Nia Archives Brilliantly Expands Jungle and Revels in Hooks
Nia Archives’ new album captures a gifted artist and producer as she transcends her influences, claiming and reveling in her own bewitching style.
avant-pop
Mary Ocher’s ‘Weimar’ Has a Stunning, Dramatic Atmosphere
Armed with just a piano and her voice, Berlin-based Mary Ocher is a striking presence on her new record, Weimar.
Kate Bush Taught Pop How to Dream with ‘Hounds of Love’
If Kate Bush’s The Dreaming is a hellscape of bizarre fragmentation and nightmarish beauty, Hounds of Love teaches pop how to dream and capture those contradictions in sound.
The 12 Best Brian Wilson Songs
From massive hits to experimental pop compositions, Brian Wilson’s music is always thoughtful, idiosyncratic, and as thrilling today as it was in the 1960s.
FKA Twigs’ Eusexua Is an Inspiring Conceptual Masterpiece
FKA Twigs’ Eusexua is a conceptual masterpiece that speaks to the heart and the head, the spirit and the body. These things are not separate from each other.
Louis Cole Leaves Nothing on the Table
From lush orchestral arrangements to frenetic fusion, Louis Cole’s nothing is arguably his most ambitious and wide-ranging album yet.
The High Llamas Embrace Their Past, Present, and Future
Long-standing art pop collective, the High Llamas take big risks on their latest LP, redefining their sound with hip-hop, R&B, and a lot of Auto-Tune.
No Sex Please, We’re British: Coil’s Subversively Overt Homosexuality
Homosexuality drove experimental band Coil’s creativity, yet they rejected the demand that they either embrace performative homosexuality or remain discreet and closeted.
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.
Stereolab Debuted with the Fluorescent ‘Peng!’ 30 Years Ago
Three decades ago, the lucid yet obscure (and antiquated yet postmodern) first entry in Stereolab’s superabundant catalog foreshadowed greatness. Peng! is 30.
Melissa Weikart’s “Ocean Song” Finds Renewal at Its Center (premiere)
Pianist Melissa Weikart’s offbeat, harrowing avant-pop song “Ocean Song” represents a return to our purest selves with a video set in the calanques of Marseille.
Universal Songs? Interpreting Stevie Wonder’s ‘Songs in the Key of Life’
Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life is 45 years old. It’s a towering masterpiece in the histories of soul, pop, American music, and Black music worldwide.