Khalid released his debut single“Location” weeks before his senior prom in hopes that the song could earn him the title of Prom King. The song earned him the crown, in addition to over 50 million Spotify plays. Less than a year later, the artist has released his first album, American[Read More…]
Album Reviews
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…]
Album Review: Yes Lawd! – NxWorries
West-coast duo NxWorries’ second collaborative project, Yes Lawd!, feels very much like a jazzy and soulful spiritual successor to Stones Throw Records’ past collaborations, such as Madvillainy and Champion Sound. The album follows a momentous year by singer-songwriter and multi faceted vocalist, Anderson .Paak. In 2016, he released his sophomore[Read More…]
Album Review: The Altar – Banks
Over the two years after the release of her first album, Goddess (2014) Jillian Banks—better known by her stage name, Banks—has climbed to success, winning awards and touring internationally with The Weeknd. The University of Southern California graduate’s academic background in psychology shines through in the themes she explores in[Read More…]
Album Review: A Seat at the Table – Solange
★★★★★ Moms are known for picking favourites, based on just about anything really (usually whichever child takes out the trash that week or helps bring in groceries). What is a mom like Tina Knowles-Lawson supposed to do? Now the second album of the year from a Knowles, Solange breaks through[Read More…]
Album Review: Bon Iver – 22, A Million
Five years ago, Bon Iver released their self-titled EP to much critical acclaim. The album had stretched the boundaries of folk music, bringing an expansive tenor to a typically stripped down genre, and becoming a modern classic album in the process. Since then, Bon Iver’s[Read More…]
Album Review: Atrocity Exhibition – Danny Brown
Danny Brown doesn’t make albums for the faint-of-heart. Throughout his career, Brown has pushed the limits of what one can say on a mainstream rap release, as well as the genre’s sonic boundaries. As he shifts rapidly between coked-out rampages, stoned relaxation, explicit sexual descriptions,[Read More…]