Thirty years after her last Christmas album, Dolly Parton is back again with the charming and homegrown A Holly Dolly Christmas. Her previous Christmas releases—Once Upon a Christmas with Ke…
Album Review: Sylvan Esso craft subtle treasures on “Free Love”
On Amelia Meath and Nick Sandborn’s third album as Sylvan Esso, Free Love, the group pares down their sound even further while expanding their emotional reach. The precise electronic-pop beats of…
From the Record Crate: Rilo Kiley – “Rilo Kiley” (2000)
Rilo Kiley, the Southern California indie-rock band that flourished through most of the 2000s, began with a humble EP released in 1999. That EP, self-titled, and then renamed The Initial Friend&n…
Album Review: Imelda May trades rockabilly for spoken word on “Slip of the Tongue”
Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May’s latest outing, Slip of the Tongue, is a far cry from her early rockabilly output. However, this isn’t such a huge leap from her last album way back in 2017, Life L…
Album Review: H. Jon Benjamin delivers quirky interpretations of movie favorites on “The Soundtrack Collection”
Comedian H. Jon Benjamin’s latest experimental album—this time under the official name “Jon Benjamin – Jazz Daredevil” —is only marginally more legitimate than his first. 2015’s Well I Should Hav…
Album Review: Katy Perry – “Smile”
On Katy Perry’s latest, long-teased album Smile, Perry remains resolutely pop. While her peers and successors are increasingly genre-hopping and dropping surprise records and EPs, Perry’s Smile feels …
Album Review: Bully – “SUGAREGG”
On Bully’s third release, SUGAREGG, now-official band mastermind Alicia Bognanno continues to channel her every feeling into intense rock howls. The sound of SUGAREGG is not markedly different fr…