We weren’t sure if Madonna could surprise us anymore. Until she did.
For better or worse, Little Dark Age is an album for its time: moody, backward-looking, a little depressed.
Always Ascending speaks to existential angst that prompts a grim outlook on the pursuit of happiness.
As well-realized as the original Twin Fantasy was, it’s obvious that Will Toledo sees the project as a fluid work.
Timberlake is more comfortable with airbrushed blue-eyed soul than with anything involving a pedal steel.
Culture II is both bigger and bolder than its predecessor but with an inevitably diminished impact.
On their supposed swan song, Wild Beasts prove their knack for despondence as well as tongue-in-cheek hubris.
It’s evident that the Steep Canyon Rangers have little desire to go about proving their bluegrass bona fides.
The album promotes a personal reckoning of one’s complicity in an increasingly toxic culture.
Glen Hansard’s Between Two Shores explores themes pertaining to the personal and the political.
East’s sensual approach invests his performances with a strong sense of emotional connection.
First Aid Kit has gotten exceedingly proficient at imitating their favorite American artists.
Justin Timberlake’s new single, “Filthy,” is more a mood than an actual song.
Whether personal or political, our selections prove that the video is still a potent form for communication.
Eminem’s grip on the zeitgeist is less firm on the over-long Revival than it was on the freestyle cut “The Storm.”
The album generally rebalances the scales of U2’s ambitions, resulting in an aesthetically riskier sound.
Listen to a playlist of the best singles of the year on YouTube and Spotify.
The best albums of 2017 were made by artists ready to lay the groundwork for a counter-cultural movement.
While singer Jim James’s sequel to his 2009 EP Tribute To feels lonely and reflective, it’s not a downer.
The resilience of retroism was, this year, tinged with the irony of watching those not knowing the past being doomed to repeat it.
The album is a rote and low-energy jaunt by Van Morrison through the Great American Songbook.