Teenage Fanclub on Life, Death, and Remaining Seated
The simple joys of writing songs and sharing them remain the driving forces for indie pop veterans Teenage Fanclub. Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley discuss.
interview
Reflections of a Revolutionary: Interview with Egyptian Musician Ramy Essam
Ramy Essam, whose protest song in Tahrir Square deemed him “a voice of the [Egyptian] revolution”, sings of suffering, longing, and torture, and uses irony to at times, make a point about certain oppressive conditions.
The Clientele Compose Their Masterpiece With ‘I Am Not There Anymore’
In this extensive interview, The Clientele’s Alasdair MacLean discusses the indie band’s new masterpiece, I Am Not There Anymore, and their lengthy career.
Ralph Gives Canadian Queer Pop a New Name with ‘222’
Eschewing male producers who didn’t necessarily see her creative vision in the past, Ralph also came out as a member of the LGBTQ community this year.
Salim Nourallah Goes Nuclear
PopMatters has checked in with songwriter Salim Nourallah over the years, and in a world where Covid ravaged so many plans, he gives us reams of insight.
March to Infamy: An Interview with Pelican’s Trevor Shelley de Brauw
Conceived on acoustic guitars in Chicago apartments, Pelican’s breakthrough second LP gets reissued, with Trevor Shelley de Brauw spinning many yarns about its creation.
Wye Oak Reinvent Themselves (Again) on ‘Every Day Like the Last’
Wye Oak speak to PopMatters about their experiment-or-die perspective and what it means to make music at their stage of career and life more generally.
Zenobia ‘Warriors’ on Their Fearless Palestinian Electronic Music
Palestinian duo Zenobia on their love of Arabic and Western music scales and the freedom electronic music gives them to fearlessly explore women’s folk music.
Eliza Gilkyson on the Calamity and Prosperity That Brought Her ‘Home’
Eliza Gilkyson’s ‘Home’ illustrates the gratitude of a musician who has known both prosperity and calamity, who has been graced with craft and crafted with grace.
Amy Stroup Takes a ‘Frank’ Approach to Pet Project
Well-traveled musician Amy Stroup can’t wait to get back to her Nashville home these days after experiencing “the best version of unconditional love” in life.
Sara Petite Has Fun “Bringin’ Down the Neighborhood”
Outlaw country’s Sara Petite premieres a new video as she rises to the top of her game on her latest LP with tales of revelry and rage, addiction, and rejection.
Liberation Blues: Tinariwen Invoke the Sahel’s Complex History on ‘Amatssou’
Connections with Jack White and Daniel Lanois are great, but West African blues collective Tinariwen had to navigate Covid and political unrest to deliver their surprisingly exuberant new LP.