Bully Make Music Out of Melancholy on ‘Lucky for You’
Bully’s Lucky for You is tight, compact indie guitar rock that will get into your head even when you aren’t sure what Alicia Bognanno is singing about.
sub pop
Mudhoney Confront Fascism and Little Dogs on ‘Plastic Eternity’
The theme of survival forms the subtext of Mudhoney’s Plastic Eternity and topics of environmental crisis, overrun capitalism, and anti-democratic politics.
Quasi Return a Decade Later ‘Breaking the Balls of History’
Quasi have become one of the more enduring musical collaborations from the Pacific Northwest, and Breaking the Balls of History is a peak moment in their discography
Kiwi Jr. Brighten Their Sound on ‘Chopper’
Kiwi Jr. brighten their C-86-inspired sound with synthesizers, adding a new-wave tint that makes its cheeriness on Chopper shine.
With Another Life-Affirming Jolt, Guerilla Toss Remind Us That We’re All ‘Famously Alive’
Quirky art-rock outfit Guerilla Toss sacrifice little of their magnificent strangeness by leaning mainstream on their Sub Pop debut, Famously Alive.
Ya Tseen Makes Socially Vital Indie Pop on ‘Indian Yard’
Ya Tseen’s vision on Indian Yard is expansive and yet feels fully realized. It’s hard to imagine an album covering more ground and still striking such a precise balance of cohesion and variety.
Chad VanGaalen Finds Fertile Ground on ‘World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener’
Chad VanGaalen’s World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener has elements of hurt and darkness, but he sounds at ease in his ever-changing musical gambits.
Clipping Take a Stab at Horrorcore with the Fiery ‘Visions of Bodies Being Burned’
Clipping's latest album, Visions of Bodies Being Burned, is a terrifying, razor-sharp sequel to their previous ode to the horror film genre.
L7’s ‘Smell the Magic’ Is 30 and Packs a Feminist Punch
Abortion is under threat again, and there's a sex offender in the Oval Office. A fitting time, in short, to crank up the righteously angry vocals of feminist hard rock heavy hitters like L7.
Wolf Parade’s ‘Apologies to the Queen Mary’ Turns 15
Wolf Parade's debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, is an indie rock classic. It's a testament to how creative, vital, and exciting the indie rock scene felt in the 2000s.
Shabazz Palaces Bring the Funk on “Bad Bitch Walking” (premiere)
A sultry, locomotive shuffle of hip-hop and hot blue funk, Shabazz Palaces' "Bad Bitch Walking" features Ishmael Butler as a susurrating lover whose languid gaze of a woman is slowly supplanted by the erotic ellipses of female motion.
Hip-Hop Since the Don of Rhyme: Shabazz Palaces’ ‘The Don of Diamond Dreams’
With the release of Shabazz Palaces’ The Don of Diamond Dreams, producer-rapper Ishmael Butler envisions yet another lunar world of sound disturbed by his anxieties and desires.