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.
dance-rock
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.
Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Hits to the Head’ Highlight’s Catchy Tunes and Artistic Shortcomings
Franz Ferdinand’s potential is repeatedly hinted at rather than fully realized on Hits to the Head. But it’s better to show potential than to have none at all.
Is Billy Idol Still Vital?
Billy Idol’s string of pop-punk hits and unmistakable sneer propelled him to 1980s stardom. Idol sounds more mature than ever on the new EP The Roadside.
Foo Fighters Hit the Dance Floor on ‘Medicine at Midnight’
Medicine at Midnight finds Foo Fighters flirting with danceable rhythms and pop melodies. It's a fun album but might be polarizing just the same.
What You Want, Baby, Aretha’s Got It
From January 1967 to January 1972, Aretha Franklin, one of 20th-century pop music's towering geniuses, stood the pop world on its head with a run, inconceivable today, of 11 albums. Tony Scherman's biography in progress about the Queen of Soul covers those years.
Funk Rock and Synthesizers in Munich: Queen’s ‘The Game’ at 40
For their eighth studio album, The Game, Queen ushered in the 1980s with a streamlined sound and an instrument they formerly took great pains to avoid.
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.
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.
DMA’s Go for BritElectroPop on ‘The Glow’
Aussie Britpoppers the DMA's enlist Stuart Price to try their hand at electropop on The Glow. It's not their best look.
DMA’S Discuss Their Dancier New Album ‘The Glow’
DMA'S lead-singer, Tommy O'Dell, discusses the band's new album The Glow, and talks about the dancier direction in their latest music.
Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’ and the Altered State
In the context of Primal Scream's prior and subsequent career, Screamadelica is a miracle. It's a rock record about discovering Ecstasy, rave culture, and the music that went with it.