is full of rock songs that churn and clatter with force, invention and mystery.
Review: Ty Segall, ‘Emotional Mugger’
Carrying on the non-stop activity of the last eight years, the prolific rocker’s 10th solo album feels as fractured and delirious as anything he’s recorded.
Review: Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express, ‘Junun’
Radiohead’s guitarist delves deep into the music of northern India alongside Israeli-American singer and composer Shye Ben Tzur and 19 Rajasthani traditional musicians.
Review: The Max Levine Ensemble, ‘Backlash, Baby’
Eight years after the D.C. trio’s last record, Backlash, Baby is a desperate, full-tilt pop-punk record that’s just trying to make sense of a backwards world.
Review: Cool Uncle, ‘Cool Uncle’
What happens when sexagenarian, Quiet-Storm crooner Bobby Caldwell and thirtysomething hit producer Jack Splash get together? Smooth fireworks!
Review: Various Artists, ‘Pop Ambient 2016’
The Kompakt label’s series showcases the gentler, more melodic side of ambient electronic music. It may make for a lushly soothing soundtrack, but richly varied and revelatory sounds abound.
Review: Bob Dylan, ‘The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12’
The fevered 14 months captured here represent the moment when Dylan became comfortable in his shoes — and, if not yet confident about every decision, at least trusting the authority of his writing.
Review: Carla Morrison, ‘Amor Supremo’
The Mexican singer-songwriter crafts a sublime and captivating representation of her lyrical gifts. Throughout Amor Supremo, she expands her sound by couching subtle springs in electronics.
Review: Floating Points, ‘Elaenia’
A slice of ambient, psychedelic-jazz dance music from one of the London club scene’s top producers. There are only hints of vocals, and the ones that do appear aren’t used in the service of language.
Review: Bill Ryder-Jones, ‘West Kirby County Primary’
The former Coral frontman’s songs ache with the resignation of someone still searching for answers. Remarkably, these songs sway with a light touch, with melodies that feel lived-in and singable.
Review: Old Dominion, ‘Meat And Candy’
The fast-rising country band brings first-rate craftsmanship to one of popular music’s abiding themes: savoring fleeting pleasures.
First Listen: Grupo Fantasma, ‘Problemas’
The Austin band’s raucous, good-time mix of funk, cumbia and soul forms a sound that’s built to last — always evolving, but always joyful, too.
Review: Beach Slang, ‘The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us’
The Philly rock band creates earnest rallying cries for the uncool, for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t fit in, and for those who eventually found belonging in cramped basement shows.
Review: Escort, ‘Animal Nature’
The disco-inspired band’s new album is slick and stylish and light, and clearly in thrall to the sound it revisits. But there’s weight behind it, too.