New Order’s ‘Substance 1987’ Is Even More Essential on Re-issue
This is the complete story of how New Order assimilated US underground dance sounds and determined the direction of indie music for many years to come.
alternative dance
Hot Chip Hone Their Electronic Songcraft on Anxiety-ridden ‘Freakout/Release’
Hot Chip’s Freakout/Release is an extraordinary display of synthpop versatility and invention, born of collaboration, improvisation, and the psychological mess of lockdown.
Bloc Party’s ‘Alpha Games’ Is an Exciting Gem
Alpha Games is a superb return to form for Bloc Party, much-awaited, and an excellent entry to a fantastic and idiosyncratic discography.
‘Pop’ at 25: Revisiting U2’s Dark Night of the Soul
U2’s Pop offered a challenge to the short-circuited cultural certainties and held possibilities of cultural critique and reassessment, of a broader landscape.
Saint Etienne Return With ‘I’ve Been Trying to Tell You’
The first album in four years from the British pop aesthetes sounds distinctly like Saint Etienne, which is ironic given some of the source material.
How the Post-Britpop Era Influenced Saint Etienne’s New Album
Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley talks about their new LP I’ve Been Trying to Tell You, vaporwave, and how to be cool in your middle age.
Stats Bring the Dance Party Even When They Go Acoustic on ‘Powys 1999’
Stats' Powys 1999 features songs that feel like they're gliding on a dance-rock groove, even when they actually aren't. The music is catchy and clever and always glossy.
Hot Chip Stay Up for ‘Late Night Tales’
Hot Chip's contribution to the perennial compilation project Late Night Tales is a mixed bag, but its high points are consistent with the band's excellence.
Renegade Connection’s Gary Asquith Indulges in Creative Tension
From Renegade Soundwave to Renegade Connection, electronic legend Gary Asquith talks about how he continues to produce infectiously innovative music.
Martin Green’s Junkshop Yields the Gritty, Weird Story of Britpop Wannabes
Featuring a litany of otherwise-forgotten budget bin purchases, Martin Green's two-disc overview of coulda-been Britpop contenders knows little of genre confines, making for a fun historical detour if nothing else.
Why Australia’s Alice Ivy Doesn’t Want to Sleep
Alice Ivy walks a fine line between chillwave cool and Big Beat freakouts, and her 2018 debut record was an electropop wonder. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, she tries to keep the good vibes going with a new record decked out in endless collaborations.
The Charlatans’ ‘Between 10th and 11th’ Gets a Deluxe Edition
Not even a "deluxe" version of Between 10th and 11th from the Charlatans can quite set the record straight about the maligned-but-brilliant 1992 sophomore album.