Dogo du Togo Thrills with the Alagaa Beats of ‘Avoudé’
Dogo du Togo’s music bursts with brilliant shades of funk, rock, and older West African traditions, familiar elements that come together in fresh sounds.
music review
Igmar Thomas Elevates the Modern Big Band on His New LP
Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band meld classic jazz and modern hip-hop to great effect on ‘Like a Tree It Grows’ with its exciting textures and rock-solid grooves.
Afro Celt Sound System End a Chapter with ‘OVA’
With OVA, Afro Celt Sound System’s eighth LP, the long-running story comes to what seems to be its coda with the death of Simon Emmerson last year from cancer.
Touché Amoré’s Focus Is Razor Sharp on ‘Spiral in a Straight Line’
Jeremy Bolm is an expert at capturing the claustrophobic feeling of anxiety and depression, and Touché Amoré’s new album is another example of his talent.
Charlie Kaplan Embraces Melodic, Psychedelic Grooves on ‘Eternal Repeater’
Office Culture’s Charlie Kaplan takes a little from garage rock and folk rock, producing his most satisfying solo release to date. It genuinely mesmerizes.
Christian Lee Hutson Navigates Nostalgia and New Beginnings
Christian Lee Hutson’s Paradise Pop. 10 is one of those subtle and more nuanced albums, likely causing it to slip under the radar, but Hutson has arrived.
Thurston Moore Finds Levity on ‘Flow Critical Lucidity’
Flow Critical Lucidity may not supersede Thurston Moore’s past career peaks. However, it reveals the unbounded possibilities of transformation available to him.
Laura Marling Never Misses and Doesn’t on ‘Patterns in Repeat’
Laura Marling’s eighth record, Patterns in Repeat, is a full bingo card of simplicity and sophistication—a win-win for her, listeners, and critics all around.
Lady Gaga Falls For Her Own Mythology on ‘Harlequin’
On Harlequin, a companion album to The Joker: Folie a Deux, Lady Gaga uses “vintage pop” to strengthen the mythology around her persona.
The Cure Lament Aging and Death, Yet Find New Vitality
The Cure’s Songs of a Lost World is a cohesive collection that skews dark, cinematic, meditative exploration of loss in all its forms.
Kishi Bashi’s ‘Kantos’ Is a Sonic Exploration Into Philosophy
Kishi Bashi’s Kantos blends philosophy, identity, and the human condition with genre-defying music and introspective lyrics.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Pays Tribute to Rock
Blues artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Dirt on My Diamonds -Vol. 2 is a tribute to rock music, an epistle from a proud disciple to his beatified masters.