The album sounds beamed in from an earlier decade, but it runs deeper than nostalgia.
Boards of Canada’s knack for charming, even moving, melodies hasn’t dulled.
Watching Dirty Projectors open for the National is both annoying and edifying.
The album proves there isn’t anyone out there who executes this strain of musical comedy with as much satirical precision as the Lonely Island.
Most of Planta comes off as a moment of respite, but most of their fans will allow them the moment.
Gold Panda’s Half of Where You Live boasts a newfound depth and poise.
13 is ultimately a solid, back-to-basics return that proves Black Sabbath is still the exemplary blueprint for heavy metal.
Dagger Beach manages to be a personal album that doesn’t rely strictly on autobiography for its emotional or thematic heft.
It’s hard not to interpret the track as a reaction to Trent Reznor’s detour into Tinsel Town.
By no means Camera Obscura’s best effort, Desire Lines is nevertheless a pleasurable listen.
Pythons is less dynamic than its predecessor, with fewer chord changes and less overall complexity.
Kylie Minogue is getting good at dropping things.
IV Play is about the push and pull between artistic and commercial impulses, and The-Dream continues to balance both with amazing deftness.
Baths’s Obsidian is the work of a rapidly maturing artist.
Laura Marling just might be an angel, or the closest thing that contemporary music has to one.
With Ultraviolet, Kylesa gets dirtier, darker, colder, and grittier while simultaneously adhering to their already behemoth aesthetic.
There’s something inherently stultifying about this otherwise well-crafted and satisfying album.
Random Access Memories is simultaneously the most narcissistic and selfless gesture in Daft Punk’s career so far.
Adrian Younge Presents Twelve Reasons to Die recounts the spaghetti-western origin myth of Ghostface’s longtime alter ego Tony Starks.
Silver Wilkinson maintains Bibio’s affectionate posture toward everything retro.
Modern Vampires of the City charts the perils and pleasures of adulthood with impressive, singular range.