Jay Som : Belong

Melina Mae Cortez Duterte, aka Jay Som, has a very distinct sound to her music. At times sparse, other times big fuzzed-out guitars, Jay Som makes indie rock that can spend equal time in big pop production and also low key and lo-fi. Her official debut as Jay Som, 2017’s Everybody Works was catchy radio-ready […]

Foo Fighters : Are Playing Where??? Vol. I

When was the last time a Foo Fighters album was really all that good? At first they were the little band that could, with the drummer from Nirvana trying to do his own thing after Kurt Cobain checked out permanently. That debut was culled from 4-track recordings that the drummer in question, Dave Grohl, recorded […]

Mac Demarco : Guitar

It’s been 6 years since Mac Demarco released a proper studio album(and no, 2023s Five Easy Hot Dogs doesn’t count.) The Canadian weirdo/slacker/multi-instrumentalist’s last proper album was 2019s Here Comes The Cowboy, an album that felt lacking when compared to the previous three LPs. This Old Dog from 2017 was his most promising, showing the […]

Alex G : Headlights

My first exposure to singer/songwriter Alex G was thru his music scores for Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair and I Saw The TV Glow. I was surprisingly moved by his score to I Saw The TV Glow(as I was by the film, too). His restrained synth-heavy score felt like music you’d […]

Blonde Redhead : The Shadow of the Guest

Blonde Redhead have remained completely singular and original in their sound for over their 32 year career, forming in New York, 1993. Starting out in the no-wave and noise scene, by the 2000s the band(consisting of guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone Pace(drums/keys) and Amedeo Pace(guitar/bass/vocals/keys) had folded in elements of dream pop and […]

Foxwarren : 2

Andy Shauf has the kind of voice that is quite indistinguishable. When the Canadian singer/songwriter is singing, the song becomes his. Like Dylan, Bowie, or McCartney, there’s no mistaking the voice delivering the words and melodies. Albums like The Party, The Neon Skyline, and his most recent Norm have the essence of classic 70s singer/songwriter […]

Japanese Breakfast : For Melancholy Brunettes(& Sad Women)

Michelle Zauner has had a pretty busy decade. Releasing her debut album Psychopomp with Japanese Breakfast(which also includes Craig Hendrix, Deven Craige, and Peter Bradley) in 2016. Then a gradual climb into indie rock royalty with follow-up albums Soft Sounds From Another Planet(2017) and Jubilee(2021), Zauner and Japanese Breakfast became a band to watch and […]

Sleigh Bells : Bunky Becky Birthday Boy

It seemed that 15 years ago the music industry was in a bit of an evolving state. We were leaving the 2000s and its thoughtful run of bands with “Bear” in their names and heading into the 2010s with a feeling of indifferent aloofness. Looking for new sounds, new vibes, and a need to find […]

Baths : Gut

Will Wiesenfeld, aka Baths, has been making intricate, emotionally raw, and pop-leaning albums for 15 years starting with his debut Cerulean in 2010. His music tows the line between electronic pop and experimental music as Wiesenfeld covers viscerally raw and emotional lyrics under layers of tactile percussion and light synths. You listen to a Baths […]

The Hard Quartet : The Hard Quartet

I think the majority of folks coming across the new music project The Hard Quartet would scoff at it being called a “supergroup”. But those with their heads in the world of early 90s college/alternative rock would think the label apropos. The band – which consists of Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, Chavez and Superwolve’s Matt Sweeney, […]