The Monochrome Set’s ‘Radio Sessions’ Is a Superb Live Survey
The Monochrome Set are a cult band par excellence, but if you don’t know them, Radio Sessions is a great album to get an introduction.
art rock
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.
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.
Water From Your Eyes Glance at Stardom with ‘Everyone’s Crushed’
Water From Your Eyes traffic between experimental music of the krautrock period of the late 1960s and early 1970s and today’s feminine pop sensibility.
Vampire Weekend’s ‘Modern Vampires of the City’ at 10
Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City is very much a studio creation in the 21st-century sense, born from many months of sweat and obsession behind computer screens.
Ramones and Devo: Sonic Reduction as Resistance
Ramones’ Ramones uses reduction as a means to end, to bring rock back to its roots, whereas Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? uses reduction as the end itself to mirror society’s decline.
The Lemon Twigs’ ‘Everything Harmony’ Wades Deep Into the Mid-1970s
On Everything Harmony the Lemon Twigs echo and even improve on their 1970s influences with such skill and spirit that they demand we take them seriously.
Talking Heads’ ‘Speaking in Tongues’ at 40
Speaking in Tongues captures Talking Heads at the zenith of their funk freakout and just before a big gray suit would change everything. It’s an art-pop funk masterpiece.
Mike Keneally’s New LP Is a Typically Odd Twist on Lockdown Albums
Mike Keneally has released his first album in nearly seven years. He discusses how he managed to eke out a startlingly coherent solo record during the pandemic.
Maggie, What Have We Done: Pink Floyd’s ‘The Final Cut’ at 40
The final album of the Roger Waters Pink Floyd era is a difficult, challenging meditation on war and death. The Final Cut is undeniably ambitious and moving.
Graham Coxon’s Memoir ‘Verse, Chorus, Monster!’ Sees Beyond the Blur
Graham Coxon could have made his memoir Verse, Chorus, Monster! a Blur / Britpop tell-all, but he wraps up honest observations in a lovely, conversational tone.