The Early Mine a Gritty, Post-Rock Ambient Vibe
I Want to Be Ready sees the Early transporting and transcending, exploring the textures their unique instrumentation provides.
experimental rock
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.
Xiu Xiu’s Covers Album Is a Diverse, Rewarding Listen
Indie institution Xiu Xiu transform the sound of a diverse set of tracks to emphasize the darkness and despair lurking within them.
Laura Ann Singh Creates a Unique, Unclassifiable Gem
Laura Ann Singh steers her reckless way through traditional jazz, torch song elegance, avant-garde experiments, and an anarchic sense of punk rebellion.
Guerilla Toss Capture an Essence with ‘You’re Weird Now’
Guerilla Toss excel in portraying a tangible connection between band and listener, cutting through the prism of pretence for something more instantaneous.
Thalia Zedek Band Fight the Waves on New Album
Thalia Zedek stays on the tipping point throughout this album, never resolving the tension, but constantly plunging into the heart of it with fearless verve.
Jenny Hval Blends Scent and Sound on Fascinating Album
Following up her novel while exploring the emotional pull of scents, Jenny Hval’s new glistening album has few peers. She discusses this in a new interview.
Matron Deliver an Exciting Exercise in Math Rock
Matron’s Sunken State is such an enjoyable ride. It combines math rock’s complex, zig-zagging musical avenues with dream pop and plenty of good hooks.
Black Country New Road’s New LP Skews Refreshingly Feminine
Black Country New Road’s new LP embraces ornate baroque pop, shifting from raw intensity to intricate melancholy. Brilliant yet overstuffed, it rewards patience.
Between the Grooves of Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’ at 30
Radiohead’s first musically important album, The Bends is 30. It’s where the group’s experimental inclinations initially took flight.
Trees Speak Sculpt the Desert’s Endless Landscape Out of Sound
Trees Speak’s attention to brevity alone on Timefold signals slightly less-chartered territory for music whose spaciousness seems so familiar.
The Dismemberment Plan’s Pre-millennial Tension: ‘Emergency & I’ at 25
Post-punk band the Dismemberment Plan’s Emergency & I is a landmark about loneliness, confusion, and isolation and how to bounce back from them.