The songs on Avey Tare's Cows on Hourglass Pond emerged from a need for material for a live show, but you wouldn't assume that when sucked in by their soothing, intricate surrealism. Tare speaks about his creative process, the technical forces driving the record, and where he's at lyrically.
Olden Yolk's second album, Living Theatre, is phenomenally impressive and powerful, while it explores small moments with great concision and ambition.
Maps' Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss is a triumphantly realized album that finds him taking the concept of Pet Sounds, adding the 1960s folk-pop of the Byrds all while channeling the spaced-out rock of 1990s Spiritualized.
If Com Truise's Persuasion System has a theme, it's the confounding paradox of a planet that is simultaneously more connected than ever and yet fractured in so many ways.
A decent Dionne Warwick album can be found within the sprawling She's Back, her first new recording in five years.
Trey Anastasio puts together a unique band for a special tour in tribute to a departed friend and delivers a mystical experience that demonstrates the true spiritual power of rock 'n' roll.
UK R&B songstress Bianca Rose's latest single "Run & Hide is a liberating call to truly feel, even in times of melancholy.
L'Eclair's third album effortlessly touches on funk, prog, dub, disco, ambient, and electronic genres, warming the chilled precision of Krautrock with danceable rhythms. Bass player Elie Ghersinu observes, "It just keeps on evolving every day, every month."
Experimental composer Jameszoo flexes his musical muscles with the Metropole Orkest on Melkweg. The sound is unique and bracing, not unlike discovering the soundtrack of a new planet.
With SING SINCK SING, Efrim Manuel Menuck and Kevin Doria arrive with a work that thrives through its melancholic tone, but allows a ray of hope to shine through.
The dive bars of Nashville inspire indie rocker Alex Lahey on her sophomore record, The Best of Luck Club.
Electronic producer Stefan Goldmann's recordings on Tacit Script convey the industrial aspects of the world as natural as the primitive environment.
Miami's Scone Cash Players are a hot and scorching soul group that put the Hammond organ front and center in their sound. Hear their smoking new single "Canned Champagne".
Los Angeles' the Jacks deliver music meant for the stage directly from the garage. Raw, filled with attitude and meant to be sung along with, "Walk Away" gives taste of their debut EP.
Chris Stamey's New Songs for the 20th Century stands as a bold new chapter in the North Carolina-based musician's career. It's out 28 June and you can hear the single "Insomnia" now.
With "Anna-Leigh", Sweden's Royal Republic have created kind of neon-suited, '80s pop-rock inspired, party starter that's only desire is to please the eardrums.
Indie folk trio JEMS trace teenage obsession to adult awkwardness "Completely". It's from their debut album that arrives 17 May.
Portland singer-songwriter Jacob Miller infuses jazz elements into the next pop-ready single from his debut album, This New Home. Hear "Take Me Home" now.
Peter Ibbetson strips away the more soulful electronic elements and softens the edges of Harlequiin's "Eat Me Up Astoria", immersing the track in a hazy, digital mist.
Siskiyou's latest album gets under your skin. Not Somewhere is bold and weird and deeply human, uneasy listening at its finest.
Senegalese legend Youssou N'Dour sings of past and present with his golden voice on new release History.
The Felice Brothers take the bromide "the personal is the political" and stand it on is head and have it stick out its tongue so that the political becomes personal on Undress.
The oppressive level of noise on VR Sex's Human Traffic Jam, Noel Skum's monotone vocal delivery, and the weird but unengaging tangents make this album very much an acquired taste.
Roots reggae group Steel Pulse brings a sense of Rastafarian past to the present with their heartfelt new single "Cry Cry Blood", which is their first new single in 15 years.
© 1999-2018 Popmatters.com. All rights reserved.
Popmatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
