We weren’t sure if Madonna could surprise us anymore. Until she did.
The 20/20 Experience is all impeccable tailoring with little lining inside.
The Chronicles of Marnia is Marnie Stern’s most accessible album to date.
The Milk Carton Kids bring a measure of dark comedy to their music that complicates the comparisons they invite to Simon & Garfunkel.
Devendra Banhart’s frequent non sequiturs landed with such winsome glee that they somehow never felt contrived.
Lay a few James Brown records on that drummer and call me in the morning.
Yesterday marked a tonal sea change in Austin, as South By Southwest’s “Interactive” attendees began to trickle off and the music types poured in.
The Pandora Stage at Antone’s showcased a slate of solid rock acts, from the ever-protean Akron/Family to the vintage pop-rock act Guards.
Vital, confident, and defiantly alive, Bowie has announced his return to rock’s top table.
Adrian Younge Presents takes familiar genre signifiers and scrambles them within a less rigid context.
Mala attests to a discipline that was absent in Banhart’s recent, loopier ventures.
Waxahatchee’s production values may sound more grown up here, but the self-deprecating anxieties still seep from each song.
Opposites is ultimately a surprisingly immediate and rewarding listen, compensating in consistency for what it lacks in depth.
Exai melds nearly every impulse Autechre has had in the last 15 years.
Monroe knows that there’s a story behind every scar, and Like a Rose proves her to be a skilled, versatile storyteller.
Wondrous Bughouse leaves the distinct impression that it was a lot more fun to make than it is to listen to.
Peyroux remains such a beguiling singer that it’s hard to care if her albums often sound the same.
New Moon seems like a failed experiment in curating a wider range of genres.
What she declares about her craft is, thus far, the most telling element of the ever-chugging Beyoncé train.
People, Hell and Angels comprises 12 tracks that pop with an electricity born of Hendrix’s sense of forward motion.
With Anxiety, Autre Ne Veut abandons bedroom isolationism for a drastically cleaner and more straightforward approach.