Music Reviews

Renaissance, Beyoncé's seventh full-length solo album, mines a liberating history of dance music, from Donna Summer-sampling disco to modern Chicago house.

Music & Culture

Revolutionary Fun: Why we can't stop talking about Beyoncé's 'Renaissance'

5:11pm August 01, 2022

The era-defining star's seventh album sparks a conversation about the infinite possibilities of dance music, the difference between fun and pleasure and why disco is always political.

Music & Culture

Tyshawn Sorey's 'Mesmerism' celebrates the everyday miracle of the jazz rhythm trio

1:29pm July 28, 2022

by Kevin Whitehead

Each player in this trio addresses the beat in a spontaneous way, without constant chaos. A casual romp like this session makes for breezy listening.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Singer/songwriter beabadoobee expands her sound dramatically on 'Beatopia'

1:28pm July 12, 2022

by Ken Tucker

Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Beatrice Kristi Laus takes her stage name from a former Instagram handle. The music on beabadoobee's new album is a blend of timelessness and immediacy.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Jacob Garchik's boldly mixed 'Assembly' is quintessential COVID-era jazz

1:33pm July 11, 2022

by Kevin Whitehead

Garchik's album started as a socially-distanced session which was then mixed — sometimes seamlessly, sometimes brazenly. It's music for an era of frequent disruption — and prized moments of calm.

Queue Listen Now

On Laura Veirs' 12th studio album, Found Light, her command never falters.

Music & Culture

On 'Found Light,' Laura Veirs documents newfound freedom with attentive awe

9:00am July 08, 2022

by Laura Snapes

Written after her divorce from her longtime producer, Veirs' new album vibrates with a sense of potential, balancing the weight of experience with the rewards of staying attuned to wonder.

Music & Culture

Charming and catchy, Bartees Strange cuts across boundaries on 'Farm to Table'

1:27pm July 06, 2022

by Ken Tucker

As a Black artist in the indie-rock space, Strange makes distinctively original music. Where his debut album showcased a highly eclectic performer, his sophomore effort is even more impressive.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

New releases help cement the legacy of Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti

1:32pm July 05, 2022

by Lloyd Schwartz

Though he never became a household name, many music lovers regard Szigeti, who died in 1973, as the greatest classical violinist in living memory. This new collection captures his early recordings.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Pianist David Virelles shows off the depth and breadth of what he can do on 'Nuna'

1:36pm July 01, 2022

by Kevin Whitehead

Though he's been a New Yorker for over a decade, Virelles remains preoccupied with the rich, rhythmically charged music of his native Cuba. His new album shows where he's been — and where he's going.

Queue Listen Now

On Joan Shelley's The Spur, even home's sparest comforts feel hard-won.

Music & Culture

On 'The Spur,' Joan Shelley weighs what it takes to be human

5:01am June 24, 2022

by Stephen Thompson

Shelley expounds on country living, newly married life and the birth of her daughter. But life's joys are never far removed from the deeply worrying state — and fate — of the world.

Music & Culture

3 songs prove just how elastic the definition of country music has become

1:25pm June 20, 2022

by Ken Tucker

The range of country music is on display in Kane Brown's hit single; a duet by Wynonna Judd and the alt-rocker Waxahatchee; and the title song of Big Time, indie singer-songwriter Angel Olsen's album.

Queue Listen Now