Kyle Craft’s ‘Dolls of Highland’ Is Genuine Theater
Kyle Craft created high-drama with high-stakes, a Freudian fantasy, wherein sex and death interweave, or, rather, Thanatos and Eros commingle, like a seductive dance.
All Things Reconsidered
Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” and the Love of Myth and Ritual
There is far more to the title and meaning of Peter Gabriel’s song “In Your Eyes” than meets the eye, as it turns the lover’s eyes into a dwelling of belief.
The Afghan Whigs’ ‘Black Love’ Is an Underappreciated Masterpiece
Thirty years ago, the Afghan Whigs doubled down on their obsessions with funk and soul to create a song cycle that’s closer to a concept album than it isn’t.
When the Door Nearly Closed on Evanescence
With the success of Evanescence’s Fallen and The Open Door, which held to Amy Lee’s vision, she should have earned Wind-Up’s trust, not its vitriol.
Shawn Colvin’s ‘Whole New You’ Is a Revelation at 25
Shawn Colvin knows who she is, and she wasn’t about to start chasing someone else’s pop dreams. That’s what makes Whole New You so captivating still.
Touché Amoré’s ‘Stage Four’ Is a Harrowing Journey Through Grief
Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but we have music to help. Touché Amoré’s Stage Four is as raw a statement on grief as there has ever been.
Jay-Z’s 1999 Album ‘Vol. 3’ Is His Most Aggressive
In Jay-Z’s Vol. 3… Life & Times of S. Carter, the ever-undeterred MC sounds anything but as he fulminates on one end and tightens his durag on the other.
Gorillaz at 25 Are a Cultural Force for the Good
Assuming personal stability is necessary for collective betterment, it’s high time that Gorillaz share their newest, loving, bizarre journey with the rest of the world.
Al Stewart’s “Time Passages” Completes His “Year of the Cat”
Folk-pop-rock singer Al Stewart scored a career-boosting hit with 1976’s “Year of the Cat” and continued the momentum with “Time Passages”.
Music/All Things Reconsidered/Feature Sub Head/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Music Features/Pop Past
PUP Supercharged Their Career and Pop-Punk 10 Years Ago
How a supposed death sentence, PUP’s The Dream Is Over, ignited today’s pop-punk torchbearers 10 years ago.
Visions of Change Played ’80s Hardcore Punk with a ’60s Twist
The Depraved did something unusual after two albums: expanded their sound to include more overt 1960s influences, and changed their name to Visions of Change.
Music/All Things Reconsidered/Feature Sub Head/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Music Features/Pop Past
Talk Talk’s Lost Chapter: ‘The Colour of Spring’ at 40
With its organic instrumentation and ecological visual and lyrical sensibility, Talk Talk’s third album was a holistic concept rooted in the natural world.