Evan Sawdey

Evan Sawdey started contributing to PopMatters in late 2005, and has also had his work featured in publications such as Entertainment Weekly, SLUG Magazine, YardBarker, The Daily Dot, and many more. He has been a guest on HuffPost Live, RevotTV's "Revolt Live!", and WNYC's Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album ( available for free), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of Andre Cymone's hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records), the 2012 re-release of 'Til Tuesday's 1985 debut Voices Carry (Hot Shot Records), among others. He is the co-founder and host of The Chartographers, a podcast for pop music nerds, and previously hosted PopTalk for PopMatters. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. You can follow him @SawdEye should you be so inclined.
Brothertiger Discusses Finding Inspiration in the Strangest Places

Brothertiger Discusses Finding Inspiration in the Strangest Places

A moody new record reflecting our times, an instrumental fundraiser for charity, and cycling escapes to Rockaway Beach. Brothertiger is back with his first new studio full-length in years, and he can't wait for us to share in his emotional journey.

Electropop’s Baths Discusses His New Confessional Rarities Compilation

Electropop’s Baths Discusses His New Confessional Rarities Compilation

The ever-prolific Will Wiesenfeld of Baths and Geotic fame has built a career over his abstract electropop oddities, and he returns with another rarities comp that plays more like a confessional new full-length.

Trixie Mattel on Horror Movie Gin, Writing a Book, and How Not to Photograph a Drag Queen

Trixie Mattel on Horror Movie Gin, Writing a Book, and How Not to Photograph a Drag Queen

Drag superstar Trixie Mattel spills the beans on her new book and so much more. "It's a wonderful book. I'm ready to have my roller coaster at Universal Studios based on this book."

Martin Green’s Junkshop Yields the Gritty, Weird Story of Britpop Wannabes

Martin Green’s Junkshop Yields the Gritty, Weird Story of Britpop Wannabes

Featuring a litany of otherwise-forgotten budget bin purchases, Martin Green's two-disc overview of coulda-been Britpop contenders knows little of genre confines, making for a fun historical detour if nothing else.

Why Australia’s Alice Ivy Doesn’t Want to Sleep

Why Australia’s Alice Ivy Doesn’t Want to Sleep

Alice Ivy walks a fine line between chillwave cool and Big Beat freakouts, and her 2018 debut record was an electropop wonder. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, she tries to keep the good vibes going with a new record decked out in endless collaborations.

Fave Five: The Naked and Famous

Fave Five: The Naked and Famous

Following two members leaving the group in 2018, synthpop mavens the Naked and Famous are down to a duo for the first time ever and discuss the records they turned to help make their aptly-named fourth record, Recover.

Bibio Discusses ‘Sleep on the Wing’ and Why His Dreams Are of the Countryside

Bibio Discusses ‘Sleep on the Wing’ and Why His Dreams Are of the Countryside

"I think even if I lived in the heart of Tokyo, I'd still make music that reminds people of the countryside because it's where my dreams often take me," says Bibio (aka Stephen Wilkinson) of his music and his new rustic EP.

How HBO Max’s Ballroom Dance Show ‘Legendary’ Became Compelling TV in 2020

How HBO Max’s Ballroom Dance Show ‘Legendary’ Became Compelling TV in 2020

Not many knew what to make of HBO Max's initial reality competition Legendary when it first premiered, but the high tensions that ended Season 1, Episode 5 escalated the vogue-tastic and defiantly queer celebration of ballroom culture into the must-watch event of the year.

This Rainbow Dragon Has Fire Inside: An Interview with Keiynan Lonsdale

This Rainbow Dragon Has Fire Inside: An Interview with Keiynan Lonsdale

For outspoken actor and singer Keiynan Lonsdale, his unabashedly queer debut album centers on sexuality and politics, making for a striking release in the age of quarantine. "There's rhythm to it: there's rhythm in blackness, and it's saying 'Stop being crazy, stop being dangerous, quiet the fuck down, and move your feet.'"

Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ Hides Its True Intentions Behind Dancefloor Exuberance

Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ Hides Its True Intentions Behind Dancefloor Exuberance

Lady Gaga's Chromatica is the most lively and consistent record she's made since Born This Way, embracing everything great about her dance-pop early days and giving it a fresh twist.

Fave Five: Rafael Anton Irisarri

Fave Five: Rafael Anton Irisarri

As one of the most celebrated ambient composers working today, Rafael Anton Irisarri continues to evolve. We celebrate his metal-tinged new album Peripeteia with a look through the albums that made him.

To Watch a Predator: The Difficult Handling of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season 12’

To Watch a Predator: The Difficult Handling of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season 12’

While RuPaul's Drag Race remains a celebration of campy queer culture, Season 12 premiered as serious allegations against a contestant were quickly confirmed, forcing the producers to recut the episodes to diminish the influence of a now-known predator. Did the gambit work?