Since their 2010 debut, Sleigh Bells have been dubbed the poster child for “noise-pop”—defined as a combination of angelic pop vocals, distortion, and white noise–conveying an overbearing presence that cannot be ignored. Four albums later, vocalist Alexis Krauss and producer/songwriter Derek E. Miller embark on[Read More…]
Tag: album review
Album Review: ‘There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light’ – Stars
Since the release of their first album Nightsongs in 2001, Canadian indie pop band Stars has centred its songwriting around strained love. Usually holding on by a thread, though interspersed with spells of enamoured enchantment and thrill, the band’s lyrics stare out on the brink of[Read More…]
Album Review: ‘Luv is Rage 2’ – Lil Uzi Vert
Hip hop artist Lil Uzi Vert made waves earlier in 2017 with his triple-platinum single “XO Tour Llif3.” As with many artists’ debut albums following a hit single, Luv is Rage 2 strives to hit the same mark as its single with varying degrees of success. The album opens with “Two,”[Read More…]
Landing softly: A conversation with Japanese Breakfast at Bar Le Ritz
Japanese Breakfast–Brooklyn-based singer and guitarist Michelle Zauner’s solo project–released their sophomore album Soft Sounds From Another Planet (Soft Sounds) on July 14. Zauner was once the frontman of the emo indie band Little Big League, where her yelping vocals and decisive lyrics earned the Philadelphia band the designation of “underrated.”[Read More…]
On Melodrama, Lorde reveres being young and dumb
It’s easy to trivialize pop music, or dismiss it as something intrinsically lesser than “real music." It can seem banal, and focus on catchiness in lieu of explicit meaning. But those criticisms often miss the point of the genre. At its best, a pop song isn’t about a message, per[Read More…]
Staff roundup: Drake – ‘More Life’
In More Life, Drake’s propensity for picking up Caribbean sound and slang is strong, and his growing paranoia of the people around him is stronger. Still, Drake’s talent lies in his humour and humility, and a few moments on More Life demonstrate that he hasn’t fully lost that yet. Drake[Read More…]
Album Review: Jay Som – ‘Everybody Works’
It’s hard to make an indie-rock record in 2017. With rock’s virtually non-existent commercial clout and alternative music’s critical supremacy all but sapped, the genre has been bogged down in a midlife crisis for the past few years. Those who have managed to hang around—Mitski, Car Seat Headrest—have done so[Read More…]
Album Review: Kehlani – “SweetSexySavage”
Kehlani Parrish’s latest release SweetSexySavage follows in the footsteps of Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad and Aaliyah’s Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number. The Oakland native is staking out her claim in R&B’s next generation with a young, bold voice, and skillful pop songwriting. Following her 2015 mixtape You Should[Read More…]
Album Review: I See You – The xx
The xx’s 2009 self-titled debut was a watershed album for indie rock, one that effortlessly fused after-midnight R&B with pop sensibilities. Eight years later, much has changed. World-shifting indie rock records like The xx’s debut now seem few and far between. The band itself has splintered off in different directions;[Read More…]
Album Review: We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service – A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) mean a lot of things to a lot of people. The group was formed in 1985 with original members Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Their status as a uniquely positive, innovative force in the “Golden Age” of rap[Read More…]
