Austra: Olympia
Many note Katie Stelmanis’ voice when talking about Austra, and rightfully so, but to say it is “classically trained” is an undersell-and-a-half. read more
Overseas: Overseas
Overseas is a collaboration between David Bazan, Will Johnson and Matt and Bubba Kadane. read more
Stephen Kellogg: Blunderstone Rookery
"You get what you pay for, and sometimes it's bad." So sings Stephen Kellogg on his seventh solo album, during the shiny folk-rock waltz of "The Best." As it turns out, he's very much right. read more
Spectrals: Sob Story
Chameleonic U.K. power-poppers Spectrals—the duo of brothers Louis and Will Jones—shed the slings and arrows siblinghood might present and focus on crafting some of the most heartfelt melodic pop since Big Star on their new LP, Sob Story. read more
John Vanderslice: Dagger Beach
Dagger Beach can, at times, feel a little out there—even for John Vanderslice. read more
Heliotropes: A Constant Sea
When Roky Erickson sang "I Walked With A Zombie" on his 1981 album with the Aliens, The Evil One, the drawling croak of the Texas psych-rock hero gave the impression of a man in recovery. He’d had his B-movie horror moment but gotten out alive. When Heliotropes covered the same song in the fall of 2012, Jessica Numsuwankijkul's dazed, disaffected singing made it seem like not only had she not escaped the walking dead—she’d become one of them. read more
Sigur Rós: Kveikur
Sigur Rós has long provided a sort of hymnal template for the secular masses. read more
The Mantles: Long Enough to Leave
San Francisco is just going to have to be one of those places where the residual spirit of the Summer of Love saturates all creative endeavors until further notice. read more
Kanye West: Yeezus
The low-point on Yeezus, Kanye West's sixth album, is "I Am A God," a rhythmically rote electro-buzz that inflates Kanye's legendary ego to (literally) biblical proportions. read more
Coma Cinema: Posthumous Release
Mat Cothran’s digital grassroots success is astounding. He started recording music in his jaded Spartanburg, S.C. bedroom as Coma Cinema some years ago, recently relocating to Columbia. read more
The Lonely Island: The Wack Album
Year after year we have the same conversation about Saturday Night Live getting worse, wondering if it's finally time to pull the plug on the long-running comedy launchpad. read more
Pokey LaFarge: Pokey LaFarge
Singer/songwriter Pokey LaFarge can be as bluegrass as Bill Monroe, as country as Johnny Cash and as folk as Bob Dylan. In contemporary references, the nearly-30-year-old is as much of a traditionalist as the Carolina Chocolate Drops or Luke Winslow-King. And on his self-titled release—his debut on Jack White’s Third Man Records—LaFarge blends these musical styles better than ever before.... read more
Oblivians: Desperation
The Oblivians aren’t what you’d call a household name, but those who know, know. And they know better. read more
Sonny and the Sunsets: Antenna to the Afterworld
A musical chameleon, Sonny Smith remains distinct in each of his guises, merely changing colors while retaining his unique shape. read more
Jason Isbell: Southeastern
As a solo artist, Jason Isbell has had a rough time of it. read more
Boards of Canada: Tomorrow’s Harvest
Daft Punk’s austere image is at least somewhat in contrast to their hyper-reverent Eurodisco, Boards of Canada’s sudden flirtations with the notion of being some kind of ambient rock stars (the first since Aphex Twin if not Eno) begin and end with the wild goose chase they sent Record Store Day patrons on. read more
Black Sabbath: 13
13—the first album in 35 years from Black Sabbath’s original lineup—ends the same way their 1970 self-titled debut begins, with the proto-doomy sound of falling rain and a distant church bell. read more
Beady Eye: Be
Some people hate surprises. They eat the same breakfast every day and shop at the same market because they always have. Some people have been watching the same soap opera play out on the daytime television wasteland for decades. read more
Surfer Blood: Pythons
Though it’s only three years old, Surfer Blood’s 2010 debut Astro Coast already feels like a product of its time. read more
City and Colour:The Hurry and The Harm
With his newest solo album under the moniker of City and Colour, former Alexisonfire singer/guitarist Dallas Green seems to finally have a record that may allow him to garner more widespread recognition as part of this contingent of folk-inspired pop-rock acts—led by the likes of Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers—that seem to be everywhere these days. read more
