Angel Olsen Creates a ‘Whole New Mess’
No one would call Angel Olsen's Whole New Mess a pretty album. It's much too stark. But there's something riveting about the way Olsen coos to herself that's soft and comforting.
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Jamila Woods’ “SULA (Paperback)” and Creative Ancestry and Self-Love in the Age of “List” Activism
In Jamila Woods' latest single "SULA (Paperback)", Toni Morrison and her 1973 novel of the same name are not static literary phenomena. They are an artist and artwork as galvanizing and alive as Woods herself.
Bon Iver’s ‘i,i’ Hangs Between Surrealism and Meaning
Justin Vernon's (Bon Iver) lyricism is as cryptic as ever, but the firmness with which he sings his abstractions robs his fourth album of much of its mystery.
Jamila Woods Honors Her ‘Legacy! Legacy!’
Jamila Woods, herself, a poet, singer, activist, and teacher, casts Legacy! Legacy! as a beacon for a type of self-empowerment informed by the predecessors who built and shaped culture.
Sharon Van Etten Rips Up the Script for ‘Remind Me Tomorrow’
Sharon Van Etten's Remind Me Tomorrow bucks expectations and her previously visceral songwriting tone for something more reflective, exploratory, and ultimately more impactful.
Gordi: Reservoir
Gordi's debut seamlessly blends epic electronic soundscape with intimacy in lyricism and folk sensibilities, even if it pulls a little too often from Justin Vernon’s toolkit.
Wolf People: Ruins
Britain's Wolf People get back to the earth with a heavy, fuzzy wallop of an album reaches into the past while carving out a sound of its own.
Okkervil River: Black Sheep Boy (10th Anniversary Edition)
Okkervil River return to their surreptitious magnum opus, and for that, we are grateful.
“The Closer I Look”: A Conversation With Small Black
Recovering from a devastating loss from Hurricane Sandy, Small Black's Josh Kolenik crafted not only his best record, but also one inspired by loss, an affinity for Blue Nile records, and '70s American cinema.