New York Dolls’ ‘Too Much Too Soon’ Lived Up to Its Title (More or Less)
The New York Dolls didn’t just play rock and roll. They swung, achieving a groove that set them apart from other rockers at the time and since.
glam rock
Brian Eno’s ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ After 50 Years
Brian Eno’s approach captured the best of what we wanted from punk, new wave, prog, glam, and classic ’60s pop and channeled their excesses by relying on chance.
Ramones and Devo: Sonic Reduction as Resistance
Ramones’ Ramones uses reduction as a means to end, to bring rock back to its roots, whereas Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? uses reduction as the end itself to mirror society’s decline.
The 25 Best David Bowie Deep Tracks
For all of the imagery that dominated the religiosity of David Bowie what matters most are the songs. Here are 25 killer deep-cut Bowie originals, album by album.
Suede Go Back to Basics with ‘Autofiction’
Suede survived grunge, Britpop, emo, and everything else the last 30 years could throw at them. But have they survived the pandemic? Find out on Autofiction.
‘The Best of Roxy Music’ Gets a Vinyl Re-Issue
As this vinyl reissue of Roxy Music’s 2001 compilation makes clear, the only thing cooler than Roxy Mark II was Roxy Mark I.
She & Him & Them (Sunflower Bean) Deliver Sounds of the Season
When She & Him follow Sunflower Bean into Denver for shows promoting new albums during an unseasonably warm late spring, this twofer only means one thing, it’s getting hotter in here.
Sunflower Bean’s Headful of Sugar Is More Mundane Than Sweet
Having grown past Twentytwo, NYC indie trio Sunflower Bean’s Headful of Sugar finds them inevitably taking on “late capitalism”. Cue the retro-disco beats.
Alt Rockers Placebo Attempt a Comeback with ‘Never Let Me Go’
Don’t call it a comeback: Placebo’s first new album in a decade, Never Let Me Go, shows their finest years are still behind them.
‘Oh, You Pretty Thing’: David Bowie’s Glam Masterpiece ‘Hunky Dory’ Turns 50
David Bowie’s Hunky Dory is self-conscious about artifice and image. It maintains a resounding undercurrent of human longing for connection and recognition.
The Darkness Blow a Raspberry at Covid with ‘Motorheart’
No misplaced macho nonsense. No self-righteous pomposity. The Darkness hit the dress-up box hard, knock out some killer riffs, and are laugh out loud funny while they’re doing it.
Orwellian Times: On Manic Street Preachers’ ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’
Manic Street Preachers’ The Ultra Vivid Lament is driven by George Orwell’s aim to make political writing into art.