The Black Crowes Deliver a Ton of Swagger
The Black Crowes have leaned into the familiar: hard, bluesy rock with just enough acoustic accoutrements to pacify the fans they found touring 25 years ago.
Reviews
Reviews of popular culture related areas, including music, film, TV, books, games, comics, and more.
Modeselektor Invent a New Kind of Greatest Hits
On their newest LP, the German electronic stalwarts Modeselektor look back on their discography with a spirit of innovation rather than retrospection.
‘Murder Bimbo’ Tries an Unusual Twist to Storytelling
The narration in Murder Bimbo is whip-smart, clever, and satirical, but the novel’s unusual structure confuses.
Lucid Express Lay on the Sweetness for ‘Instant Comfort’
Lucid Express might be restless and eager to defy pigeonholing and complacency. That’s good, but in the process, they’ve made an album that often feels overstuffed.
Motel Destino’s Heat and Architecture of Desire
Karim Aïnouz’s films portray characters in states of displacement. In Motel Destino, that displacement becomes spatially literal.
Morrissey Is an Incorrigible Sentimentalist
Morrissey’s Make-Up Is a Lie is a love letter to Paris: schmaltzy, befuddling, arresting, but, most of all, HIM.
All Hail Clifton Chenier the King of Zydeco
Everybody ought to dive into the wild, eclectic, joyful zydeco of Clifton Chenier. Even the accordion averse might decide they love it.
Indie Folk’s the Lowest Pair Embrace Challenges
The Lowest Pair’s new record is steady and confident. It sounds like both a journey and its end point, and in finding peace within turbulent seas.
‘Slow Stories’ Combines Brian Eno’s Music with Bette A.’s Ambient Fiction
Brian Eno and Bette A. are on the same aesthetic page with Slow Stories, wherein the two form a kind of high-concept ASMR experience.
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis Create Ecstatic Post-Hardcore Jazz
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis make fearless and non-smooth fusion with the clarity and dynamism of “post-hardcore” that wasn’t around in the 1970s.
Fågelle Finds Melancholy Release in Glorious Gloom
Glorious gloom permeates the musical catalogue of Swedish singer-songwriter Fågelle, and her album Bränn min jord overflows with it.
Armbruster Gleefully Confounds Expectations, Again
Connor Armbruster is not only a brilliant musician but a refreshingly restless one Half My House is a unique and tuneful spin on traditional Irish music