In today’s day and age of iPad babies and terminally online Zoomers, artists leaving hints across social media and elsewhere for future music it quite commonplace. Taylor Swift has created one of the most rabid fanbases in history with this method. But if you’re going to tease something, shouldn’t it all come together once you get there? Twenty One Pilots have been building a narrative around someone named Clancy for years now, and while occasionally the accompanying music has ... read more

Where were you at in your life when you realized you needed to break out of your shell? Was it after the end of a relationship or following a tragic loss? What about after being hounded by a multinational soda conglomerate who didn’t like your artist name? That’s where Ryan DeRobertis, aka Skylar Spence, sprung forth with Prom King. Turns out PepsiCo didn’t like his Saint Pepsi pseudonym, the one he burst onto the vaporwave scene with on projects like Hit Vibes back in the ... read more

Jane Remover the emo rap vocalist? Needs plenty of work. Their voice is frequently incoherently and too mumbly to really leave much of an impact. Jane Remover the producer? On point. These are some of the heaviest glitch pop beats you’ll hear this year, with most every track providing the crushing weight of a dying star. It’s enough to push the project past the finish line; find a better method of delivery and you’re really cooking with bacon grease.

The young (and I mean young) garage rock trio hearken back to the genre’s forefathers on their proper debut album, but forget to make a fully formed project along the way. These songs are too rough around the edges for my liking; they try so hard to emulate garage rock’s origins that they neglect things that make the genre fun, like strong melodies or memorable hooks. The vocals mainly get lost in the sauce, surrounded by too much noise to stand out. It’s a shame, especially ... read more

There’s plenty of reasons why Benson Boone has become the sensation that he is, but his memorability is not one of them. Every facet of American Heart is something you’ve heard before, done a million times better elsewhere. His overcharismatic delivery makes most songs an unhealthy blast of sugary pop; its best moments like a tribute to his dad in “Mr Electric Blue” are best taken in small doses. Otherwise, he wallows in shallow waters: “Sorry I’m Here For ... read more

What’s sadder in music than seeing an artist you once respected continually find ways to erode all the good will they’ve built up? We’ve seen Katy Perry do a number to her legacy in recent years, but at least her prime was 15 years ago. Lizzo is supposed to be at her peak right now; instead, she’s wasted away all the good will she built with “Truth Hurts” and Cuz I Love You on lousy follow ups, accusations of abuse and making one unlikeable tweet after ... read more

Sitting in my apartment as I write this review, I’ve never once considered my domicile a friend. But I don’t look at the world in the same way that David Byrne does. On “My Apartment Is My Friend”, the venerable optimist pays tribute to the place that was there for his best and worst moments, through thick and thin. Across the rest of Who Is The Sky?, Byrne’s first new album in 7 years, there’s a concerted effort to bring some joy to your day through glass ... read more

Greatest hits albums still exist today; they’re just called playlists. Go on any legacy act’s Spotify page and you’ll surely find a curated playlist with whatever the artist (or their team) thinks are their defining songs. So to see Hot Chip release an honest-to-goodness greatest-hits album in today’s music world is a tad bit surprising. But the soft-spoken synthpop icons have always done things their own way; hell, one of their albums is literally titled Why Make ... read more

Can an indie band be a headline ticket in 2025? Big Thief make the argument that yes, in the day and age of rap and pop dominating charts, folk music can stand alongside them at the top. The now-trio of Adrianne Lenker, James Krivchenia and Buck Meek have attained a godlike-status amongst fans at this point thanks to the celestial sound of their music. Any given Big Thief song will make you float towards a higher purpose, and the band’s latest album Double Infinity is no different. ... read more

My friend Nan recommended this folk artist’s latest album to me and it’s easy to see the appeal. Dean Johnson does a lot with a little, using his very unique voice to give life to instrumentals that use little more than a guitar and a drum set. It’s a rich combination, taking you across Southwestern roads, long lost love, and hope for friendship after heartbreak. Once you grow accustomed to Johnson’s nasally cry, you’ll comfortably settle in to one of this ... read more

For a vibes-based indie pop project, Balu Brigada do a pretty good job of saluting their influences rather than directly ripping them off. You’ll hear a little bit of Currents-era Tame Impala, plenty of Twenty One Pilots’ best side, a pinch of Foster The People, and much more from the 2010’s pop sphere show up on Portal, the band’s debut record. Yet it’s all catchy and rarely too derivative, molded into bite-sized pieces of indie pop fun; you’d be hard ... read more

Working with Greg Kurstin can be a blessing and a curse. If he’s the right guy for your music, his production can turn you into a star. For an act like Wolf Alice that’s already established, he’s shaved off every sharp edge the band once had on The Clearing. The band goes for a 70’s folk rock sound here akin to the best of Fleetwood Mac and even a bit of Led Zeppelin, but Kurstin’s production dampens both Ellie Roswell’s voice and Wolf Alice’s alt-rock ... read more

Having become more of a household name in recent years by producing his own hits and Róisín Murphy’s last record, DJ Koze goes on a bit of a victory lap with Music Can Hear Us. It’s got plenty of his eccentricities when it comes to producing electronic music, from weird noises and grooves to guest stars you might not expect. Koze ensures his latest is always interesting, if not as impactful or fun as some of his past songs have been.

How does one stand out in a sea of indie pop/rock imitators? With strong hooks, a pep in your guitars, and the ability to confront your millennial existential dread head on. The Beths have always had the former two in spades, but it was usually accompanied by musings on young unrequited love. On Straight Line Was A Lie, the New Zealander’s 5th LP, Elizabeth Stokes and company expertly weave in a lot of sadness and nihilism to their typically energetic sound. And though this uncertainty ... read more

The meteoric rise of one Sabrina Carpenter has been impressive to watch, but doesn’t it all feel a bit… standard? There’s a certain level of “plant” a former Disney star will never shake, but outside of “Espresso”, the pop machine Sabrina has taken ahold of doesn’t stray too far from the norm. There’s a clear vision to compensate for the expected pop formula with explicit thoughts that are decidedly anti-family, but they only took last ... read more

Momma have found a solid lane with Welcome To My Blue Sky. The level of chemistry the quartet shows on these songs is that of a group of veterans, lacing together elements of Hotline TNT’s fuzziness and Beach Bunny’s catchy melodies like pros. The veteran polish contrasts the emotions of the lyrics, as the youths fight through their late adolescence with the best of them. It follows a certain formula, but Welcome To My Blue Sky contains plenty of special ingredients that elevate it ... read more

For as listenable as Lord Huron’s folk rock is, their latest album is a bit of a slog. I loved “Who Laughs Last” as the first single with its desperate tale of escape over a kick-ass outlaw rock instrumental. The other singles are solid too if you’re looking for an folk fix, like the yearning “Bag of Bones” and “Nothing I Need”, but there’s not much else on The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 that will grab you in the way those songs do. It’s ... read more

Finally got around to Mike Hadreas’ latest record on a flight this month. Glory isn’t anywhere near as striking as his previous work, but he continues to find beauty through the grief and heartbreak he sings about. Hadreas’ delicate voice is still at its best when these country-tinged songs have a kick to them, like “It’s a Mirror” and “No Front Teeth”, the latter having an always welcome feature from Aldous Harding.

In a world where Playboi Carti’s alien brand of pop rap has lost its luster, Ghanian star Amaarae has stepped up to fill that void. Her approach to pop and rap has been anything but ordinary, and certain songs on BLACK STAR are her wildest yet. The jittery, wild ending to “Stuck Up”, the beats from outer space on “ms60” and “S.M.O.”, the goofy yet memorable bars throughout (“Do you believe in life after drugs” on “She Is My Drug” ... read more

There’s an impossibility to Marcus Brown’s music that’s just as impossible to describe through words. The intersection of Robert Smith-esque pop and Boyz II Men-esque R&B that his music as Nourished By Time occupies has always had a certain wooziness, and that’s everpresent on The Passionate Ones. The impossibility lies within the fact that, despite the foggy nature of both the emotions and the record’s sound, Brown has never come across this clear. Both his ... read more