Britpop Pioneers Squeeze Bring Out the Fun on ‘Trixies’
Squeeze were always ambitious, although never at the expense of fun. Trixies is imaginative, impressive, and most importantly, fun.
PopMatters Picks
PopMatters picks the best pop culture for your enjoyment, including music, film, TV, books, games, comics, and more.
Converge Retake Their Ground on New Record
If Love Is Not Enough announces anything, it’s a return to the stark architecture and the blunt-force grammar Converge helped codify.
Hilary Duff Grows Up on ‘Luck… or Something’
Hilary Duff toes the line between acoustic and dance-pop, but she ties it all together with songwriting about, for lack of a better term, millennial ennui.
Kerrin Connolly Swings for the Fences on Brilliant LP
Kerrin Connolly has stepped up her game, with smart, sophisticated arrangements and an arsenal of pop songs that are a quantum leap from earlier music.
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of February 2026
In February’s best metal, Worm go from underground to mainstream, Incandescence unleash blackened Quebecois bliss, and Gorrch offer dissonance and immediacy.
‘Sun Ra: Do the Impossible’ Achieves the Seemingly Impossible
In its gorgeous embroidery of color, sound, and thoughtful reflection, Sun Ra documentary Do the Impossible achieves the seemingly impossible.
‘Josephine’ Crawls Under Your Skin and Stays
With crime drama Josephine, Beth de Araújo has crafted a film that first and foremost doesn’t need to be reckoned with so much as sat with.
Barry Walker Jr.’s Pedal Steel Roams an Ethereal Pasture
Barry Walker Jr.’s songs are at once somber and celebratory; they sound like a constant soundtrack to discovery, rebirth, or a hard-won peace.
Revisiting Drive-By Truckers’ ‘Decoration Day’ Is Rewarding
Decoration Day was the album that proved Drive-By Truckers weren’t going to be a flash in the pan. It’s a triumph from start to finish.
Stephanie Lamprea and Alistair MacDonald Are Mesmerizing
Ecstatic Visions is an ambitious interpretation of new and recent compositions from the unique duo of Stephanie Lamprea and Alistair MacDonald.
Danny L Harle’s ‘Cerulean’ Is Uplifting and Adventurous
Danny L Harle finds new ways to express his ideas through bright, euphoric Europop synths and thumping beats. Cerulean is uplifting and adventurous.
Charli XCX Brilliantly Channels Kate Bush and Emily Brontë
Kate Bush and Charli XCX, in their own ways, challenge the vernacular of contemporary songcraft, a commitment that paid off for both women.