Gnarls Barkley – Atlanta: More like Gnarls Borekley. And this from a guy who even liked The Odd Couple. Shabaka – Of the Earth: Shabaka made this record by himself, and it lacks the confusing emotional intensity of human interaction. Imagine Rumours without any of the fighting and fucking and backstabbing and namecalling. That’s kinda what Of the Earth sounds… Read more »
Apparat – A Hum of Maybe: I listened to A Hum of Maybe a couple times this week, and my initial feeling is that it’s good but not great. A few songs (“Glimmerine,” “An Echo Skips a Name,” and the title track) immediately jump out, but some others sounded embarrassingly bad on first listen. These high and low points make… Read more »
U2 – Days of Ash: Most of the protest songs I’ve heard have been about a distant past and often a distant land. Whether it was Fela or The Clash or Woody Guthrie, I was separated by years if not oceans. Even my first experiences with U2 were songs that brought distant conflicts and historic people to a fiery life…. Read more »
Lucinda Williams – World’s Gone Wrong: I’ve never felt drawn to Lucinda Williams and World’s Gone Wrong doesn’t change that, but I heard a lot of good in the record while I was being reminded of why her music doesn’t grab me. The biggest thing about this record is the timeliness—and timelessness—of the lyrics. Virtually all these songs could be… Read more »
Blackwater Holylight – Not Here Not Gone: The sludgy guitars on “How Will You Feel” pulled me in, and Sunny Faris’ vocals made me stay. Her voice alternates between ambivalence and resignation, sitting in the space between here and gone, light and darkness, while the music rages behind her. The record touches on shoegaze, grunge, doom, stoner rock, and metal,… Read more »
Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore – Tragic Magic: I woke up at 3:30am, decided to listen to Tragic Magic, and it immediately put me to sleep. In this case, that’s an enormous compliment. The album is complex and beautiful and emotionally challenging when you focus on it, but in the background, it is hypnotically soothing. The songs can sound repetitive… Read more »
Xiu Xiu – Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu, Vol. 1: The instrumentation on “Psycho Killer” adds an unhinged energy that surpasses the original, and “I Put a Spell on You” builds on the frenzied insanity of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ version. I’m not sure if I like the cover of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” but it brings a different perspective to… Read more »
Jana Horn – Jana Horn: Horn could be the heir to one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Mary Margaret O’Hara. I am rarely enraptured by an artist like this within 30 seconds of the opening, but the strings behind Horn’s voice on “Go On, Move Your Body” got me. Those strings, like all the performances and arrangements on the record, pack… Read more »
Effie – Pullup to Busan 4 More Hyper Summer It’s Gonna Be a Fuckin Movie: I listened to this so much at the end of December that Pullup to Busan became my fourth-most streamed album for the month. Effie is pushing hyperpop to its limits while giving a middle finger to K-pop. I don’t particularly care about either genre, but… Read more »
Laufey – A Very Laufey Holiday: I’m not a fan of holiday music but I couldn’t let 2025 pass without playing this one. The first three standards were unremarkable interpretations that left me feeling grinchy. When Laufey’s original “Christmas Magic” came on, though, it made my heart grow three sizes. The next three tracks are sweet and charming versions of… Read more »