Violent Femmes’ 40-Year-Old Debut Is a Work of Singular Vision
Violent Femmes’ heart, sound, and aesthetics belong to an earlier, acoustic, analog, atomized rather than the Internet-connected world. It’s like a musical Catcher in the Rye.
post-punk
Protomartyr Showcase Subtle Expansion of Their Shadowy Sound
In Formal Growth in the Desert, Protomartyr have subtly evolved their sound into something not as claustrophobically volatile as previous efforts.
Retrofuturism: How the Alt-Right Learned to Love Depeche Mode
For Richard Spencer and today’s alt-right, ‘80s British synthpop bands like Depeche Mode satisfy their retrofuturist cultural fantasies.
The Cure’s ‘Wild Mood Swings’ Indulges the Glories of Genre-Jumping
The Cure’s ebulliently eclectic masterpiece ‘Wild Mood Swings’ is misguidedly maligned. What is more tantalizing than music that exalts eclecticism to such stupefying heights?
Slow Burn: Bob Marley’s ‘Catch a Fire’ 50 Years Later
Bob Marley’s Catch a Fire is when the Wailers transformed into the vehicle of his ascent to superstardom and reggae’s assimilation into the global pop music melting pot.
King Krule Grapples with the In-Between on the Introspective ‘Space Heavy’
King Krule’s Space Heavy is a wild listening experience, more muted and introspective than past outings and seemingly reflecting our pandemic moment.
Squid’s ‘O Monolith’ Is a Paranoid Post-Genre Maelstrom
Squid follow up 2020’s Bright Green Field with a tighter, leaner, more refined version of their signature melding of sonic chaos and compositional ambition.
Robocop Kraus ‘Smile’ and Tap Into 1983 on First LP in 15 Years
On Smile, Robocop Kraus still sound like their mandate is to take the cheap disposable postpunk of the early 1980s and make better versions of it.
Deerhoof Reach a New Miracle-Level By Daring Themselves
The always-brazen Deerhoof challenged their process for their new album, giving themselves tight deadlines, tough decisions, and singing it all in Japanese.
Philosophy and Pop Harmonize on Scritti Politti’s ‘Songs to Remember’
In Scritti Politti’s Songs to Remember, Green Gartside comically challenges hegemonic structures in a perfect harmony of philosophy and pop.
A Certain Ratio Move the Past Into the Future with ‘1982’
A Certain Ratio have always been willing to fiddle with their sound. That they do so in 1982 doesn’t surprise and fits with their rejuvenation in the 2020s.
10 Songs That Will Make You Love U2
If you don’t finish this article with a newfound love of U2, at the very least, maybe you’ll leave with a newly-earned respect for the lads.