The Weeknd’s ‘Dawn FM’ Carries the Weight of Party Hauntology
In Dawn FM, the Weeknd carries the weight of party hauntology, which explores how our cultural past haunts the present and future and mourns what never comes.
Music
The Bad Plus Are Exceptional As a Quartet on Their New Album
The Bad Plus makes a convincing case for the new lineup and puts the quartet’s vitality on full display and injects modern jazz with that same Bad Plus edge.
John Fullbright is ‘The Liar’ that tells the truth
The Liar suggests Americana’s John Fullbright understands the transcendent reality provided through music. The line between reality and lies is murky.
Office Culture Sparkle on the Grooving, Moody ‘Big Time Things’
Office Culture sing of love, sadness, and city life on Big Time Things, buoyed by a four-piece combination that locks in with a unique brand of art-pop.
The Verve’s Britpop Classic ‘Urban Hymns’ at 25
The Verve launched Urban Hymns 25 years ago as “Bitter Sweet Symphony” became a song for the ages and the record became one of Britpop’s genuine masterpieces
The Advisory Circle Seem Less Haunted on ‘Full Circle’
The Advisory Circle’s Full Circle tunes in, drones on, and drops out. It’s less evocative of the hauntology aesthetic and more of a contemporary ambient electronic album.
For CC Sorensen Home Is Where the Frog Jazz Is
CC Sorensen makes music you have never heard before on ‘Phantom Rooms’, where their “Frog Jazz” incorporates ambient, noise, avant-garde, and cyclical minimalism.
All Things Reconsidered/Between the Grooves/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Music/Music Features/Pop Past
The B-52’s and Their Unique First Album (Between the Grooves)
We dance this mess around, get out our lava lamps, and explore why the B-52’s 1979 debut album is one of the best pop records ever made.
‘No Machos or Pop Stars: When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk’ (excerpt)
In this excerpt of British punk history book, ‘No Machos or Pop Stars’, the Mekons, Gang of Four, and Delta 5 put their anti-hierarchical, anti-capitalist, feminist theory to the test.
Pixies’ ‘Doggerel’ Is Solid Folk Rock Out of Step with Modern Trends
Pixies’ Doggerel switches between rock and folk drastically. The crisp production perfectly serves this dynamic, but for foggy ideas and fabricated whimsy.
Perera Elsewhere Goes Elsewhere on ‘Home’
Toning down the doom-folk, Perera Elsewhere grounds Home‘s sound closer in line with the vibe of her DJ sets, aiming for more rise than fall in the mix.
Sunny Sweeney Finds Being ‘Married Alone’ Sadder Than Being by Oneself
Texas’ Sunny Sweeney moves to Nashville and goes into mainstream country, as Married Alone reveals her proud independence and the price she pays for it.
