Aug 16, 2017 Music Issue #61 - Grizzly Bear

David Lynch has suggested that his work, which often eschews narrative sense, offers more to the viewer than they initially realize. What seems inscrutable may actually be made sense of deep within one's brain, like the interpretation of a dream. Much of Grizzly Bear's recorded output invites a similar interpretation, and their fifth LP, Painted Ruins, is no different.  More

Aug 15, 2017 Music Web Exclusive

On Rainbow, Kesha sounds breathless. Her third studio album is an album about survival, and if Kesha is exhausted, she has every right to be. The 30-year-old is embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit with her former producer and alleged abuser Dr. Luke, and recorded 14 songs for this album while still in rehab.  More

Aug 14, 2017 Music Issue #61 - Grizzly Bear

It's common to see songwriters start out making simple, traditional, pop-oriented songs, and then over the course of a career evolve to create more complex, refined, and writerly work. It's rare, however, to see that same process in reverse. Steven Wilson, former frontman of Porcupine Tree and the figurehead of modern prog, is doing just that with his new album To the Bone. More

Aug 14, 2017 Music Web Exclusive

Pop music today has taken the more is more mentality; it seems almost every track you hear on the radio contains multiple artists reaching for star billing on a stacked lineup. More

Aug 11, 2017 Music Web Exclusive

Indie rock, as we know it today, is so entrenched in recent history that many new bands feel familiar and therefore breed contempt. To state that the genre is dead is commonplace nowadays and that's heartbreaking. Popular Manipulations is a vibrant, biting and tactile slice of the inspiring power of indie rock.  More

Aug 10, 2017 Music Issue #61 - Grizzly Bear

Downtown Boys are an antidote to 2017, to Trump's America, to oppression of all marginalized groups. The bi-lingual Chicana, queer, and Latino outfit are also a punch to the larynx of tired, white-washed punk rock that's turned so far towards its own privileged naval. More

Aug 09, 2017 Music Issue #61 - Grizzly Bear

It should be no surprise that Frankie Rose's fourth solo album, Cage Tropical, is inspired by sci-fi and in particular sleepless nights listening to the late-night paranormal-themed broadcasts of Art Bell, who has a song named after him here.  More

Aug 08, 2017 Music Web Exclusive

Many latter-day offerings from pioneers of rock and roll left indelible impressions on our collective psyches. The greatest elegiac piece in the once revolutionary genre, David Bowie's 2016 swansong Blackstar, concluded an influential body of work from the likes of an artist that we will never see again in our lifetime.  More

Aug 07, 2017 Music Web Exclusive

In a daring experiment for a band that's known for their raucous live shows and string of alternative hits, the recently released Unpeeled, by Grammy winners Cage the Elephant, features 21 stripped down versions of some of their best songs.  More