Is Rosalía’s ‘MOTOMAMI’ an Altermodern Art Piece?
Just as altermodern culture materializes “trajectories rather than destinations”, Rosalía’s MOTOMAMI concerns the freedom to create and explore pathways.
experimental pop
Erica Eso’s ‘192’ Is a Weird and Lovable Mishmash of Art-pop
Erica Eso’s 192 sports classic pop and vintage soul elements, but surprises abound at nearly every turn. It’s full of skittish, multifaceted earworms.
Pictish Trail’s ‘Island Family’ Immersive Encounter With Place and Time
Born of quarantine isolation, Pictish Trail’s Island Family explores connections to place and time. Its creativity offers a challenging authenticity.
Tomato Flower Unleash a Weird, Charming Mix of Indie Pop on ‘Gold Arc’
Baltimore’s Tomato Flower straddle a variety of genres to make something fun and impossible to categorize with ‘Gold Arc’ and its experimental pop.
Shamir Thrills with New Album ‘Heterosexuality’
Pop renaissance man Shamir channels trauma, rage, and feelings of angst, and in response to our troubled times, he’s released an album of uncommon beauty.
Animal Collective Give Us Their Most Accessible Album with ‘Time Skiffs’
Time Skiffs finds Animal Collective in a calm, contemplative state yet places them closer in style to most indie rock bands.
Elena Setién’s ‘Unfamiliar Minds’ Basks in Quietly Foreboding Minimalism
Immersion into Elena Setién’s Unfamiliar Minds is not unlike watching a bowl being coaxed into shape on a potter’s wheel. The slightest touches can send it in another direction.
Kate Bush Created a Winter Wonderland on ’50 Words For Snow’ 10 Years Ago
Kate Bush’s 50 Words For Snow is a jazzy wonderland of mystical creatures and fleeting romance with nuanced themes of impermanence and ephemeral love.
Penelope Trappes’ ‘Penelope Three’ Is a Meditative LP of Sultry Vocals and Glossy Electronics
Penelope Three is not a pop record, but it is Penelope Trappes’ boldest, most straightforward work to date. On Three, Trappes holds nothing back.
Colleen’s ‘The Tunnel and the Clearing’ Takes Us Deeper Into Her Fuzzy Analogue Sound-World
Colleen has struck out on a course all her own and continues to inhabit one of the most distinctive sonic terrains today, as on The Tunnel and the Clearing.
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast and the Chase of Joy
Following a bestselling memoir about grief, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast turns the page with a meditation on sweetness and light via her new album, Jubilee.