Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” and the Love of Myth and Ritual
There is far more to the title and meaning of Peter Gabriel’s song “In Your Eyes” than meets the eye, as it turns the lover’s eyes into a dwelling of belief.
art pop
Vocalist Claire Dickson Creates Beguiling Art Music
Claire Dickson makes art music that casts a spell. There is a power here that mixes popular, personal, and jazz elements into a daring, delicious whole.
The Earliest Days of Talking Heads Are a Revelation
A new Talking Heads compilation acts like a scrapbook, looking at their early years as a trio before they exploded onto the New York scene and around the world.
New German Cinema Goes in Search of Self
New German Cinema shows that pop, when rendered with elegance and depth, can be as weighty as a tome, and although pain is inevitable, it can be a form of succor.
Gorillaz’s ‘The Mountain’ Is a Shining Ode to Life and Loss
On The Mountain, Gorillaz render the cinema of life, with its frankness and earnest-heartedness, as naturally as anything they’ve created.
Nate Mendelsohn’s Market Keeps Making It Weird
Nate Mendelsohn’s style as Market is eclectic and often beautifully bizarre, but always seems anchored, sometimes tenuously, to sophisticated pop structures.
Fågelle Finds Melancholy Release in Glorious Gloom
Glorious gloom permeates the musical catalogue of Swedish singer-songwriter Fågelle, and her album Bränn min jord overflows with it.
Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart Is All Covered Up on New Record
Born from a cover-song subscription model, Xiu Xiu’s latest album unearths the raw humanity in pop confections. Jamie Stewart discusses this and more.
Tōth Finds the Clarity of His ‘Voice’ Through Constraint
Tōth’s And the Voice Said refines his knack for balancing introspection, pop warmth, and unresolved inner tension.
Britpop Pioneers Squeeze Bring Out the Fun on ‘Trixies’
Squeeze were always ambitious, although never at the expense of fun. Trixies is imaginative, impressive, and most importantly, fun.
The Setting Create a Unique Twist on the Jazz Trio
Jazz trio the Setting have brought to fruition Eivind Opsvik’s love of 1970s and 1980s synthesizer music, ECM solo guitar albums, and experimental art pop.
Charli XCX Brilliantly Channels Kate Bush and Emily Brontë
Kate Bush and Charli XCX, in their own ways, challenge the vernacular of contemporary songcraft, a commitment that paid off for both women.