Au Revoir Simone is a bit of a one-note band, and their latest album, Still Night, Still Light, is a bit of a one-note album.
Post-punk is about looking forward, not back.
The bonus tracks on Lotus Party are, on the whole, a more intriguing bag of tricks than those that accompany Merge’s reissue of Bright Orange Years.
Antony’s one-of-a-kind tenor is stretched to the point of a whisper on Crying Light.
As it is in rock ‘n’ roll, so it is in comedy: Quiet is the new loud.
Boasting a title that only a grad student could love, Wilderness’s new album, (k)no(w)here, doesn’t exactly expand on their trademark sound.
Williams hasn’t made such a priority of rocking out since 2003’s World Without Tears.
It’s been three mighty cold winters.
Loudon Wainwright III is a songwriter who has only gotten better as he’s aged.
Newman’s arrangements, first of all, have never seemed quite this obvious and theatrical.
Hell, if Black Kids can take on the end of the world, they ought to be able to withstand a little fanboy backlash.
The lyrics are all terrific; the beats, not so much.
It’s the album that has the phrase “blowjob queen” on it and the singer’s nipple on the cover, but it’s so much more.
These stories are playful and imaginative, but David Berman’s genius also extends to pathos.
Though he says otherwise, it’s hard to think of an American songwriter as admired by fans and critics as Berman.
Aimee Mann’s sixth studio album proper, @#%&*! Smilers, sounds much like the rest of her solo catalog.
Will Oldham’s music under the Bonnie “Prince” Billy persona, though often rollicking or hilarious, is never entirely sanguine.
Nouns will leave you wanting more.
There are quite a few moons on Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, the 14th Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds studio album.
It’s tempting to greet Mountain Battles with a jaded indie-rock kid’s petulant shrugging and chorus of “whatever.” Don’t.