Features
Friday, March 29 2013
Listening Ahead: Upcoming Releases for April 2013
April's releases feature highly anticipated returns years in the making, new work by critical faves of a current vintage, and reissues of alt-rock touchstones. Check out the early word on new albums by the Knife and Kurt Vile, as well as the 20th anniversary edition of the Breeders' Last Splash.
Thursday, December 29 2011
The 2011 Artists of the Year
This year's top artists are a diverse lot represented by two of the world's biggest pop divas, a plethora of critically adored indie faves, some new talents emerging from the hip-hop underground, a couple of veteran Americana acts, and a few alt-rock legends among many more.
Thursday, December 15 2011
The Best Alternative Songwriters of 2011
Some of 2011's best songwriting came from artists whose work could be broadly defined as "alternative". Few of these artists fit the mold of the traditional singer-songwriter, creating music the blurs the lines defining genres.
Wednesday, January 27 2010
Part 3: From Porcupine Tree to Wye Oak
Slipped Discs continues with Norwegian electro pop, lots of Scottish pop goodness, two rock institutions, a Soviet born chanteuse and many more. All records that missed our top 60 list last year.
Friday, December 11 2009
The Best Psych Albums of 2009
Psychedelia has influenced so many things in 2009 -- whether the band is labeled freak-folk, psych-pop, or garage psychedelia to name a few -- that the creative approach to songwriting has influenced and been adopted by so many genres that barely any independent label has remained untouched by its reaches.
Reviews
Wednesday, April 10 2013
Kurt Vile: Wakin' on a Pretty Daze
Disengagement is something Kurt Vile sentimentalises, but his newest record is brighter, more self-satisfying.
Thursday, December 6 2012
Kurt Vile + Dinosaur Jr.: 1 December 2012 - Philadelphia
Even seeing your favorite band can sometimes get monotonous over the course of a three hour set. But when each song features a legendary guest you may not have seen since the 90's, there's no choice but to surrender your full attention.
Wednesday, November 30 2011
Kurt Vile: So Outta Reach EP
Philly singer-songwriter delivers just continuation of breakthrough full-length.
Wednesday, March 9 2011
Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring for My Halo
When Vile nails it, when all the disparate elements of his sound converge, you realize why he's the face of our new strain of fuzzy Americana.
Blogs
Wednesday, October 26 2011
Austin City Limits 2011: James Blake + Kurt Vile
When it comes to James Blake’s music, it has been an extremely slow journey towards appreciation for me, which might just be an appropriate pace given his style of music.
