After a brief excursion with the American rock band Sparks, Scottish indie/dance rock titans Franz Ferdinand return with their fifth album, Always Ascending, an album that also features a new lineup after founding guitar player, Nick McCarthy, left the group in 2016. With a new guitarist and keyboardist, Franz Ferdinand has created a decent dance-rock, disco record. This band knows how to write songs; everything feels impeccably placed. But everything also feels overwrought and lifeless at ... read more

"Uncle, Duke & The Chief" is the fifth full-length album by Canadian indie rock group Born Ruffians, and I think I remember listening to it. My memory is hazy: some songs stick out to me, like opening tracks "Forget Me" and "Miss You," both which contain some of the album's strongest melodies, as well as the punchy, Beach Boys-esque "Fade to Black." However, even after listening to this record several times, I can never recall melodies after the fact. ... read more

The Emancipation Procrastination, the third record in trumpeter and bandleader Christian Scott aTunde Adujah's Centennial Trilogy, retains the laid-back, politically charged, hip-hop fusions of the first two records – Ruler Rebel and Diaspora – while not explicitly exploring different ideas. Although Adujah's clear, strong sound projects confidence whether he's employing a mute or not, in many ways, The Emancipation Procrastination continues Adjuah's hybrid jazz/hip-hop identity. ... read more

Fine, I guess.

CunninLynguist's sixth record "Rose Azura Njano" consists of two earlier three-track EPs: "The Rose EP" and "The Azura EP," and six additional tracks, all of which could be considered the "Njano" section. Fun Fact: Njano is Swahili for "yellow." With the opening track "Red, White and Blue," "Rose Azura Njano" points to a jazzy, musically low-key affair yet prescient political record. At times, the lack of propulsion behind ... read more

A year after her well-received EP "B-Grade University," Australian artist Alex Lahey gives us her debut LP, " I Love You Like a Brother." Filled with catchy, punk-inspired tracks, Lahey inspires greatness with some grandiose pop moments, for example, the closing segment of the 50s infused "I Want U" and the entirety of single "I Haven't Been Taking Care of Myself." What makes this a fun record is Lahey's personality, for it shines throughout the whole ... read more

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Alright: so I like this record. I'd never heard of Poppy before this record – never heard of her YouTube channel, who she is, or her overall purpose – but on first listen, I immediately thought two things: Poppy is an art project commenting on contemporary obsessions with computers, the Internet and Internet fame that employs pop clichés or it's a completely shallow, unaware pop record. Thankfully, it's the former. On my second listen, "Poppy.Computer" revealed ... read more

I first heard Four Tet in 2004 with his record "Rounds." A major highlight – "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth" – a quiet, delicately layered piece, introduced me a world of electronic music I'd never experienced before. With Four Tet's meditative, gorgeous, and beautifully executed new record "New Energy," we have one his most focused records within his already excellent catalog. "New Energy" projects singularity; each track remains distinctive, ... read more

For 6-tracks and 31 minutes, Kamasi Washington explores histories of jazz on "Harmony of Difference." Whenever Washington pushes his sax, he exudes a Coltrane tone, a sound that tries to break the instrument into little pieces. When he blows on the big-band infused "Harmony," his sax barely contains his power. Then on the more textured yet smooth "Knowledge," Washington and his bandmates play with sonic textures thanks to the powerful, playful rhythm section. Here, ... read more

Miley Cyrus's "Younger Now" skirts the line between country and pop. I could call it pop country, and, you know, that's applicable here. But Cyrus's "Younger Now" is a record of stylistic moods as grouped together tracks section of the record into distinct pieces. With opening tracks "Younger Now" and "Malibu," we're getting contemplative Miley. Legendary country artist Dolly Parton finds herself on some paltry "let's love one another" duet ... read more

Iglooghost's manically energetic sugar-driven debut record "Neo Wax Bloom" opens with the suggestive track "Pale Eyes," perhaps the most subdued piece on the entire record. There's definitely some propulsive energy here as it slowly builds, layering poppy, synth sounds, sax samples, and percussive beats. But after two minutes, Iglooghost kicks into high-gear, as the tracks "Super Ink Burst" and "Bug Thief" move from idea to idea, never stopping to take a ... read more

Australian-born, Iceland-based electronic producer Ben Frost's "The Centre Cannot Hold" is a deep, uncompromisingly political record entrenched in noise, anxiety, violence, beauty, peace, and unease. With the title taken from Irish poet W.B. Yeats's "The Second Coming," – "Turning and turning in the widening gyre/The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/Things falls apart; the centre cannot hold/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world" – Frost's discordant ... read more

Is God Is In the TV for real?

Plug-and-play. Uninspired, formulaic vocal harmonies and cookie-cutter pop songs.

If only I could have stopped myself from clicking "Play."

To quote Ringo Starr: "It would be laughable if it wasn't sad." How prescient.

DFA(1979) made one great debut record, one mediocre record, and one pretty decent record. "Outrage is Now" is the pretty decent record. However, I struggle to get through the first few tracks on this record. The track "Caught Up" requires this sped-up, Sabbath-esque breakdown to regain your attention because everything that came prior was unnecessary. When DFA hits, they hit just right. But they also can indulge in bad ideas (Dead God, the lyrics to "Outage is Now" ... read more

Middle of the album drags a bit, and there are odd musical choices throughout. Considering the album's carnivalesque cover, the wide variety of musical genres and styles throughout make sense. Whether that makes for a good record is another thing completely. I have a warm place in my heart for Ted Leo (& the Pharmacists) but I'd be the first to admit that they can be hit or miss at times. "The Hanged Man" isn't my favorite Ted Leo record: it has some pretty good stuff like ... read more

Interesting to listen to this after finishing Lunice's "CCCLX." Both records project nocturnal, atmospheric, spacey sounds. But Nosaj Thing does it better. I fall into this music; I don't find myself searching for something to critique. If the music makes me let go, then I know I'm digging it. When the track pulls me out of itself, then I ask what just happened and why. Those moments happened on almost every track – the little spoken/captured sequence on "Get Like," ... read more

Boring, repetitive, boring, repetitive, boring... Nothing feels complete. I actually like nocturnal, atmospheric music, but these tracks feel like sketches more than anything else. And the rapping, while decent, isn't integral. It doesn't highlight or emphasize the music. So...I did not care for it.