Please donate to help save PopMatters. We are moving to WordPress in December out of necessity and need your help.
Tags
Books

A Fresh Look at Free Will and Determinism in Terry Gilliam's '12 Monkeys'

Susanne Kord gets to the heart of the philosophical issues in Terry Gilliam's 1995 time-travel dystopia, 12 Monkeys.
Recent
Music

Destroyer's 'Have We Met' Is Dan Bejar's Best Album Since 2011's 'Kaputt'

Dan Bejar seems omnipresent on Destroyer's first album of the 2020s, moving through the arrangements at his own whim.

Music

John Moreland's 'LP5' Finds Strength in Simplicity

Americana's John Moreland has a deep voice and sings without affectation. There's an honesty in his straightforward delivery and something down-to-earth even in his most lofty sentiments.

Music

The Revillos Reprise Their DayGlo Pop-Rock on ​'Compendium of Weird'

A collection of ragged rehearsal recordings, out-takes, and alternate versions that is actually worth the price of admission? The Revillos have pulled it off.

Music

Electronic Artist Burial Creates Flawless Music of Bewilderment and Compassion

Burial's Tunes 2011-2019 is music that describes our alienation while it also provides us no little comfort in the face of that gloomy reality. This is flawless music of bewilderment and compassion in equal measure.

Music

Asa Tone's Debut 'Temporary Music' Balances Technology and Nature

Melati Malay, Tristan Arp, and Kaazi team up as Asa Tone for Temporary Music, which mixes traditional Indonesian instrumentation and electronics.

Music

TORRES' 'Silver Tongue' Offers a Subtle Geography of Desire

TORRES' Silver Tongue is her most mature release to date. Its nine songs, all evocative and transporting, strive toward a new vocabulary for connection, confidence, and queer love.

Music

Drive-By Truckers Are Sadder and Angrier on 'The Unraveling'

Once Drive-By Truckers' The Unraveling hits the fourth song, "Thoughts and Prayers", the album dives headlong into the nightmares of the United States in 2020.

Events

Trey Anastasio Band Bring Spirit Family Together in the City of Angels

It's Trey Anastasio Band's newer songs that most energize their audience, which a testament to the creative wave that Anastasio has been riding for the past few years.

Music

Black Lips Create a Killer Country Record, Infused with Lo-fi Garage Rock

Black Lips concoct a lustful mix of cocaine country, psych stomp, and honky-tonk fire and brimstone on Sing in a World That's Falling Apart.

Music

Futurebirds Play to Their Strengths on 'Teamwork'

Indie country-rockers Futurebirds return with a renewed focus on Teamwork, but the album would benefit from taking more risks.

Music

Dune Rats Strike Back with More Grown-up Sound on 'Hurry Up and Wait'

Dune Rats are, without a doubt, a rebel-rousing bunch whose call-outs, curse-outs, and amateurish stunts have earned them mass appeal with an audience just as eager to stick it to the man alongside them.

Music

Meghan Trainor's 'Treat Myself' Has Us Questioning How Deep Feminism Runs in the Music Industry

Meghan Trainor's Treat Myself delivers the usual lip service to feminism that branding agencies employ to beef up the portfolios of their sexy, feminine clientele.

Music

Mint Julep Serve Up Luminous Synthpop with 'Stray Fantasies'

Husband and wife duo, Mint Julep take a break from their respective solo projects and release a collection of smart, danceable earworms, Stray Fantasies.

Music

Art and Politics Go Hand in Hand on Algiers' 'There Is No Year'

Algiers are what would result if Verso Books turned into an art rock band. This is a very good thing.

Music

Caspian's Wall-of-Sound Post-Rock Is Handwritten Large with 'On Circles'

Caspian's On Circles follows in the footsteps of 2015's beatific Dust and Disquiet. It's a big album with its details writ small.

Music

Kesha Makes Partying Sound Like a Chore on 'High Road'

Kesha's fourth album, High Road, struggles to find something interesting about her new flask-toting flower child persona.

Music

Alhaji Bai Konte, Dembo Konte, and Ma Lamini Jobate Perform 'Gambian Griot Kora Duets' (album review)

Over 40 years after its original release, Gambian Griot Kora Duets remains blissfully exciting. It's available on vinyl this Friday.

Music

Throbbing Gristle's 2004 EP 'TG Now' Offered Hope for the Future (album review)

The demon stepchild shadowing punk's footsteps in the 1970s, Throbbing Gristle, returned in this new century making the case that they had something new to say with TG Now.

Music

Lord Invader and His Calypso Group Go On 'Calypso Travels'

Classic calypso from Lord Invader brings us incisive historical commentary with a new reissue of 1960's Calypso Travels.

Music

Mute's Throbbing Gristle Reissue Campaign Enters the Reformation Years

In the latest component of a comprehensive reissue series, three limited-edition releases from the 2004-2007 iteration of Throbbing Gristle are back in print. We begin with Live December 2004: A Souvenir of Camber Sands.

Music

German Producer Recondite Creates Emotive, Reflective Soundscapes on 'Dwell'

With Dwell, Recondite has once again created a superior set of sensitive, multi-layered compositions full of subtle shades that seem to exist in their own time and place.

Music

Ross Goldstein's 'Timoka' Is an Ominous Collection of Dark Instrumental Beauty

Composer Ross Goldstein forges a challenging musical path on his latest album, Timoka, a wondrous collection of dark, often bleak instrumental compositions.

Music

Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band Go on Expedition 'Just Like Moby Dick'

Texas country artist Terry Allen has a sinister sense of humor that he uses to lighten up Just Like Moby Dick and add emotional depth to seemingly innocent situations.

Music

Exploring Tuareg Music of the Southern Sahara

A vinyl reissue of Tuareg Music of the Southern Sahara sheds light on the folk origins of today's thriving Saharan rock scene.

Music

Squarepusher Proves IDM Is Still Fresh and Full of Possibilities on 'Be Up a Hello'

Squarepusher's Be Up a Hello asserts that what some would consider an outmoded sound palette can still be mined for fresh ideas, that IDM in its golden-age variety has yet to reach its zenith.

Events

Los Lobos Rock the Fillmore for "Bill's 89th Birthday Bash"

From their early garage band days in East LA to national acclaim and ongoing status as a perennial Fillmore favorite, Los Lobos have truly become a cultural institution.

Music

Colin Stetson Goes to the Movies with Loud, Garish 'Color Out of Space'

Adventurous multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson scores the new horror film from director Richard Stanley, Color Out of Space, and it's a noisy, deeply enjoyable headphone trip.

Music

Wire's 'Mind Hive' Shows the Post-Punk Band at Their Inimitable Best

Post-punk pioneers Wire continue their late period renaissance with a new synthesis of all of their most endearing qualities on Mind Hive.

Music

Pet Shop Boys Deliver Another Glorious, Smart, and Relevant Pop Album with 'Hotspot'

Four decades in the music business is no small feat, and yet the Pet Shop Boys enter the new decade sounding just as current and catchy as the pop landscape they helped construct.

Music

Only After Dark: A Boxed Presentation of Mick Ronson's 1970s

The late David Bowie sideman, Mick Ronson may not have relished the solo spotlight but he still left behind a trove of rock goodies.

Music

Joshua Redman and Brooklyn Rider: Sun on Sand

Composer and jazz collaborator Patrick Zimmerli has written a set of themes for string quartet and jazz saxophone trio—and some of the time it all takes off flying.

Music

Kanye West's New Sunday Service Choir Sings... A Lot

Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir create a debut, Jesus Is Born, that's powerful and, at times, repetitive.

Music

Solas' Seamus Egan Goes Solo For First Time on 23 Years

Seamus Egan, founder of traditional Irish folk band Solas, goes solo with Early Bright. The masterclass here is one not necessarily to impress the intellect as much to leave an impression on the heart and soul.

Music

Frank Lenz Creates a Playful, Mad Scientist Vibe with the Wonderful 'Pyramid'

The latest album from accomplished composer and session drummer, Frank Lenz, is equal parts experimental, amusing, and oddly funky.

Music

Bill Fay's Second Act Continues With ​'Countless Branches​'

One of Britain's most underrated singer-songwriters is going from strength to strength in his 70s. As ever, Bill Fay focuses on the search for meaning and substance in everyday life.

Music

'Amazones Power' Is a Fresh Modern Chapter for Les Amazones d'Afrique

New voices bring fresh new perspectives to all-woman powerhouse supergroup L'Amazones d'Afrique on their bold sophomore release Amazones Power.


Reviews
Collapse Expand Reviews
BROWSE ALL ALBUM REVIEWS



Features
Collapse Expand Features

PM Picks
Collapse Expand Pm Picks

© 1999-2020 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters is wholly independent, women-owned and operated.