The album turns the rapper’s formal minimalism into a source of excitement.
The album is the musical equivalent of curling up into a reflexive fetal position and entering a calmer, more pensive world.
The album is aided immeasurably by Barwick’s ability to sustain its rich aura while avoiding self-indulgence.
Formless melodies bleed into one another, and tracks come and go without much effort or care in announcing their arrival or departure.
Comparisons to Eminem are inevitable, but Marshall always kept artifice close at hand, whether it was animated beats or equally cartoonish alter egos.
The album frequently inhabits the same tropical-pop terrain of bands like Vampire Weekend and jj.
A combination of traditionalist songwriting and avant-garde sonics is what makes the album such a compelling listen.
Go-Go Boots suggests that one of America’s finest rock bands is in a full-on slump.
Yuck possesses a spirit that bands have spent their entire careers trying to find.
“Perfect Life” is Belong’s poppiest effort yet, but there’s no mistaking the dirty, clinging crunch of each instrument for the work of any other group.
One-album wonders weren’t in short supply in the ’90s, but many were far from disposable.
Katy Goodman has got a good shot at cornering the market of 21st-century Shangri-La candy pop.
Conor Oberst’s songs at least retain the ability to sound firm even when their insides are mushy.
The album is a matchless musical world where Polly Jean Harvey reigns with autonomy.
Mostly, the album incites questions that have nothing to do with music, like what exactly goes on at a Zulu farm.
The song’s message is certainly one that the world’s youth needs to hear now more than ever.
Asobi Seksu continues their Cranberries-flavored dream-pop voyage with their fifth album.
The album finds Mogwai going easier on the ears than they have since 2003’s Happy Songs for Happy People.
Is it possible that Cut Copy has played things a little too cool?
On Tell Me, Mayfield emerges as a singer-songwriter with a powerful and distinct voice.
The album of the year lineup lacks a Social Network to really make the Oscar comparison complete.