As a band they’re incredibly tight. The vocals fit the style well but the singing is the same on every track and often with no change of tempo and no background vocals.

If the album was only 5-6 songs it would be absolutely great. Still it’s nice hearing Modest Mouse and that distinctive sound.

Ben Gibbard and his amazing band have added another awesome effort to their catalog. Uber-talented Dave Depper on guitar is masterful and the band sounds as tight as I’ve ever heard. As I read, there are hints of the early sound of the band on albums from long ago. This is at the halfway of 2026 my favorite album of the year. Stone Over Water is beautiful but really almost every song is stellar.

Of the many things I like about Album of the Year are the user reviews and how they point you to albums that run under the radar. Run, Run Pure Beauty is one of those moments. I wasn’t familiar with FoD and will give the 2024 LP a listen. I do say there are similarities to the sound of Florence & Machines with a softer, melodic voice but mostly I like the similarities to The Big Moon with a very tight band. I love the title track , Damned, Open Up Your Mouth and Requiem for a ... read more

I found it painful but made it through the very long LP. When he first showed up i thought he was overrated. I still think so. If I wanted to hear someone sing that far out of tune I could have listened to myself. Avalanches of Snow was the one song that was okay.

I feel there is a lot of talent here but I wouldn’t say the album shuffled the order of any genre universe. There is metal, grunge and gaze and all are done well. I’m sure Dad’s connections helped with just about everything but I can’t fault her for that. I really liked half the songs, the others were okay.

I first heard this as the stadium music between the sets of Bad Religion and Pearl Jam in 1997. Lifelong Neil Young fan but I had never heard this. I bought the CD but shortly thereafter it was pulled as both Neil Young and Pearl Jam were on different labels and the labels were having a pissing match.
I consider this one of my all time favorite Neil Young “rock band” albums, as good as or better than Rust Never Sleeps or Freedom. Despite Pearl Jam backing him up you never hear ... read more

On first listen I wasn’t blown away and I guess after 2 more listens I’m still not but on the latter listens I got more in depth to his lyrics which are splendid and meaningful. His voice shades on a folky Lou Reed or a much younger Dylan. Aaron Dessner’s production is predictable but also excellent. Natural Disaster’s duet with Lucinda Williams is my favorite. Other great songs 100,000, Little Wide Open and Javelin are also up there. Many great songs and I feel too ... read more

NPR covered this album this morning with RIYL SG Goodman (who I like). A great quality album with a touch of Americana, Country with some excellent slice of life prose. I love the soft sensitive Coyote and the political commentary of Wildfire Season but most of the tracks are very good. Yes she does share the SG Goodman style.

Flashback to the late 60’s set in the grungy Fillmore West, bands like Big Brother, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Paul Butterfield Blues Band lit up the stage with driving, out of control blues. I see this Black Keys band taking on that stage doing this all live better than most that have come before. When it comes to the blues the BK own the genre. Delta Kream was good but the power of the music out there on Peaches! rises like kream to the top.
Their last album sucked. On this ... read more

From the very first note on the album you can hear the production and musical stamp of Aaron Dessner. When I saw NK at Bottlerock in 2025 I was a vicarious fan, my daughter adored him. I could see the hypnotic effect he has on his fans when they sang all the lyrics, drowning out the singer. I really like this album End of August is beautiful, American Cars is a driver (no pun intended), Porch Light offers his poetic touch and then The Great Divide is the pinnacle for any Noah K fan.

I recall finding a CD from this band in the 90’s and loved the album cover and then loved the album. That was Fantastic Planet from Failure. The new album Location Lost still has the standout bangers I remember, such as The Air’s on Fire and Location Lost. The vocals are strong and still leaning grunge of Alice In Chains to the driving hard rock of Tool without the 12 minute songs. A great shoegaze listen.

Although not as powerful as Formentera(s) new music from Metric is always welcome. This one is void of the doomscroller and political commentary and definitely more on the pop side for them and her vocals soar.

My only gripe is the lead singers voice. It’s nasally and many time on the album off key and audibly flat. Otherwise this would be an excellent album for a week bereft of any vital new indie rock albums.

Many moments of originality, really nice singing voice and decent melodies. They’re kind of like The Sadie’s with vocal clarity of Darlingside.

Overall a decent gritty southern rock album in the vein of Crazy Horse or the Drive by Truckers. My two gripes are the vocals which I’m not a fan of and the reliance on slide guitar. Just because you can play a decent slide guitar doesn’t mean you should play it all of the time.

A very good indie pop/rock LP. It fits within the genre of Blondshell without the bite of Bully or diversity of Avalon Emerson but still one to keep and listen to.

There are some really solid songs, like Gale, which sounds like a modern iteration of a Nova Scotia folk song. Others like After You and Wishing Moon are classic Wintersleep. Some of the songs are just so unpolished where staying in tune would be an afterthought. I’ve loved this band I wish they were loved by big name production.

Not my usual vibe as a music genre but this album is stunningly beautiful. It’s taking me back to the beauty and brilliance of great R&B and Soul music. I hate the Grammy’s but if this isn’t the album of the year someone on their committee is living under a rock. Skin & Bones is taking me back to the Supremes. The album’s production is masterful.

I’d lost track of her career and felt her music was monotonous but she nailed it with Creature of Habit. By the mid album all tracks are excellent and her voice compliments the cadence of the music. The musicians on this album are top notch and make the music drive and soar.