The Dark Parts: Perfume Genius’ ‘Put Your Back N 2 It’ at 10
Perfume Genius’ 2012 album Put Your Back N 2 It offers a bleak yet comforting unpacking of sexual identity, addiction, physical abuse, and family trauma.
baroque pop
The Further Adventures of the Left Banke
The Left Banke only released two albums before breaking up but are highly regarded as the inventors of baroque pop. Strangers on a Train has been reissued.
20 Years Ago Marianne Faithfull Went Pop Plotting Late Career Comeback with ‘Kissin Time’
Kissin Time is the sole moment in Marianne Faithfull’s more recent recording period in which she allowed her musical collaborators to shape her sound.
Cate Le Bon’s ‘Pompeii’ Flows with Heat and Light
With its multi-layered arrangements and art-rock leanings, Cate Le Bon’s Pompeii is a disorienting record, one wholly appropriate for our time.
Lana Del Rey Wasn’t ‘Born to Die’, She Was Born to Rise Above
Lana Del Rey’s major-label debut Born to Die provides a roadmap for her songwriting journey, and her personification of America reinvents the past to tell modern stories.
Adeline Hotel’s ‘The Cherries Are Speaking’ Is a Quiet, Ambitious Baroque-Pop Gem
The Cherries Are Speaking, the sixth album from Dan Knishkowy’s unique indie-rock project Adeline Hotel is an indescribably beautiful, elegant effort.
Sufjan Stevens Collaborates With Labelmate But the LP Is All Sufjan
Sufjan Stevens is taking aim on A Beginner’s Mind with catchy alt-folk that soothes the ear while placing bitter contents below the surface.
Paramour Session: An Interview with Singer-Songwriter Rufus Wainwright
Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright discusses performing during a pandemic, returning to California, and his latest live album, The Paramour Session.
Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Poses’ Is Still Baroque Pop Perfection 20 Years On
Rufus Wainwright’s Poses cemented the musician as a baroque pop force of nature. At 20, the album is still worthy of the buzz that surrounded its release.
The Foaming Breakers of the Poisonous Surf: Elvis Costello’s ‘Mighty Like a Rose’ at 30
Elvis Costello’s Mighty Like a Rose is among his most unjustly maligned albums, making it ripe for reexamination.
Lana Del Rey’s ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’ Shows It’s Rarely Easy to Just Be Her
Though ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’ isn’t quite Lana Del Rey’s strongest album or the most iconically Lana, it’s an intimate, emotional, and largely successful renewal of her artistic vows.
Sufjan Stevens’ ‘The Ascension’ Is Mostly Captivating
Even though Sufjan Stevens' The Ascension is sometimes too formulaic or trivial to linger, it's still a very good, enjoyable effort.