Suddenly is Caribou's most willfully experimental album to date, his soft, distinctive vocals flow through every track, binding the whole thing together.
Ben Seretan's first "album of songs" since 2016 sees him exploring and questioning love and faith, with spectacular results on Youth Pastoral.
Chicago XX is an absolute must for long-time fans and not a bad start for those curious about Cheer-Accident.
Caroline Rose's Superstar is often quite grand in a DIY-kind of way. Think of 1980s era MTV rock performed on a Casio keyboard with a sampler in your bedroom as recreated on modern technology.
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and his comrades in Liturgy combine ambitiousness, risk-taking and sheer skill into a fresh triumph on H.A.Q.Q.
Australian garage rockers Eddy Current Suppression Ring return after nine years with a surprise album, but the excitement doesn't last too long.
Ex-Tangerine Dream and classically-trained pianist Paul Haslinger frees himself from 20 years of composing for television and film and looks inward for inspiration on his latest atmospheric journey through dreamlike soundscapes.
Reinventing herself as Love You Later, Lexi Aviles is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who came up with the idea after seeing the Japanese House perform. On her new single and music video, she gets to the heart of the matter.
Mixing and matching elements of traditional (and non-traditional) folk, Frogbelly and Symphony deliver a track that defies expectations and boundaries with "Benjamin Went Fishing".
Straining to be heard over the noise of a 1,000 over-effected electric guitars, are Pale Saints the lost champions of shoegaze?
From Phil Spector's Wall of Sound to 20 Feet from Stardom, Julia, Maxine, Luther, and Oren Waters reflect on their six-decade career, including historic sessions with Herbie Hancock, Neil Diamond, Michael Jackson, and countless other music legends.
Humanist's debut is rich in scope with Rob Marshall pulling in all of his influences from post-punk to breakbeat to indie and krautrock and fitting them together like parts of a puzzle.
Producer Ted Templeman and biographer Greg Renoff successfully capture a wide-ranging career in Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music.
LA rockers Silversun Pickups perform a noble service for the music community by helping keep grunge alive heading into their third decade as an alt-rock force.
Ibrahim Ferrer's Buenos Hermanos is a thoroughly enjoyable, perfectly realized example of Afro-Cuban music's appeal.
There are a lot of good elements on Out of the Blue. Kentucky rockers Dan Luke and the Raid might make some great music in the future, but they aren't quite there yet.
The Velvet Underground & Nico's self-titled debut album started as all hype thanks to Andy Warhol, but it somehow managed to become one of the most influential records of all time. Has this record outlasted its 15 minutes of fame? Peel slowly and see.
On Disco Volador, the Orielles offer a thrift shop of sounds and gratify those who like their indie rock danceable.
Forty years into his career, Robert Cray has been steadily building one of the most consistent catalogs of pure soul and smooth blues with the help of his stinging Stratocaster and a voice that somehow gets even better with age.
Ironically, you may wind up wishing that Grimes' vision of a scorched Earth was a bit more fun.
Amanda Palmer's Forty-Five Degrees features a series of Australian-themed covers and one startling original piece that are truly of-the-moment.
The writing on the Lone Bellow's Half Moon Light strives towards the essence of a thing – emotional conflict and tension, inward or interpersonal – and resolution.
A remixed reissue of Ibrahim Ferrer's Buenos Hermanos brings one of Cuba's most iconic voices back into the spotlight.
On her new EP, folk rocker AC Sapphire delivers a collection of songs for fans of Jeff Buckley, Neko Case, and Liz Phair, many of which are informed by the expanses of the Mojave Desert.
On her new single, "Thunder", Nashville's Chloe Kimes shares her musings on reinforcing one's inner strengths and reclaiming their personal narrative.
James Gunn crafts a deeply flawed film, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which digs deep into daddy issues, is still entertaining, visually gorgeous, and likable.
The fruitful collaboration between these two unique musicians continues on an album that is dark but surprisingly melodic.
Canadian cellist and activist Rebecca Foon channels her emotions into music that honors a planet in peril on Waxing Moon.
Texas artists Leon Bridges and Khruangbin create some mellow, cosmic soul on a delightful EP that shows off their respective strengths.
Ostinato Records presents an array of revolutionary musicians on the impassioned funaná compilation, Pour Me a Grog.
Vocalist Martha High spent three decades with James Brown, and she tells PopMatters about her resurrected solo career as well as her path through the music industry.
A new Soul Jazz Records compilation presents Apala songs, created to reject colonialism and celebrate recent independence in late 1960s Nigeria.
With Circadian, indie folk artist Letitia VanSant finds the balance between compassion and fury in communicating her reflections on the world today.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter, string player, and activist KINLEY comes full-circle with her sophomore LP, reflecting on several outstanding moments in her life.
Joe Kye's songbird-sweet voice is as dynamic as his nimble string work, his chorus the kind that sticks in the head for all the right reasons.
Ecstatic Science, the fourth album by modern ensemble yMusic, provides a satisfying snapshot of contemporary classical music in 2020.
No Future finds Dublin's EDEN furthering his distinctive vision as he expands his sonic palette and broadens his perspective on an achingly beautiful modern pop album.
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