On Sept. 5, Big Thief released its new studio album Double Infinity. For many, this album has been a source of confusion, as it is set so apart from much of the band’s work. For starters, the cover is optically exploratory in comparison to their others: It features a bright[Read More…]
Album Reviews
Point-Counterpoint: Sabrina Carpenter and the thin line between submission and control
On Aug. 29, Sabrina Carpenter released her album Man’s Best Friend. But the real conversation began months earlier—on June 11—when she unveiled the provocative cover art on Instagram. It features Carpenter on all fours, in a black mini-dress and high heels, as an anonymous man grips her by the hair.[Read More…]
‘Essex Honey’ is a perfected orchestra of love, loss, and grief
Devonté Hynes, under the alias Blood Orange, entered the mainstream several years ago when his 2011 song, “Champagne Coast,” gained viral popularity on TikTok. After a six-year hiatus, he released a new album on Aug. 29, Essex Honey in which he contemplates grief, loss, and growing up. Within each song[Read More…]
What we liked this summer break
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 – Bianca Sugunasiri, Arts and Entertainment Editor This summer brought sun, sea, and the newest season of Jenny Han and Gabrielle Stanton’s show The Summer I Turned Pretty, perhaps more appropriately named ‘The Summer I Made Poor Decisions.’ Season 3 follows Isabel “Belly”[Read More…]
FKA Twigs liberates the body to free the soul
Pounding electric bass. Neon lights strobing across the curvatures of moving muscle, flexing and softening in rhythmic tandem. Delicate and flowering falsetto melodies. Strangers coalescing in states of hedonistic dynamism. Violent snaps of the drum, spurting its vibrational heartbeats across the dancefloor. Choral pleas for unfamiliarity and euphoric authenticity pounding[Read More…]
Bad Bunny’s new album fuses Puerto Rican music, culture, and politics
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Released on Jan. 5th, Bad Bunny’s sixth studio album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (“I Should Have Taken More Photos”), has been celebrated as an “unabashed,” “determined,” “resonant,” and “triumphant” tribute to Puerto Rico. Beyond critical acclaim and chart-topping success—it currently holds the top position on Spotify’s Top Albums[Read More…]
‘CHROMAKOPIA’ may be Tyler, the Creator’s most authentic work yet
CHROMAKOPIA, released on Oct. 28, is Tyler, the Creator’s most authentic album yet, following 2023’s CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale. Typically, Tyler adopts a new “character” for each album cycle, such as Igor for his 2019 album of the same name, or Wolf Haley on his[Read More…]
Hannah Frances’ ‘Keeper of the Shepherd’ is the most sincere record of the year
Softly strummed chords steadily resound beneath layers of swelling vocals, grief-stricken and tenderly sincere. In her song “Husk,” Hannah Frances explores the glacial vulnerability of death, expounding grief as an absent presence and a manifestation of immortalized love. For sorrow cannot exist without the chances taken by love, and death[Read More…]
The Dare revives indie sleaze with ‘What’s Wrong With New York?’
⭐⭐⭐ (out of 5) The Dare has been everywhere this summer. He produced “Guess” off Charli XCX’s BRAT, which has gone on to be the album’s highest charting song with a feature from Billie Eilish, and he opened several times for Charli’s tour. After this sudden rise from obscurity, The[Read More…]
‘Short n’ Sweet’ highlights Sabrina Carpenter’s range and confidence as an artist
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (out of 5) Following the success of singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” Sabrina Carpenter capped off her summer of pop domination with the release of her sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet on Aug. 23. As a fan of Carpenter’s music since her Singular: Act I (2018)[Read More…]
