Angel Olsen Creates Her Most Accessible Album with ‘Big Time’
With Big Time, Angel Olsen draws inspiration from some of popular music’s most perennial templates, revamping them and reinventing herself.
John Amen
John Amen is the author of several collections of poetry, including Illusion of an Overwhelm (NYQ Books, 2017), a finalist for the 2018 Brockman-Campbell Award, and work from which was chosen as a finalist for the Dana Award. His poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in journals nationally and internationally, and his poetry has been translated into Spanish, French, Hungarian, Korean, and Hebrew. He is a Staff Reviewer for the music magazines and websites No Depression, Beats Per Minute, and PopMatters. He founded and is managing editor of Pedestal Magazine.
SCALPING Embrace Eclectic EDM Approaches on Debut ‘Void’
SCALPING’s Void energetically captures music designed for a club/real-time environment and hybridizes any number of EDM, punk, and metal precursors.
Aldous Harding Tries to Navigate a Troublesome Limbo on ‘Warm Chris’
Despite some successes, including song-of-the-year contender “Leathery Whip”, Warm Chris mostly shows the gifted Aldous Harding trying to navigate a troublesome limbo.
King Hannah Blend Influences and Original Impulses on Full-Length Debut
King Hannah’s new album shows the duo honing their sound and posture, building on the more Dionysian and possibly less self-conscious stylings of their 2020 EP.
The Beatles: Get Back, The Long and Riveting Epic
What is revealed with The Beatles: Get Back is a set of cumulative portraits that shed light not only on John, Paul, George, and Ringo but on all of us.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Revel in Longstanding Chemistry on ‘Barn’
Neil Young’s latest set resonates as fervently composed and heartfeltly topical, and the band are as committed as ever to authentic and vigorous performance.
Constant Smiles Continue Their Chameleonic Ways with the Pop-Infused ‘Paragons’
Listeners familiar with Constant Smiles’ mutative oeuvre will find Paragons intriguing for the chameleonic adoption of familiar pop templates.
Little Simz’s ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ Is a Dazzling and Insightful Opus
Little Simz explores familial and cultural themes, moving from stream-of-consciousness confessions to epigrammatic observations, volatile rants to equanimous self-examinations.
Halsey Offers Stellar Work Despite Iffy Production on New Album
Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power contains enough magic to be infectious. It’s an ambitious work by an artist exploring aesthetic possibilities.
Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ Sports Downtempo Ambience and Reflections on Fame
Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever mostly navigates a mix of downtempo and glitchy ambience, framing her as Gen Z’s resident chanteuse.
Darkside Are Torn Between Convention and the Avant-garde on ‘Spiral’
While Darkside’s Spiral includes moments of virtuosic integration there are other moments where the album seems to lack a unifying aesthetic.
Vince Staples Is in Beautiful, Dark Limbo on New LP
With his latest album, Vince Staples mines an artistic, existential, and notably fertile limbo. It’s his most reflective and sober perspective to date.