Half Moon Run aims high on tracks like Then Again and Razorblade. He perhaps aims a little too high, landing in a place that sounds more or less like Vampire Weekend wannabe. Tracks like Jello on My Mind undercut the ambitions of the rest of the album. The line is toed between passion and pretension but is nonetheless enjoyable.
Best Track: Razorblade
Favorite Track: Black Diamond
Least Favorite Track: Jello on My Mind

The two artists who make up BOCC create an endearing sound together that comes from a folk impulse (evidenced in tracks like Service Road or the gorgeous Chesapeake) but is fleshed out with some of the musical idioms of pop punk (see Dylan Thomas, or Exception to the Rule). Though it won't be making many year-end Top 10 lists, we should look back on it fondly as one of the most charming offerings of the first half of 2019.
Best Track: Chesapeake
Favorite Track: Didn't Know What I Was In For

Undeniably beautiful but seldom entertaining
I know I am going against the grain here but I struggled to embrace this album. And I was primed to like it. I had every expectation of enjoying it. To be fair, I certainly appreciated it. But listening to Ghosteen was an exercise in "how do you respond to music that you consider art but do not enjoy listening to?"
If ambient synth folk/poetry recitation sounds interesting to you, as it does to me, it is certainly worth a listen. I don't ... read more

I kept coming up with comparisons that would help explain Purple Mountains. Nihilist Jimmy Buffet. A Johnny Cash sound with a Father John Misty attitude. But the truth is that Purple Mountains is David Berman's own thing. Though there were some songs that felt like they were built from familiar materials, the deeper I listened the more I heard something really distinctive coming from the album's late artist. Hearing that Berman had committed suicide was devastating, to learn that the dark place ... read more

A stunning, cinematic blend of synth pop and symphonic rock that makes the case for more collaborations between new pop stars and orchestras. One of the elements that contributed to the epic, expansive feeling is also what gets in the album’s way on occasion; there is at times too much reverb for Angel and her orchestra to truly feel present, and that’s very important. That being said, this album was a beautiful ride that had me - and listeners everywhere - asking, “Where have ... read more

"I don't want to live like this, but I don't want to die."
That lyric really gave voice to what I have been feeling at this stage in my life. And for that, I am grateful for this album. It was a welcome dose of positivity to an uninitiated VW fan whose listening line-up has been mostly melancholy this year. The sheer musical thought that goes into their arrangements is delightful. We have here a truly hefty album that at times feels TOO long. However, this is an album that I also see ... read more

This is impassioned musical storytelling through Tyler's strange, genre-blended lens. With this album, he creates such a unique musical space and really comes across like he is pushing the bounds of hip hop. Along with his unbridled creativity comes a certain raw quality to the music, especially to his natural singing voice which is refreshingly organic against the electronic backdrop of both the album and the state of music at large. That rawness sometimes grates against the creativity, his ... read more

Beautifully understated, Wilco's new album abides by the virtue of quiet and so carves out its place in today's noise. Ode to Joy sounds like Arcade Fire on Xanax circa the Funeral era, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Best Track: Everyone Hides
Favorite Track: Quiet Amplifier

Listening to Gallipoli was a journey. In 3 senses of the word. First and most obviously, the sounds and the titles all convey a sense of travel, of being abroad. But second, I originally held the album at arm's length, feeling that it was like a tourist's album, adopting an air of the exotic for exploitative purposes without proper respect for legitimate global music. There is that concern at first, that this is a white man's version of the world. But halfway through the album, the music starts ... read more

Transportive and sentimental, NFR just might become Lana del Rey’s best-regraded work. If not, then I am sure it is what she will want to be remembered for. What it lacks in variety it gains in the cohesion created by its unifying sound: one hazy and pained, singing ballads about the conflict between the way things have to be and the way that they could be. The lyrics are alive with the tension between women and men, caught in the fine line of longing which exists between romance and ... read more

Toth's fanciful falsetto can't quite support the weight of carrying a full album but he does practice a sort of magic with the arrangements he has here. No Reason is the most effective song on here, and you can tell he knows it. Two other songs later in the album seem to aim to keep that magic going but just end up sounding like a lack of ideas. At times Toth just sounds like a wannabe Sufjan Stevens but at times he has something legitimately new and exciting to share.
Best Track: No Reason, a ... read more

The Lumineers present a self-assured sound that seems to demand consideration as the new folk classics. Indeed, they mostly earn some semblance of that title. “Democracy” is so in-the-vein in its execution that it’s a shame it’s only a Bonus Track, even if it is a cover. Much of this album, from the unpolished vocals to the story telling of the lyrics, earns this charming ensemble true accolades for their folk sensibility. The pervasive and lonely gloom that overshadows ... read more

While I am trying very much to embrace the new directions Caravan Palace is revealing here - with the clearer though more straight-forward pop vocal production on a few tracks - I must admit that my favorite tracks here are the ones that seem like the next step in the natural evolution one might have projected from their last album. Miracle, Leena, and April all wow with the thrilling production and bygone-big-band sampling this group made their name with. Melancholia, About You, and Water ... read more

Cage the Elephant proves what they have in the past: that they are very capable of recording some excellent, endearing, radio-friendly singles. Some of the songs on this album struggle to find a reason to exist. There is a killer, if not monotonous, 10-track album in here somewhere. Perhaps in their future.
Best Track: Goodbye

The Jonas Brothers succeed in created a comeback album that reels in the wider audience that their talents deserve. While much of the character of their previous albums is absent and the guitar that came to define so much of their music takes the backseat, they manage to produce a pop album that still feels authentic to where they are now, after everywhere that they've been.
Favorite Song: Only Human

There is undeniable creativity and quality to the album, though a pervasively unlistenable sameness takes over that album rides out to its finish. The beauty in this album will best be preserved in a few select songs rather than as a full album, but it is undeniably beautiful.
Favorite Song: Not in Kansas

The best tracks on this album establish themselves as worthy of the expectations heralded by his earliest hits. The worst tracks merely feel redundant. While a few songs feel almost like carbon-copies of other songs, it's all great listening. This is an album I expect to carry forward with me in the coming years.
Favorite Song: Almost (Sweet Music)

Thom Yorke meets the high standard he sets for himself and his projects yet again, managing to create something onbrand yet unlike anything we have ever heard. It's also something that sticks. The music on Anima, perhaps his most cohesive solo project yet, takes hold and doesn't let go. Dawn Chorus came out at just the right time in my life. It speaks truth to some deep anxieties and makes the journey through them something beautiful and fleeting.
Favorite Song: Twist

Gary Clark Jr. offers an album that demands he be treated like the powerhouse that he is, churning out a sprawling album motivated by heated feelings on life and the state of the country. This album burns with anger and desire, regret and hope.
Favorite Song: Pearl Cadillac

Weyes Blood's sound has developed so incredibly since her debut. While some songs on this release meander a little too much to hold onto, the overall power and freshness in this album and its standout songs sets Titanic Rising apart as something truly special.
Favorite Song: Andromeda