Tune-Yards ‘Sketch’ Out a Plan to Entertain and Instruct
Tune-Yards’ sketchy conceptually asks a lot of its listeners and does it right up front: should the purpose of music be to entertain or to instruct?
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Future Islands Continue to Soar on ‘As Long As You Are’
Future Islands' sixth album, As Long As You Are, is more of the same -- deeply confessional synthpop -- and that's a beautiful thing.
The Lemon Twigs Amp Up the Glam Rock Obsession on ‘Songs for the General Public’
The Lemon Twigs' influences and tastes run deep, and Songs for the General Public shows that they can wrap all these ideas into a beautiful, oddly consistent package.
U.S. Girls Reckons With Being a Breakout Indie Star on ‘Heavy Light’
Meghan Remy's experimental pop project U.S. Girls ventures into more mainstream territory to mixed results on Heavy Light.
Revisiting Dream Pop Past with Pale Saints on ‘The Comforts of Madness’
Straining to be heard over the noise of a 1,000 over-effected electric guitars, are Pale Saints the lost champions of shoegaze?
Grimes’ ‘Miss Anthropocene’ Watches the World Go Out With a Whimper
Ironically, you may wind up wishing that Grimes' vision of a scorched Earth was a bit more fun.
Big Thief Know That It Takes ‘Two Hands’
On Big Thief's Two Hands, the songs flow together and were purposely linked without pauses. This is an arid record purposely made in the desert with an audible dryness and shimmer to the sound.
Holly Herndon’s ‘PROTO’ Thoughtfully Challenges Our Conceptions of AI, Tradition, and Progression
On her third full-length PROTO, electronic experimentalist Holly Herndon wonders how AI can contribute to the longstanding human tradition of shape-note hymnals, exploring the possibilities and ethics of present and especially future AI protocols in art.
Deerhunter Ask ‘Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?’
Deerhunter's eighth studio album wrestles with escapist and confrontational impulses, and continues their exploration of shifting sonic identity.
Gang Gang Dance Attone for a Seven-Year Long Hiatus with ‘Kazuashita’
Returning with an introspective take on their ecstatic psychedelic, worldbeat induced vision for experimental music, Gang Gang Dance reveal that there are levels to this band.
Always Strange No Matter Where We Are: An Interview with Gang Gang Dance
Gang Gang Dance multi-instrumentalist Brian DeGraw discusses the process behind the experimental band's first record (and arguably most accessible) in seven years, Kazuashita.