zakè & Benoît Pioulard : eve

There’s something magical about the silence of a snow-covered winter’s eve. That moment you step out from a warm, conversation-filled family room into a snow-covered neighborhood can be overwhelming. There’s a deafening hush, as if stepping into your own head space; snow falling from darkness above, soundless and impervious to the everyday static and aural […]

Kurt Vile : Back To Moon Beach

Leave it to Kurt Vile to release a 52-minute album and call it an EP. Vile never seems to be in a hurry to get to the end of a song. He rambles and sways through 7 or 8 minutes of jangly guitar riffs, slow motion vocals, and richly-layered compositions that live and die by […]

Harp : Albion

It’s been 13 years since Midlake’s former singer/songwriter Tim Smith has released any new music. Midlake’s 2010 release The Courage of Others was a dark, somber record built on acoustic-driven tracks with touches of flute and overcast moods. Nothing as driving and 70s rock-driven as their previous effort – the excellent The Trials of Van […]

Xander Harris : Malediction

The return of Justin Sweatt’s nom de plume Xander Harris is always something to celebrate. I’ve been following the musical world of Xander Harris for some time. At least six years, ever since hearing the amazing Termination Dust and realizing I’d been missing out on something special. The following year Villains of Romance dropped and […]

forestlike : forestlike

forestlike is the music duo of Jared Myers and Joshua Wayne Hensley. Meeting in the Michiana music scene of the late 90s, the two built a musical rapport playing on porches, dive bars, and DIY shows in various projects. While still remaining friends, Hensley went off to form The Rutabega, while Myers did his own […]

Aesop Rock : Integrated Tech Solutions

I’m probably the last guy to be talking about hip hop and rap music. I feel gravely underqualified to discuss beat making, rap producers, rap styles, and flow. In high school I was intimidated by rap music. I felt like you had to possess a certain amount of confidence and bravado to be able to […]

DJ Shadow : Action Adventure

DJ Shadow(aka Joshua Paul Davis) released his debut album Endtroducing… back in 1996 to critical acclaim. That album was a revelation in sample-based electronic music(even making it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2001 as being the only all sample-based album.) It blended the world of DJing, hip hop production, and the ethereal […]

Video Age : Away From The Castle

New Orleans’ Video Age began in 2016 with their debut Living Alone. The band’s core of Ray Micarelli and Ross Farbe locked into a certain soft rock aesthetic over their previous releases, which besides Living Alone includes 2018s Pop Therapy and 2020’s Pleasure Line. Their songs lock into sweet harmonies, 80s-tinged synths, and an endearingly […]

Wild Nothing : Hold

Jack Tatum arrived with his project Wild Nothing in the late 2000s/early 2010’s on Brooklyn’s Captured Tracks label. Wild Nothing’s debut Gemini was lo fi dream pop; intimate songs, hushed bedroom production, and pop music that feels both familiar and singular at the same time. With each release to follow Tatum opened the sound and […]

Single Lash : Ladida

Single Lash builds worlds on their records. The Austin-based alternative band began as a musical outlet for singer/songwriter Nicolas Nadeau. Releasing debut Almost Breathing in 2012, Nadeau has built on those early dark, Gothic songs that ranged from echo-laden dark wave and 4AD vibes to a more bright, ethereal sound. The band has expanded to […]