Album reviews: Quarantunes
More than ever, we’re treating pop music functionally—we choose and use tunes to get us going in the morning; to set the right vibes for cooking; to get amped for […]
Album reviews: MC Yallah X Debmaster, Various Artists
MC Yallah X Debmaster Kubali (Hakuna Kulala) The most frenetic moment of Kubali comes right at the top, like an intimidating bouncer. Once you get past the brief jabbery pattern […]
Album reviews: Green-House, Myke Towers, Ben Krakauer, and Doja Cat
Green-House Six Songs for Invisible Gardens (Leaving) Beginning an album with pooling water sounds is a risky venture. But at the start of the instrumental Invisible Gardens, Green-House combines those […]
Album reviews: Reissue roundup part 1
Throughout the year, I reviewed some reissues (notably Gene Clark’s magisterial No Other and Prince’s colossal 1999). Here’s a few I missed along the way—more to come next time. James […]
Album reviews: Best-and-rest of 2019
Not sure why, but in 2019 I spent a lot of time with a relatively few new albums, so apologies to the stuff I didn’t listen to enough. Here’s an […]
Album reviews: Leonard Cohen, Prince, Ghostigital, and Los Lobos
Leonard Cohen Thanks for the Dance (Sony) Recorded during the same sessions as You Want It Darker, which was released three weeks before Cohen’s death in 2016, Thanks For the […]
Album reviews: Miranda Lambert, Andy Aylward, Gene Clark, and Homeboy Sandman
Miranda Lambert Wildcard (Sony) Glowing with sanitized professionalism, performed hot messiness, and branded shout outs from Patron to Tide sticks, Wildcard is textbook pop country. And after “divorce album” The […]
Album reviews: Velveteen Rabbit, Shana Falana, Wished Bone, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Grace Potter
Velveteen Rabbit Velveteen Rabbit (Hozac) Rising from the ashes of NYC power poppers The Jeanies, Velveteen Rabbit do up the ’70s glory days of glitter rock in a stripped-down way. […]
Album reviews: Allah-Las, Julien Chang, Various artists, Gong Gong Gong, and Tomeka Reid Quartet
Allah-Las Las (Mexican Summer) On their fourth LP, L.A.’s Allah-Las don’t seem in any hurry to alter their psychedelic slacker twang. In fact, they don’t seem in any particular hurry […]
Album reviews: Lana Del Rey, C. Keys & Kazi, Sheer Mag, Ghost Funk Orchestra, and Chali 2na & Krafty Kuts
Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell! (Universal) Lana Del Rey takes a turn at pillow- soft rock on NFR, the product of a partnership with Jack Antonoff—late of the annoyingly-named […]