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…]
Tag: album review
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: 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: 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…]
Album Review: The Sun’s Tirade – Isaiah Rashad
Tennessean rapper Isaiah Rashad has some destructive tendencies. They were the subject of much of his deceptively laidback flows on his eye-opening 2014 debut, Cilvia Demo. The two years since have not been easy for Rashad: An addiction to Xanax, alcoholism, and the pressures of being his label’s prospective ‘next[Read More…]
Album Review: Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight – Travis Scott
Houston rapper Travis Scott has followed up his 2015 debut studio album Rodeo, with the highly anticipated sophomore album Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight (BTSM). MC and producer Travis Scott originally burst into the limelight as Kanye West’s wunderkind, earning himself production credits in West’s 2013 album Yeezus. Scott[Read More…]
Album Review: Teens of Denial – Car Seat Headrest
Car Seat Headrest is everything that comes to mind when you think lo-fi indie rock. Will Toledo, the mastermind behind what was originally a one-man-band, created a cult following through Bandcamp before ever getting signed. He already had 10 self-made albums under his belt before[Read More…]
Album Review: Blonde – Frank Ocean
Where to listen to Blonde: (Some suggestions) 1. Walking home alone after leaving a disappointing house party. This music makes you feel good if slightly melancholic, like you’re still cool even though that party was not. 2. With your good friends at a beach, park, or lake. These are ideal[Read More…]
