album reviews Archives

On Grid of Points, Grouper Draws a Map Through Sound

Music

By Julien Baker | May 3, 2018

On Grid of Points, Grouper Draws a Map Through Sound

The album guides listeners through the mental environments their creator inhabits.

Analyzing Girlpool’s Powerplant After Three Large Coffees

Music

By Tim Keen | April 25, 2018

Analyzing Girlpool’s Powerplant After Three Large Coffees

A review organized in double-sided moods: fast and laconic, awake and asleep, lonesome and communal.

On Twerp Verse, Speedy Ortiz Is Unstoppable

Music

By Hilken Mancini | April 23, 2018

On Twerp Verse, Speedy Ortiz Is Unstoppable

The band's earnestness is evident in every hook and harmony.

On Making Psychedelic Connections to The Other

Music

By Cassie Grzymkowski | April 19, 2018

On Making Psychedelic Connections to The Other

King Tuff's latest is a heartbreaking album that encapsulates the loneliness of this specific decade.

Hinds Has Good Instincts

Music

By Ali Koehler | April 9, 2018

Hinds Has Good Instincts

These are my kind of girls.

The Acts of God in Ought’s Room Inside the World

Music

By Harmony Tividad | March 9, 2018

The Acts of God in Ought’s Room Inside the World

"I am exiting someone's mind by shrinking into a malleable clay version of myself and being pulled out through their ear by a magnet or UFO."

Joan Baez, in Exquisite Reflection, Finds a New Voice

Music

By Terra Naomi | March 6, 2018

Joan Baez, in Exquisite Reflection, Finds a New Voice

Whistle Down the Wind demonstrates that the songs we cover sometimes say more about our present state than the songs we write ourselves.

Man of the Woods Is Misguided Red-State Kitsch

Music

By Theda Hammel | February 12, 2018

Man of the Woods Is Misguided Red-State Kitsch

Justin Timberlake seems to have free-associated most of these songs while flipping through an L.L. Bean mailer.

Let’s Hope So: On Truth, Bias, and Lost Horizons

Music

By Jen Goma | December 6, 2017

Let’s Hope So: On Truth, Bias, and Lost Horizons

Jen Goma moderates a heated discussion about Ojalá.

Unearthing a Lost Classic: Sam Smith’s The Thrill Of It All

Music

By Cassie Grzymkowski | November 20, 2017

Unearthing a Lost Classic: Sam Smith’s The Thrill Of It All

Recounting the history of the outsider artist's cult classic album upon its reissue.