We weren’t sure if Madonna could surprise us anymore. Until she did.
Dan Bejar has encrypted his creations to the point that their significance is entirely his to bear.
Flying Upside Down is merely good for what it is without offering anything more challenging or progressive.
Insides Out offers some catchy pop hooks, but it’s an album that, in spite of Zevon’s famous surname, ultimately sounds anonymous.
The Evangelist manages to function as an amalgam of a Forster solo record.
Maths + English derails pretty spectacularly at regular intervals.
There is no hard evidence that Jamie Lidell is now, or has ever been, in possession of any kind of device enabling time travel.
Emily Jane White’s Dark Undercoat is a solemn trek down familiar roads.
Great Northern is a band capable of reaching great heights—if only their producer were willing to take them there.
Santogold is a fantastic amalgam of punk-rock battle cries, dancehall/dub rhythms, Nintendo sound effects, Dave Stewart-style programming, and “Rock Lobster” yelps.
Hard Candy is the album Confessions on a Dance Floor was supposed to be, both in terms of musical style and overall progression.
Unfortunately, the album’s effervescent uptempo tracks give way to same-y filler.
Canadian yelpers Tokyo Police Club map out the crucial difference between cursory and terse on their debut full length.
The album finds the duo looking far beyond themselves and their single guitar and drum kit for the first time.
Elbow’s Guy Garvey fancies himself a man of importance on The Seldom Seen Kid.
Bittersweet World is another step in the right direction for Ashlee Simpson.
The Bristol trip-hop pioneers’ Third is starker, leaner, and more dissonant than its immediate sibling.
Robyn is definitely a slow-burner, but it’s also everything pop music should be: provocative, poignant, inventive, and fun.
August Darnell’s best work as represented in this compilation resonates with the sort of truthful empathy one has to earn.
Even if Moon Safari isn’t exactly a challenging listen, it’s an endlessly gorgeous one.
This record’s focus on adolescence is somewhat ironic, because as an artistic statement it’s M83’s most mature yet.