Music

Hold Your Own: An Interview with Kate Tempest

On any given day, you may see Kate Tempest working as a poet. Or maybe a playwright. Or a spoken-word artist with hip-hop connections. As she celebrates the release of her third album, she reflects on where her place is in Britain's powerful cultural moment.

Mick Jacobs

Music

MetalMatters: July 2019 - It's Never Too Hot for Dark, Heavy Music

Unconventional rock albums, from poppy sludge outfit Torche, noise rock masters Uzeda and post-hardcore outcasts Cherubs, along with the black metal fury of Falls of Rauros, False, Arkhaik, Celestial Grave and Sanguine Eagle and uncategorized extremists Immortal Bird are among this month's extreme output.

Music

Lila Downs Goes for Party Music Not Partisan Songs

With the hot Al Chile, Mexican-American singer Lila Downs channels the sonidero movement.

Music

Beth Bombara Looks Outward With "Criminal Tongue" (premiere + interview)

Beth Bombara's new album, Evergreen, is in part about reclaiming personal dignity but, occasionally, the personal and the private intersect. Hear her new single "Criminal Tongue".

Music

Scone Cash Players Get Organ-ized

Hammond organist Adam Scone and his Scone Cash Players tie various threads of organ soul/jazz together to create an album-length party, As the Screw Turns.

Music

Alice Howe Mines the Classic Bluesy Folk of the 1960s and 1970s with 'Visions'

There's an uncomplicated beauty to Alice Howe's music, and on Visions' ten songs, the beauty rarely falters.

Music

Here Lies Man Combine Afrobeat and Psych Rock on "Long Legs (Look Away)" (premiere)

Here Lies Man continue to blaze a trail in modern Afrobeat with psych rock riffs and driving drums on new single "Long Legs (Look Away)"

Music

Hope Sandoval's Quiet Rebellion Against the Music Industry

Absent from Instagram and Twitter and mostly uncommunicative to the press, listeners must wait patiently for the reclusive Hope Sandoval's return without any hints as to what she may bring.

Music

IDLES and Fontaines D.C. in Photos at Brooklyn Steel

IDLES released an animated video for "Never Fight a Man With a Perm" and will tour the US again this fall, as will Fontaines D.C.

Events

Tycho Incorporates a Vocalist Into His Electronic Dream Pop on 'Weather'

On Weather, chillwave's Tycho proves he can incorporate all of his signature elements into a traditional pop song structure without having to compromise the core.

Music

Imperial Teen Are Masters of Catchy Hooks

Imperial Teen's Now We Are Timeless shows what a veteran band can do when they are locked in together. Highly recommended for fans of the kind of pop-rock that doesn't make the mainstream charts anymore.

Music

Matt Mitchell Rocks Out Impressively with New Jazz on 'Phalanx Ambassadors'

The most versatile pianist in jazz, Matt Mitchell makes a fiery album of new music that definitively rocks even in its intricacy.

Music

Taylor Hollingsworth Tells the Tale of "Tap Dancin' Daddy" (premiere)

Mystic Valley Band man Taylor Hollingsworth steps out for the first album under his own name since 2011. "Tap Dancin' Daddy" tells of the struggles of parenthood and the struggles of staying true to one's self.

Music

Natalie Gelman's "The Lights Upstairs" Is an Uplifting Ode to Those with Alzheimer's (premiere)

Written after her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, folk-pop songstress Natalie Gelman's "The Lights Upstairs" shines a message of love in the face of a terrible disease.

Music

Ecstatic Vision Declares That It's Time To "Shut Up and Drive" (premiere)

Ecstatic Vision's "Shut Up and Drive" challenges notions of heavy rock as it adds acoustic guitar and synthesizers to the spectrum.

Music

'Delphi' Is Antwood's Electronic Take on Love and Technology

With Delphi, Canadian electronic artist Antwood releases an ambitious collection of brash electronic music and a whole slew of genre pastiches yet to be invented.

Music

House and Land Breath New Life Into Folk and Ballad Songs While Honoring the Past

Folk duo House and Land's Across the Field is a collection of songs that consider historical context as much as modern relevance.

PM Pick

Ranky Tanky Deliver a 'Good Time'

Ranky Tanky honor the Gullah culture of their South Carolina ancestors, even as they update that culture for the 21st century on Good Time.

Music

Khruangbin Go All-Out Summer with New Dub Mix, 'Hasta El Cielo'

If Khruangbin's Con Todo El Mundo was a sweltering Texas night drive, then Hasta El Cielo is a beachfront sunset. No longer on the attack, Khruangbin relax at last.

Music

Aimée Faces Chronic Anxiety Head on with "Break Me" (premiere)

Fast rising Dublin pop/R&B artist Aimée releases her second single of dancey, soulful pop while baring her soul on "Break Me".

Music

In His New Van Session, Craig Stickland Presents "Break Every Rule" (premiere)

Previewing his new album, Starlit Afternoon, singer-songwriter Craig Stickland produces a passionate live performance of "Break Every Rule" amidst the natural beauty of Yosemite National Park.

Music

Winnow's 'Light the Match' Is Aflame with Gritty Roots Rock (album stream) (premiere)

Longtime folk music collaborators Joey Frendo and Jared Meeuwenberg shine as Winnow, their rocking new Americana project. Hear their new EP, Light the Match.

Music

Broke a Couple of Rules: Movie Scores with Dan the Automator

For the man behind some of the most memorable hip-hop productions of the last few decades, a new challenge hits Daniel M. Nakamura in the form of coming up with the emotional soundtrack for the stellar new teen comedy film Booksmart.

Paul Carr

Music

Golden Dawn Arkestra Seeks to Heal With "Mama Se" (premiere + interview)

Golden Dawn Arkestra make their earthly home in Texas. Founder Zapot Mgwai says, "I wanted to talk about how this could be the end for human beings if we don't get our shit together."

Jedd Beaudoin

Music

Pop Ten

MetalMatters: July 2019 - It's Never Too Hot for Dark, Heavy Music

The 50 Best Albums of 2019 So Far

Jackie Chan's 10 Best Films

The 25 Best Electronic Albums of 2018

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

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Mixed Media

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PM Picks

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