Music Reviews

Godspeed You! Black Emperor's new album, Luciferian Towers, comes out Sept. 22.

Music & Culture

Godspeed You! Black Emperor's 'Undoing A Luciferian Towers' Brings A Reckoning

2:37pm August 30, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

Godspeed You! Black Emperor makes wordless music that nevertheless shouts like a street-corner prophet. The band's new album, Luciferian Towers, comes out Sept. 22.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Bicep, 'Aura'

1:31pm August 29, 2017

by Megan Buerger

The Belfast-born, London-based production duo previews its upcoming self-titled album with a video for the standout track "Aura," directed by filmmaker Matilda Finn.

"Matthew's music has always been my go-to for late night bus rides in headphones and I still geek out that we made this together!" Sara Quin says of her collaboration with Matthew Dear.

Music & Culture

Matthew Dear And Tegan And Sara Address The 'Bad Ones'

9:13am August 29, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

"Bad Ones" could come straight out of Tegan And Sara's remarkable pop crossover Heartthrob, but is indelibly wired to Matthew Dear's own rich frequencies.

Red showcases Taylor Swift's transition from adolescence into womanhood.

Music & Culture

Shocking Omissions: Taylor Swift's 'Red,' A Canonical Coming-Of-Age Album

10:00am August 28, 2017

by J. English

The album traverses Swift's country roots and enters proper pop territory while tackling more complicated aspects of love and relationships. Here, an artist grows up alongside her audience.

Music & Culture

Brand New, Again: 'Science Fiction' Is A Self-Revival

3:12pm August 26, 2017

by Maria Sherman

Emo has its survivors, but few can command attention the way Brand New has in eight years without an album. The band's surprise return with Science Fiction comes, characteristically, on its own terms.

Iron & Wine's new album is titled Beast Epic.

Music & Culture

Iron & Wine Returns To The Whispers And Hush On 'Beast Epic'

5:23pm August 25, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

On Iron & Wine's new album, Sam Beam scales back his sound's lavish orchestration while maintaining a sense of brightness and verve.

Taylor Swift will premiere the video for "Look What You Made Me Do" at the VMAs. This screenshot says... a lot.

Music & Culture

Taylor Swift Can't Be The Victim And The Villain

3:36pm August 25, 2017

Her new single, "Look What You Made Me Do," is a sleek and dark piece of electro-pop that swells and seethes. We try to make sense of Taylor Swift's attempted heel turn.

Dälek's new album, Endangered Philosophies, is out Sep. 1.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Dälek, 'Endangered Philosophies'

12:58pm August 24, 2017

by Lindsay Totty

For nearly 20 years, the searing sound collages of experimental hip-hop group Dälek have invited listeners to expand their understanding of what the genre can sound like.

Open Mike Eagle resurrects Chicago's notorious Robert Taylor Homes in his concept album, Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, out Sept. 15.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Open Mike Eagle, 'Brick Body Complex'

12:38pm August 24, 2017

by Rodney Carmichael

Gentrification becomes violence personified as the rapper dons a hero's mask to humanize the housing project's demise in the premiere of his tragicomic video.

Kip Berman, frontman for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. The band's new album, The Echo Of Pleasure, is out Sep. 1.

Music & Culture

First Listen: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, 'The Echo Of Pleasure'

5:00am August 24, 2017

by Mike Katzif

The band's latest album finds frontman Kip Berman entering a new chapter in his life with a growing family and the complicated feelings of growing older while staying in love.