Jay Som Blows Up Her Old Formula on ‘Belong’
Jay Som’s guitar may have taken a more minor role, but the production and attention to the tiniest details throughout Belong show a new level of artistry.
Christopher Laird
Christopher Laird is a teacher and a writer from Alton, Illinois. His hobbies include writing and teaching and playing floor hockey. Find him on Twitter: @SeaLairdPop
The Kinks’ 1970s Journey Was the Worst in Their Career
The new retrospective The Journey – Part 3 adds a little bit of context to an oft-ignored era of the Kinks. For a casual fan, it may be a rocky journey.
Gang of Four Memoir Is Full of Spit and Vinegar
Jon King’s Gang of Four memoir To Hell With Poverty! is full of spit and vinegar, a bit tetchy with a sly sense of humor.
William Tyler’s Excellent New LP Isn’t What You Might Expect
William Tyler’s Time Indefinite is an experimental ambient record from a guy who isn’t known for making experimental ambient albums.
Tinkering Pays Off in Wild Pink’s ‘A Billion Little Lights’
With A Billion Little Lights, Wild Pink (John Ross) takes his inclusive approach to another level. He’s allowed himself a lot more time to tinker with the songs at home, and it shows.
Teenage Wrist Morph Into a Modern Alternative Rock Band on ‘Earth Is a Black Hole’
With their lead singer leaving, most three-piece groups would call it then and there. Teenage Wrist did not. It might be quite a different band, but they’re not less successful in what they are doing.
Maxwell Stern Gives Us a Warm Car in Frigid Winter with ‘Impossible Sum’
Maxwell Stern's debut record, The Impossible Sum, is a relaxed, honest, deeply felt exploration of what it means to be a feeling, caring human in our time of incessant gaslighting and doom scrolling.
Jack Name’s ‘Magic Touch’ Evokes Sober Moments of Memoirs
Jack Name likes to make little worlds with his albums, and Magic Touch is no exception. I found myself thinking of it as a prose work.
Better Person Moves Away From Darkwave to the Light on ‘Something to Lose’
Better Person's Something to Lose is mainly FM electropop through its straightforward presentation of mostly unadorned synths and pre-programmed tones.
Tobin Sprout Goes Americana on ‘Empty Horses’
During the heyday of Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout wasn't afraid to be absurd amongst all that fuzz. Sprout's new album, Empty Horses, is not the Tobin Sprout we know.
Lomelda’s ‘Hannah’ Is an Internal Dialogue Leaking Out
Small town Texas indie-folk group Lomelda took over a year and three tries to record Hannah. They needed to get it right. They did.
Old 97’s’ ‘Twelfth’ Is Masterful
The years have fallen quite well upon Old 97's as Twelfth stands out as masterful even among their stacked discography.