Gardens & Villa: Music For Dogs
Gardens & Villa ditch the dull synthpop of their previous outing and turn out one of the year's best rock albums, a gritty art-pop statement crackling with energy.
Casey Hardmeyer
Strange Wilds: Subjective Concepts
Though the group manage to display flashes of powerful punk prowess, their debut record cant quite escape the shadows of their considerable Northwest predecessors.
Four Tet: Morning/Evening
Largely succeeding on the strength of the record's second half, Kieran Hebden has proved his mercurial approach to electronic music is as vital as ever.
Warm Soda: Symbolic Dream
Not unlike a sugar rush, Symbolic Dream's candy-coated sheen quickly becomes too much of a good thing.
Prefuse 73: Rivington Nao Rio
The second of three releases for 2015, Rivington Nao Rio finds Guillermo Herren testing his ability as collaborator and producer, and ever-so-slightly evolving his acoustic-tinged electronic formula.
Super Furry Animals: Mwng (2015 Reissue)
While Mwng isn't the Super Furry Animals' finest hour, it is a valuable and essential addition to their discography.
Miami Horror: All Possible Futures
While not a revelatory listen, Miami Horror's second album is a more-than-solid summer record using a tried and true formula of electro-inflected disco-pop.
Best Coast: California Nights
Lo-fi no longer, Best Coast give listeners an avalanche of hooks and waves of power chords with their third LP, California Nights.
Brian Wilson: No Pier Pressure
No Pier Pressure is a lifeless, limp collection of songs that counts as a Brian Wilson album in name only.
Vetiver: Complete Strangers
A lack of substance, coupled with an occasionally overwhelming “lite-ness” that veers dangerously close to easy-listening, makes Complete Strangers a less-than-solid effort.
Sam Peckinpah’s ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’ Is the Last Great Western
This is not just a great Peckinpah film, but perhaps Hollywood’s last great classic Western, a film of tremendous self-reflection and deep sadness.
Why the “Blurred Lines” Lawsuit Verdict Was a Mistake
No matter how much one dislikes "Blurred Lines", it's hard to see how the victory of the Gaye estate will be beneficial to artists in the future.
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