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Listening Room: Album Reviews

Minimalistic Warmth from Horsegirl’s Phonetics On and On

This Valentine’s Day, Horsegirl has a gift from their hearts as a trio of best friends with love between them, and it comes in the form of their sophomore album Phonetics On and On.

Minimalistic Warmth from Horsegirl’s Phonetics On and On

Sharon Van Etten’s letting go in Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

Sharon Van Etten has entered into a powerful era of letting go, and it’s not something done for show.

Sharon Van Etten’s letting go in Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

flipturn’s Burnout Days is Anything but Tired

Greetings from the Sunshine State. Indie rock darlings flipturn paint a lush soundscape of Florida monsoons, jewel-toned dragonflies, and crystal clear river waters with the rich lyrics of their latest release, Burnout Days.

flipturn’s Burnout Days is Anything but Tired

Ethel Cain Challenges God Once Again with Perverts

If you’ve ever greened out and started swatting at intrusive thoughts like a dark cloud of flies, then you might find Ethel Cain’s Perverts to be familiar.

Ethel Cain Challenges God Once Again with Perverts

Overheard: Intertwined

Overheard’s indie rock/folk/grunge debut album is compact and more than a little unsettling.

Overheard: Intertwined

Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness

Is punk rock dead? Whatever anyone’s answer may be, Amyl and the Sniffers don’t care either way.

Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness

Fashion Club: A Love You Cannot Shake

Fashion Club’s new album A Love You Cannot Shake is cinematic. It’s distracting. It’s peaceful. The artist makes you sonically want to follow her every move, from first track “Faith” to final track “Deify.”

Fashion Club: A Love You Cannot Shake

Peach Pit: Magpie

Vancouver-based band Peach Pit has gradually carved their niche with chilled out, everyday lyrics and a distorted guitar sound.

Peach Pit: Magpie

Bon Iver: SABLE

“I can handle, way more than I can handle.” The opening lines of Bon Iver’s final track of the new EP SABLE, speak with a newfound clarity.

Bon Iver: SABLE

Cave Radio: Atlas

Exploring Cave Radio's Self-Reflective Terrain with Atlas

Cave Radio: Atlas

Soccer Mommy: Evergreen

Indie rock’s trademark sad girl Soccer Mommy released her fourth album, Evergreen, on October 25, just in time for those bleak autumn-into-winter nights.

Soccer Mommy: Evergreen

The Greeting Committee: Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause

Every generation has a subgenre that has defined its coming-of-age journey. For much of Gen Z, that subgenre has been sad-girl pop rock… and no one captures the simultaneous shining excitement and heart-wrenching nostalgia of growing up quite like The Greeting Committee.

The Greeting Committee: Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause

The Lemon Twigs: A Dream Is All We Know

The newest release from The Lemon Twigs is, in fact, dreamy. Written about the fictional Mersey Beach, A Dream Is All We Know conjures mental images of vintage boardwalks with women in modest floral swimsuits and chubby tykes licking strawberry ice cream cones.

The Lemon Twigs: A Dream Is All We Know

Local Natives: But I’ll Wait For You

"But I’ll Wait For You" has a mellow, organic flow like swimming through a lazy river at night.

Local Natives: But I’ll Wait For You

Blvck Hippie: Basketball Camp

For genres to continue to be innovative, fusing different styles from a diverse amount of places will inevitably be a part of that process. Blvck Hippie, a Memphis-formed indie rock band, embodies this innovation through their new record, Basketball Camp.

Blvck Hippie: Basketball Camp

Missio: I AM CINCO

Texas duo MISSIO releases their fifth album

Missio: I AM CINCO

Nisa: Shapeshifting

Thirty-two free minutes and an open mind is all you need when preparing to listen to Nisa’s new album, Shapeshifting. This album truly takes you through a dreamlike journey of consciousness as you hear her break the bounds of what music can be defined as and she shows that you can look to the past and the future in the same beat.

Nisa: Shapeshifting

Of Montreal: Lady On The Cusp

A crucial task of any entertainment connoisseur is the process of discovery, always expanding and refining one’s palate. Through this, one not only becomes a better consumer, but grows as a multifaceted individual. Without a doubt, Of Montreal’s discography, especially Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, has deepened my appreciation for the medium of music and changed the way I perceived what could be possible with songwriting. This most recent entry, Lady On The Cusp, the group’s 19th(!!!) studio album, continues this course.

Of Montreal: Lady On The Cusp

The Kills: God Games

'Rock's Greatest Duo is Back with God Games

The Kills: God Games

Black Pumas: Chronicles of a Diamond

The first Black Pumas self-titled album was an instant favorite of mine. Every song on it was groovy and catchy, making me feel like driving a convertible away from an explosion while smoking a cigar.

Black Pumas: Chronicles of a Diamond

Sufjan Stevens: Javelins

“Everybody grieves different.” We can empathize, but not fully sympathize, with one’s loss. Javelin, however, allows us to do both.

Sufjan Stevens: Javelins

Various Blonde: Love is How We Will Survive

There is no question that independent/local/regional bands are grinding out there and putting out better music than much of what’s heard on the air waves and satellite radio. One such band is Kansas City’s Various Blonde, who could and should be on the radio and on your playlist.

Various Blonde: Love is How We Will Survive

Margo Price: Strays

In a world where country music continually pedals the “pickup truck and tequila” narrative, Nashville songstress Margo Price dares to do things differently and unapologetically her way.

Margo Price: Strays

Boygenius: The Record

In this dissertation I will…just kidding. Kind of. Readers beware: if you’re looking for an unbiased review of boygenius’—the indie supergroup featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker—newest album The Record, this won’t be it.

Boygenius: The Record

M83: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

M83”s ninth studio album, Fantasy, is a beautiful conundrum. The album is filled to the brim with rich, sweeping synths and deliberate, thought-provoking imagery.

M83: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Gorillaz: Cracker Island

Gorillaz’s work has always been hit or miss for me. Some tracks are among the grooviest, wackiest, and most experimental I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Some tracks are a bit too daring, alienating me from wanting to listen to it again.

Gorillaz: Cracker Island

Lana Del Rey:
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

Pop’s most prolific princess returns with another sprawling collection of confessional songs ruminating on life, death, love and loss.

Lana Del Rey:
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

Caroline Polachek:
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

I have never had writer’s block quite like this when reviewing an album. I have spent weeks sitting on my thoughts, trying to marinate my mind with the record and its use of sound. It’s so familiar, until it isn’t.

Caroline Polachek:
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Paramore: This Is Why

Confession: I have not listened to a Paramore record before this one. Obviously, I’ve heard “Ain’t it Fun,” “Still Into You,” and “Misery Business” from the radio and various TikTok trends, but I can’t say I’ve sat down and listened to any of their five previous albums.

Paramore: This Is Why

Sylvan Esso: No Rules Sandy

Think you’ve heard every iteration of the “pandemic album”? Think again. Electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso is back with No Rules Sandy, the follow-up to their 2020 album, Free Love.

Sylvan Esso: No Rules Sandy
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