Bob Dylan’s 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, finds the aging Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter looking to the past and settling comfortably there both in terms of sound and subject matter. Although it has been eight years since Bob Dylan…
Album Review: Jehnny Beth – “TO LOVE IS TO LIVE”
Jehnny Beth’s first solo outing, TO LOVE IS TO LIVE, is a brisk, bold album that examines human experience through an array of musical experimentation. The frontwoman, formerly of Savages and John & Jehn, continues her career of creating stark moods…
Album Review: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – “Temple”
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down’s fifth album, Temple, is a rhythmic and clever personification of personal liberation. Thao Nguyen has explained that Temple addresses the reservations her family had about her living publicly as a lesbian, explaining that “fear has been such an…
Album Review: Laura Marling – “A Song for Our Daughter”
Laura Marling’s latest is an example of what the young and prolific English singer-songwriter does best. A Song for Our Daughter is subtle and simple, yet intricate; and efficient yet somehow sprawling. Marling makes everything she does here appear effortless. Because of…
Album Review: Sparks – “A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip”
The quirk-rock fraternal duo Sparks adds another album to their 20-plus record discography with A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip. This new entry does its part to provide us with more of their singular combination of specific, off-kilter lyrics and an art-rock…
Album Review: Lucinda Williams pulls no punches on “Good Souls Better Angels”
Lucinda Williams’ latest release, Good Souls Better Angels, pulls no punches. The album is full of righteous and clear-eyed anger and frustration at the world of today nestled in-between empathetic songs that encourage the listener to stick it out alongside Williams. Good…
Album Review: Shabazz Palaces – “The Don of Diamond Dreams”
The Don of Diamond Dreams marks the album-length return of the Seattle hip hop group Shabazz Palaces after three years. The return isn’t quite as bombastic as one might hope, but the production of the album has a distinct galactic shine…
