Fred Thomas Looks Back to Prepare for the Future
Indie rock icon Fred Thomas’ new LP Window in the Rhythm is a career highlight, a riveting and moving meditation on the passage of time.
music review
Market’s ‘Well I Asked You a Question’ Is Twisted Pop Perfection
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Nate Mendelsohn’s (Market) latest songwriting project Well I Asked You a Question is wobbly, unstable, and catchy as hell.
Eli & Fur’s ‘Dreamscapes’ Casts a Low-Lit Spell
Built on pulsating beats, minimalist synth touches, and immaculate sound design, British EDM duo Eli & Fur’s Dreamscapes casts a low-lit, wee-hours spell.
Pixies’ New LP Is a Fine Addition to Their Second Act
Pixies’ latest LP, featuring new bass player Emma Richardson, is another solid but not earth-shattering effort. It’s clever, if not cute, with a charming theme.
A Place to Bury Strangers Don’t Let Up on ‘Synthesizer’
The Loudest Band in the World, A Place to Bury Strangers, draw from seminal, post-punk influences while taking things to new places on Synthesizer.
Chat Pile’s Bleak View Goes Global with ‘Cool World’
Chat Pile’s new album does not offer catharsis; it is just an unflinching account of the violence we inflict on each other on an individual and global scale.
Amy Speace Remembers Her ‘American Dream’
Amy Speace needs to look deeper into herself. What she doesn’t say makes her well-crafted songs easy to swallow. That’s a blessing as well as a curse.
Alison Moyet Gives Her Greatest Hits a Winning Makeover
Alison Moyet’s approach to her oeuvre is to treat her old songs like a new batch of tunes, divorced from any baggage or expectations.
The Clearwater Swimmers Dive into Warm, Fuzzy Distortion
As they’ve proven on their debut, the Clearwater Swimmers click beautifully as a quartet but are also guided by songwriting of the highest order.
São Paulo’s Nomade Orquestra Sounds a Brassy Revolution
São Paulo band Nomade Orquestra’s ‘Terceiro Mundo’ is a shining example of a group capable of being original, inventive, and nonetheless broadly appealing.
Broadcast’s ‘Distant Call’ Shows There Were Always Haunting
Broadcast’s music always felt mysterious with a degree of distance and isolation. Broadcast were always haunting, and Distant Call leads to that realization.
Kasey Chambers Displays Her ‘Backbone’ in a New Bundle
One can take the songs on ‘Backbone’ as a whole to understand how Kasey Chambers sees the world and her relation to it from various points of view over time.