Photo Credit: Reuben Bastienne-Lewis Long-running, off-and-on multi-platinum (in the U.K.) London Britpop band Blur returns with their first album of all-new material in eight years. Despite the title, The Ballad of Darren is not a concept album (longtime frontman Damon Albarn more than takes care of that approach with his other major project, the Gorillaz)…. Read more
Photo Credit: Vincent Haycock Since Kesha sued Dr. Luke in 2014, her reputation has shifted from that of the party girl of pop to the genre’s survivor. In the near-decade that’s ensued, she’s alternately embraced and run away from that title; on 2017’s “Praying,” she offered a direct rebuke to her former producer in the… Read more
Photo Credit: Nasty Little Man Gorillaz began more than two decades ago, originally a form of collaboration that was unique, to say the least, between a musician (in this case, Blur vocalist Damon Albarn) and an illustrator (Jaime Hewlett, creator of the British comic book series Tank Girl) with the purpose of creating a soundtrack… Read more
Photo Credit: Aidan Zamiri Although some synth-pop nerds might remember Chairlift, most people probably heard the name Caroline Polachek for the first time when she started her solo career in 2019 with Pang and her shimmering indie-pop hit “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings.” Now, on her second solo effort, Desire, I Want to Turn… Read more
Photo Credit: Thurstan Redding The title of Rina Sawayama’s second album, Hold The Girl, is taken from a phrase she learned in therapy about nurturing one’s so-called inner child. Fittingly, it’s this theme that takes center stage on the LP – from the short and sweet introduction “Minor Feelings” and the glitchy title track to… Read more
Photo Credit: Autumn de Wilde “I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king,” chants Florence Welch on Dance Fever opener “King”; a mission statement for an album that sees the 35-year-old English musician unshackle herself from societal expectations and the malaise of lockdown living. “Florence and The Machine do dance music” is a sentence that,… Read more
Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels The opening cut from Tear for Fears’ first album of all-new material in seventeen years, The Tipping Point, has already secured a place among the best songs released in 2022. The appropriately-titled “No Small Thing” is absolutely incredible, starting as ’70s folk-rock a la Cat Stevens before an echo-drum beat kicks in and… Read more
Photo Credit: Ebru Yildiz Laurel Hell was never meant to exist. In June 2019, Mitski Miyawaki announced that a September show in Central Park would be her “last show indefinitely.” “Indefinitely”, she assured fans, did not mean forever, but privately, she had already decided she was quitting the music business. However, she later realized, her recording… Read more
Photo Credit: Lindsey Byrnes Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams made her solo debut last year with the release Petals for Armor. The title was far from the most clever or endearing thing about it, as the singer explored a variety of styles ranging from dance pop to smooth jazz, while overall making the album feel classically… Read more