The Power of Amanda Shires’ Voice Reverberates Throughout ‘Take It Like a Man’
Emotionally Amanda Shires’ Take It Like a Man interlaces heartache and disappointment with the profoundly temporal joys of new beginnings and aches of desire.
folk pop
The 10 Best Janis Ian Albums
The best Janis Ian albums are among the finest in the singer-songwriter sphere. Her touching, emotionally revealing lyrics burst with memorable turns of phrase.
Newport Folk Festival: Joy in the Familiar and the Unexpected
The 2022 Newport Folk Festival was one for the books. Appearances from two legendary American musicians (Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell) left people weeping in joy.
Maggie Rogers Asks NYC Crowd to ‘Surrender’ to the Music
Creating space to honor intense feelings was the goal of Maggie Rogers’ NYC performance and she achieved it. The crowd left with a sense of “feral joy”.
beabadoobee’s Ascent from Indie Starlet to Pop Queen on ‘Beatopia’ Is Hot and Cold
On Beatopia, beabadoobee seems to be running from the adolescence that gave us 2017’s “Coffee” while simultaneously drawing inspiration from it.
Pink Turns to Blonde: Trixie Mattel on the Dual Nature of Her New Records
Trixie Mattel discusses her new double album, the drive to stay authentic in drag, and the ways her superstar persona affects her real life.
Rachel McElhiney’s ‘I Love It Here’ Belies the Heart Beneath It All
The first thing you’ll notice about Rachel McElhiney is that deceptively powerful voice, which is a beautiful vehicle for her jazz-flecked tunes.
Best New Songs: Conal Kelly, Bailey Tomkinson, Shady Baby, Fionn
This playlist spotlights the best new songs across the varied genres PopMatters covers. Today features Conal Kelly, Bailey Tomkinson, Shady Baby, and Fionn.
‘One Day’ the Cactus Blossoms May Be Better Known Than the Everly Brothers
One can’t hear the Cactus Blossoms without being reminded of the Everly Brothers. If they continue to produce such good music, the opposite may be true soon.
Belle and Sebastian’s ‘A Bit of Previous’ Is Wrapped Up in Hooks
On Belle and Sebastian’s first album in seven years, A Bit of Previous, the cozy Glaswegians prioritize candor and retain a bit of their previous magic.
Joan Osborne Is So Much More Than “One of Us”
Joan Osborne is known for a generational hit she didn’t even write, but all these decades later, she is still finding a new audience for her folk-pop charmers.
Joan Osborne Takes a Well-Deserved Victory Lap with ‘Radio Waves’
Joan Osborne’s Radio Waves is a career retrospective inside a live album inside a rarities compilation, a turducken of a music anthology and the result is tasty.
