Music Reviews
- 
        
        
          
 Taylor Swift’s deeply affecting evermore continues folklore’s rich universe-building By Annie Zaleski December 14, 2020 | 3:45pm
         - 
        
        
          
 With McCartney III, Paul McCartney offers lessons from a legendary life By Gwen Ihnat November 9, 2020 | 4:54pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Ariana Grande finds her bliss with Positions By Annie Zaleski November 2, 2020 | 8:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Letter To You is one of the finest achievements of Bruce Springsteen’s career By Alex McLevy October 15, 2020 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Sufjan Stevens rages and despairs through The Ascension’s bloated protest bangers By Randall Colburn September 24, 2020 | 3:37pm
         - 
        
        
          
 With Smile, Katy Perry is desperately trying to have fun again By Alex McLevy August 28, 2020 | 4:00am
         - 
        
        
          
 Bright Eyes brings the drama on the sad, lovely Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was By Randall Colburn August 21, 2020 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Beyoncé’s Black Is King is an unfettered celebration of Blackness By Shannon Miller July 31, 2020 | 7:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Taylor Swift writes her own version of history on folklore By Annie Zaleski July 24, 2020 | 8:30pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Phoebe Bridgers is as anxious as the rest of us, but Punisher is still a soothing balm By Katie Rife June 19, 2020 | 9:26pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Lady Gaga returns to her electro-pop roots—and channels Madonna (again)—on Chromatica By Patrick Gomez May 29, 2020 | 4:26am
         - 
        
        
          
 The 1975 gets restless on the sprawling, unfocused Notes On A Conditional Form By Annie Zaleski May 22, 2020 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Moses Sumney’s ambitious Grae destroys binaries from within By Max Freedman May 13, 2020 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Hayley Williams’ solo debut Petals For Armor is therapy in sweet motion By Shannon Miller May 8, 2020 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Lucinda Williams meets some Good Souls Better Angels on a raucous trip to hell and back By Katie Rife April 27, 2020 | 4:20pm
         - 
        
        
          
 With Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple hits a zenith of liberation and experimentation By Nina Corcoran April 17, 2020 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Morrissey barks and bites on I Am Not A Dog On A Chain By Josh Modell March 20, 2020 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Pearl Jam does the evolution on the ambitious, if uneven, Gigaton By Alex McLevy March 9, 2020 | 5:50pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Mandy Moore emerges older and wiser on Silver Landings, her first album in 11 years By Gwen Ihnat March 5, 2020 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Changes finds Justin Bieber on the bumpy road to maturity By Annie Zaleski February 18, 2020 | 4:35pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Tame Impala has nothing left to hide behind on The Slow Rush By Max Freedman February 13, 2020 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Kesha strikes a self-assured pop balance on High Road By Annie Zaleski January 31, 2020 | 9:20pm
         - 
        
        
          
 With Fine Line, Harry Styles transforms into a California-pop iconoclast By Annie Zaleski December 17, 2019 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 A weary Beck occasionally lifts off on Hyperspace By Josh Modell November 25, 2019 | 9:15pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Coldplay runs away from Coldplay on the wildly uneven Everyday Life By Josh Modell November 22, 2019 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 DJ Shadow’s triumphant new LP is part evolution, part class reunion By Alex McLevy November 14, 2019 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Before Brian Eno made Music For Airports, Ernest Hood made music for Neighborhoods By Marty Sartini Garner October 10, 2019 | 8:35pm
         - 
        
        
          
 On Ghosteen, Nick Cave invites us into his bright abyss By Marty Sartini Garner October 7, 2019 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors is a gorgeous but fatiguing listen By Annie Zaleski October 3, 2019 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Chelsea Wolfe goes back to the land on the starkly beautiful Birth Of Violence By Katie Rife September 12, 2019 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Lana Del Rey goes confessional on the meandering Norman Fucking Rockwell By Annie Zaleski September 3, 2019 | 3:40pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Ezra Furman sings to the barricades on the righteous, furious Twelve Nudes By Katie Rife August 28, 2019 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Taylor Swift is done proving herself on the resonant Lover By Annie Zaleski August 26, 2019 | 5:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 The Hold Steady makes a loose, welcome return to Thrashing Thru The Passion By Jesse Hassenger August 15, 2019 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Sleater-Kinney is down, but not defeated, on The Center Won’t Hold By Katie Rife August 14, 2019 | 5:30pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Chance The Rapper celebrates union on his triumphant studio release The Big Day By Adam Isaac Itkoff July 29, 2019 | 4:50pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Freddie Gibbs and Madlib go 2 for 2 with the head-spinning Bandana By Clayton Purdom June 26, 2019 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Bruce Springsteen tries to lose himself under the cinematic scope of Western Stars By Alex McLevy June 12, 2019 | 11:00am
         - 
        
        
          
 Left-field cameos fuel Flying Lotus’ latest odyssey, Flamagra By Mosi Reeves May 24, 2019 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Relationship status with Morrissey’s new covers album: It’s complicated By Josh Modell May 23, 2019 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 The National takes a deep breath on the revelatory I Am Easy To Find By Randall Colburn May 16, 2019 | 5:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Vampire Weekend brilliantly stretches its own definition on Father Of The Bride By Josh Modell May 2, 2019 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Lizzo loves herself, and learns to love somebody else, on the empowered yet tender Cuz I Love You By Katie Rife April 19, 2019 | 5:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Weyes Blood ascends to new musical heights on the lush, cinematic Titanic Rising By Katie Rife April 5, 2019 | 5:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 LPX is the American Robyn, and her new EP proves she’s ready for pop stardom By Alex McLevy March 26, 2019 | 3:00pm
         - More empathetic than incendiary, this is still Andrew Bird’s Finest Work Yet By Danette Chavez March 22, 2019 | 3:00pm
 - 
        
        
          
 Singing like she never has before, Jenny Lewis puts it all On The Line By Annie Zaleski March 20, 2019 | 5:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 What more do you want from Weezer at this point? By Jesse Hassenger March 1, 2019 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Two new rarities albums show the songs Alex Chilton was in love with By Gwen Ihnat February 25, 2019 | 5:15pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Ariana Grande has no fucks to spare on the thrilling Thank U, Next By Annie Zaleski February 11, 2019 | 8:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 James Blake’s Assume Form is both a surprising twist and a logical conclusion By Brian Howe January 22, 2019 | 5:01pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Sharon Van Etten embraces the here and now on Remind Me Tomorrow By Annie Zaleski January 17, 2019 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Deerhunter’s eighth LP is a sci-fi salve for 21st-century anxiety By Matt Williams January 16, 2019 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Earl Sweatshirt locks in on the uncompromising Some Rap Songs By Clayton Purdom December 6, 2018 | 3:30pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Black Velvet pays poignant tribute to late soul singer Charles Bradley By Katie Rife November 9, 2018 | 3:30pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Thom Yorke summons a dark new sound in Suspiria By Clayton Purdom October 26, 2018 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Lil Wayne’s long-overdue Tha Carter V, plus High On Fire and more in this week’s music reviews By The A.V. Club, Clayton Purdom, A.A. Dowd, Annie Zaleski October 5, 2018 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Cat Power’s Wanderer can’t quite find its way By Annie Zaleski October 4, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Cher does ABBA, BROCKHAMPTON sprawls out, and more in this week’s music reviews By The A.V. Club, A.A. Dowd, Annie Zaleski, David Anthony September 28, 2018 | 5:15pm
         - 
        
        
          
 A rare view of Prince, plus Metric and more in this week’s new music By The A.V. Club, Gwen Ihnat, Alex McLevy, Marty Sartini Garner September 21, 2018 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Christine And The Queens’ swaggering Chris revels in fluid identities By Annie Zaleski September 20, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Noname opens up, and invites us to do the same, on the unapologetic Room 25 By Dianca London Potts September 19, 2018 | 3:45pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Jóhann Jóhansson embraces the void on the doom-metal influenced Mandy soundtrack By Katie Rife September 18, 2018 | 8:50pm
         - 
        
        
          
 New albums out today: Low, Paul Weller, Spirit Of The Beehive, and more By The A.V. Club, David Anthony, Annie Zaleski September 14, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Spiritualized’s grand goodbye, Joey Purp’s live-wire mixtape, and more new music reviews By The A.V. Club, Clayton Purdom, David Anthony, Tabassum Siddiqui September 7, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 The battle for baby-boomer relevance pits Paul against Paul By Jesse Hassenger September 5, 2018 | 5:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Wild Nothing’s best album yet, Danny Brown’s Twitch mixtape, and more music to hear this week By The A.V. Club, A.A. Dowd, Annie Zaleski, Alex McLevy, Marty Sartini Garner, Nina Corcoran August 31, 2018 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Desire and gender run free on Anna Calvi’s ferocious Hunter By Kelsey J. Waite August 31, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Blood Orange builds a refuge for Black stories on the exquisite Negro Swan By Judnick Mayard August 30, 2018 | 3:40pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Ariana Grande and Mogwai lead a stellar week in new music By The A.V. Club, Gwen Ihnat, Marty Sartini Garner, Annie Zaleski August 24, 2018 | 3:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Nicki Minaj, Animal Collective, and Death Cab lead a busy week in new releases By The A.V. Club, Nina Hernandez, Alex McLevy, kenneth-partridge August 17, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Mitski is alone in the middle of the dance floor on the playful Be The Cowboy By Katie Rife August 16, 2018 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Foxing’s excellent, elastic Nearer My God leads this week’s new releases By The A.V. Club, David Anthony, Alex McLevy August 10, 2018 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 YG, Helena Hauff, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Clayton Purdom, Marty Sartini Garner, Matt Gerardi, Colin McGowan August 3, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 The Internet, Skeletonwitch, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Astrid Budgor July 20, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Dirty Projectors, Deafheaven, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Marty Sartini Garner, A.A. Dowd, Sean O'Neal July 13, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Bjørn Torske, Bodega, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Alex McLevy, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky July 6, 2018 | 3:00pm
         - Scorpion is a whole shitload of Drake By Clayton Purdom July 2, 2018 | 6:30pm
 - 
        
        
          
 Florence + The Machine, Gorillaz, and more albums to know about this week By Katie Rife, Clayton Purdom, David Brusie, Sean O'Neal, Matt Williams, Gwen Ihnat June 29, 2018 | 3:00pm
         - Don’t let the preposterous flood of major rap releases make you forget Jay Rock By Clayton Purdom June 22, 2018 | 7:30pm
 - 
        
        
          
 Nine Inch Nails, Kamasi Washington, and more albums to know about this week By Matt Gerardi, Sean O'Neal, Colin McGowan, Kyle Ryan June 22, 2018 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Everything Is Love is big enough for Beyoncé and JAY-Z both By Clayton Purdom June 19, 2018 | 10:35pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Nas and Kanye make a rushed connection on Nasir By Colin McGowan June 15, 2018 | 4:37pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Melody’s Echo Chamber, Rolling Blackouts CF, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Marty Sartini Garner, Annie Zaleski, Gwen Ihnat, Kelsey J. Waite June 15, 2018 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Kid Cudi lifts Kanye up on Kids See Ghosts By Marty Sartini Garner June 11, 2018 | 4:30pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Lykke Li, Zeal & Ardor, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, A.A. Dowd, Matt Gerardi, Jesse Hassenger, Annie Zaleski June 8, 2018 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Ye won’t change your mind on Kanye By Clayton Purdom June 1, 2018 | 5:14pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Father John Misty, LUMP, The Dreebs, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Marty Sartini Garner, Nina Hernandez, Matt Williams June 1, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Neko Case is a force of nature on the masterful Hell-On By Katie Rife May 31, 2018 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Oneohtrix Point Never goes pop, then obliterates it on the excellent Age Of By Sean O'Neal May 30, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - The bracing, brilliant Daytona is uncut Pusha T By Clayton Purdom May 25, 2018 | 6:16pm
 - 
        
        
          
 Chvrches, Wooden Shjips, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Matt Gerardi, Sean O'Neal May 25, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Parquet Courts, Stephen Malkmus, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Clayton Purdom, Annie Zaleski, Sean O'Neal, Matt Williams May 18, 2018 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Courtney Barnett lacks the energy to Tell Me How You Really Feel By Annie Zaleski May 17, 2018 | 4:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Making the case for Bruce Springsteen’s decade away from E Street By Alex McLevy May 16, 2018 | 11:00am
         - 
        
        
          
 Beach House finds beauty in chaos on album no. 7 By Kelsey J. Waite May 11, 2018 | 3:45pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Arctic Monkeys, Tee Grizzley, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Kyle Ryan, Noel Murray, Annie Zaleski, A.A. Dowd May 11, 2018 | 1:00pm
         - Rae Sremmurd’s SR3MM instantly enters the triple-album pantheon By Clayton Purdom May 9, 2018 | 4:55pm
 - 
        
        
          
 Jon Hopkins, DJ Koze, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Matt Gerardi, Clayton Purdom, Gwen Ihnat, Jesse Hassenger, Kyle Ryan May 4, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Janelle Monáe comes out as an icon on the superb Dirty Computer By Danette Chavez April 27, 2018 | 7:52pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Dr. Dog, Okkervil River, and more albums to know about this week By A.V. Club, Matt Gerardi, Sean O'Neal, Alex McLevy April 27, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 A Perfect Circle, Sting & Shaggy, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Sean O'Neal, Katie Rife, Lily Moayeri April 20, 2018 | 1:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Manic Street Preachers, A Place To Bury Strangers, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Kyle Ryan, Annie Zaleski, Gwen Ihnat April 13, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Cardi B fulfills the promise of “Bodak Yellow” on Invasion Of Privacy By Clayton Purdom April 6, 2018 | 5:29pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Wye Oak, Eels, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Matt Gerardi, Alex McLevy, Kyle Ryan, Ryan Bray, Clayton Purdom, Nina Hernandez, Annie Zaleski April 6, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 The Voidz, The Vaccines, and more albums to know about this week By The A.V. Club, Gwen Ihnat, Clayton Purdom, Annie Zaleski, Matt Gerardi March 30, 2018 | 2:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 GBV, The Sword, and more albums to know about this week By A.V. Club Contributors, David Anthony, Katie Rife, A.A. Dowd, Sean O'Neal March 23, 2018 | 6:00pm
         - 
        
        
          
 Jack White gets weird(er) on Boarding House Reach By Noel Murray March 22, 2018 | 2:00pm