First Listen: The Milk Carton Kids, ‘Monterey’
The duo’s sound feels lighter and looser than ever, sacrificing the tiniest bit of pristineness for a much-needed note of softly scuffed-up grace.
Category: Sounds
First Listen: Daniel Bachman, ‘River’
The guitarist, an outstanding young purveyor of a form called American Primitive, finds new levels of sharpness and confidence in River‘s seven masterful songs.
First Listen: Holly Herndon, ‘Platform’
Platform draws drama out of changes in speed and texture and many little parts that work together to make a sort of musical machine.
First Listen: Circuit Des Yeux, ‘In Plain Speech’
Until now, Circuit des Yeux has been a singular entity. But Haley Fohr refocuses the intensity of past records in full-band arrangements that glide even as they exude delirious urgency.
Listen To ‘Rima,’ The Bright New Record From D.C. Indie-Pop Band Pree
Rima, the new album from D.C. indie-pop quartet Pree, represents a significant evolution for the band. It builds on the solid foundation established…
Review: Patrick Watson, ‘Love Songs For Robots’
The Montreal singer-songwriter’s brain seems to overflow with wise and exacting ways to reflect on the way hearts work.
Review: Tyondai Braxton, ‘HIVE1’
What sets the Battles mastermind’s new album apart is its playfulness — the feeling that experimenting with sound is a joyful game rather than an academic exercise.
First Listen: Joanna Gruesome, ‘Peanut Butter’
On a sophomore album that packs 10 songs into less than 22 minutes, the Welsh band showcases its considerable gift for balancing sweetness and chaos.
First Listen: Buffy Sainte-Marie, ‘Power In The Blood’
On her first studio album since 2008, the 74-year-old firebrand’s voice remains relevant, full of spit and vinegar and fun.
First Listen: Surfer Blood, ‘1000 Palms’
On its first album since leaving a major label, the Florida band sounds at once self-assured and wistful, as confident as ever and yet more careful.
Beauty Pill’s Chad Clark On His Lyrics: ‘I’m Always Interested In Being Understood’
Beauty Pill’s exuberant and adventurous new album, Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are, fully communicates the D.C. band’s depth…
Premiere: Louis Weeks’ Entrancing New Single, ‘Antelope’
Last month, electronic-pop producer Louis Weeks released “Fire,” the promising first single from his forthcoming album, haha. Bandwidth liked it…
Review: Torres, ‘Sprinter’
On her second album, Sprinter, Torres confronts the problem of confession head-on and proceeds to annihilate its boundaries.
First Listen: Chris Stapleton, ‘Traveller’
Stapleton presents himself as a true Southern character, a family man who clings to his vices and a searcher whose dreams of home don’t prevent him from wanting to roam.
Review: Kamasi Washington, ‘The Epic’
A versatile sideman serves as leader, filling a three-disc, nearly three-hour album with dozens of players, new ideas and transformed old ones. The title is justified.
Review: Metz, ‘II’
Raw, belligerent and dissonant — that’s just the tip of the noise-rock iceberg when it comes to Metz.
First Listen: Mac McCaughan, ‘Non-Believers’
For 25 years, the Superchunk frontman and Merge Records cofounder has quietly made some of the loudest pop in human history.
Review: Rana Santacruz, ‘Por Ahí’
Rana Santacruz’s latest, after a five-year hiatus, has music that could only come from a chilango — a Mexico City native — living in 21st-century Brooklyn.
First Listen: The Tallest Man On Earth, ‘Dark Bird Is Home’
The Tallest Man On Earth has a way of upending expectations and rendering familiarity moot.
Ex-Minor Threat Band Dot Dash Gets (Almost) Heavy On A New Song
Made up of former players in Minor Threat, Youth Brigade, Swervedriver, The Saturday People and Julie Ocean, Dot Dash has…