There is not a genre so forlorn as the blues. That seems obvious; it’s all in the name. Cultural appropriation aside, blues has endured because, well, the human condition can sometimes lead us down a dark path. But Amy Blaschke takes turmoil and creates purpose in her newest album, aptly titled, Breaking the Blues. Blaschke […]

To achieve stadium arena fame in the music industry, you have to be very lucky and at least somewhat talented. Many times, it seems the most exciting new acts are unfairly ignored for arbitrary corporate reasons, but boutique agencies work to find those gems and polish them with care and attention. My first job out […]

The first line of Adeline Hotel’s newest release, It’s Alright, Just the Same is a roundabout expression of devotion. “I’ve got time of yours to waste,” Daniel Knishkowy sings, “you don’t know it yet but just you wait.” The track, called “Oh Well,” is a tender ballad with a two-minute ending which I consider to […]

There’s always existed a dichotomy of blurred influences at the center of The Kill’s inflammatory garage-rock, one that has rotated steadily around the tastes of Florida native Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jamie Hince. Like fellow UK rockers Savages and newcomers Wolf Alice, the duo’s female-led badassery has flowed directly from their knack for cooking […]

Electro-pop outfit Pollyn have been cutting their teeth in the Los Angeles’ underground for over two decades, so it should come as no surprise that with four albums now under their belt, the trio have undoubtedly mastered the unruly nature of their witchy electronica. Bristling with vintage samplings, propulsive marches of synthetic percussion, and Genevieve Artadi’s ethereal monotone, […]

When French electronic band M83 announced it had returned to the studio, I felt a carefully measured level of excitement rise within me. On one hand, I had the promise of new material from Anthony Gonzalez, on the other, they had the insurmountable task of creating an album that would exist in the shadow of Hurry Up, […]

Weezer has been making music for a long, long, long time–so long that I haven’t known a world without a Weezer album. Their self-titled debut was released three days before I was born and they’ve been pedaling out their audacious take on rock nonstop ever since. But within that massive discography, it’s always been the string of […]

If there ever existed such a thing as a modern art album, Amen & Goodbye, Yeasayer’s fourth studio attempt, would undoubtedly be it. As eloquently bewildering as ever, the New York experimental rock outfit successfully disembark from the restrictions of melodic, synth-pop constructions as they explore the fringes of their bizarre expressionism. Caught somewhere between the […]

As his moniker might imply, Chi-town transplant Open Mike Eagle crafts improvised, “art rap” of his own design–hammering out a niche for himself and sparking the most exciting underground hip-hop album of the year in the process. Hella Personal Film Festival is in itself a mighty collaboration between Eagle and British producer Paul White, but […]

It’s been over four years since indietronica outfit Miike Snow released their last full length album Happy to You, and longer still since the Swedish trio unveiled the deliciously hypnotizing licks of “Animal” and “Black and Blue” for all the world to enjoy. But lengthy periods of hiatus can be dreadfully commonplace when your band […]