Ryan Bray

9/13/17

Deer Tick compartmentalizes its sound on the sprawling Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

After 13 years, Deer Tick still doesn’t quite know what kind of band it wants to be. Not that this is a problem,…

8/4/17

Dead Cross, Neil Young, Ben Gibbard, and more in this week’s music reviews

Dead Cross, Dead Cross
Grade: B+

6/16/17

The Drums, Portugal. The Man, Ride, and more in this week’s music reviews

[Anti-]

4/21/17

Charly Bliss, The Black Angels, Incubus, and more in this week’s music reviews

There’s a reason we form our closest affinities with rock and pop music during our youth. There’s something…

3/10/17

The Shins, Laura Marling, Greg Graffin, and more in this week’s music reviews

Heartworms, The Shins’ first record since 2012’s Port Of Morrow, kicks off with the bouncy, sun-kissed jaunt “Name…

3/3/17

The Magnetic Fields, Grandaddy, Minus The Bear, and more in this week’s music reviews

Stephin Merritt loves a good gimmick, doesn’t he? There was his Magnetic Fields magnum opus, 1999’s 69 Love Songs—exa…

1/3/17

Run The Jewels and Japandroids lead the charge of January’s new music releases

Every Friday, dozens of new records are released into the wild. Some make big splashes, and others sink almost…

11/14/16

Laura Jane Grace puts a face and a name to gender dysphoria in Tranny

Most memoirs wait to be written until their writers have lived a full life. At 36, Laura Jane Grace doesn’t need to…

10/11/16

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion hit its freak-rock peak on Now I Got Worry

A piercing scream opens “Skunk,” the lead track on The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Now I Got Worry. It’s a…

10/7/16

An older, wiser, but no-less biting NOFX emerges on First Ditch Effort

For years, it seemed like time would never catch up with NOFX. The legendary L.A. outfit has always seemed to take…

8/29/16

My Damage is a winning memoir from a punk icon

Is there a prouder, more tireless ambassador of punk rock and hardcore than Keith Morris? The name might lack the…

8/26/16

And The Anonymous Nobody… is De La Soul’s long-awaited but inspired return

De La Soul’s contributions to hip-hop over the past three decades are mighty, but the Long Island trio has often…

8/3/16

Here’s what’s coming to record stores and streaming services in August

Every Friday, dozens of new records are released into the wild. Some make big splashes, and others sink almost…

7/12/16

Everything Sucks marked the return of an older, angrier Descendents

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

7/7/16

Beyond “La Bamba”: Los Lobos is the best rock band nobody’s listening to

When Los Lobos loaded into City Winery in Chicago back in February, it was equal parts rock show and commemoration.…

5/2/16

Buttholes and lawyers: How a lawsuit threatened the indie music model

Electriclarryland, released 20 years ago last month, was the Butthole Surfers’ receipt for years spent cementing…

4/29/16

Bob Dylan, meet Ariana Grande: Here’s what’s coming to record stores in May

Every Friday, dozens of new records are released into the wild. Some make big splashes, and others sink almost…

4/25/16

Under The Big Black Sun opens up L.A.’s punk-rock underbelly

Forty years would seem to be plenty of time to canvass and document the history of punk rock, but as is the case…

3/31/16

Cloudy with a chance of Drake: Here’s what’s coming to record stores in April

Every Friday, dozens of new records are released into the wild. Some make big splashes, and others sink almost…

3/25/16

Patch The Sky finds Bob Mould in spirited, cathartic form

Bob Mould might have been having a self-deprecating chuckle at himself when he named his 2012 record Silver Age, but…

Ryan Bray's posts

Deer Tick compartmentalizes its sound on the sprawling Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

Dead Cross, Neil Young, Ben Gibbard, and more in this week’s music reviews

The Drums, Portugal. The Man, Ride, and more in this week’s music reviews

Charly Bliss, The Black Angels, Incubus, and more in this week’s music reviews

The Shins, Laura Marling, Greg Graffin, and more in this week’s music reviews

The Magnetic Fields, Grandaddy, Minus The Bear, and more in this week’s music reviews

Run The Jewels and Japandroids lead the charge of January’s new music releases

Laura Jane Grace puts a face and a name to gender dysphoria in Tranny

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion hit its freak-rock peak on Now I Got Worry

An older, wiser, but no-less biting NOFX emerges on First Ditch Effort

My Damage is a winning memoir from a punk icon

And The Anonymous Nobody… is De La Soul’s long-awaited but inspired return

Here’s what’s coming to record stores and streaming services in August

Everything Sucks marked the return of an older, angrier Descendents

Beyond “La Bamba”: Los Lobos is the best rock band nobody’s listening to

Buttholes and lawyers: How a lawsuit threatened the indie music model

Bob Dylan, meet Ariana Grande: Here’s what’s coming to record stores in May

Under The Big Black Sun opens up L.A.’s punk-rock underbelly

Cloudy with a chance of Drake: Here’s what’s coming to record stores in April

Patch The Sky finds Bob Mould in spirited, cathartic form