Since 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City, an emotionally nuanced album of myriad sonic moods, Vampire Weekend has been on something of a hiatus, but not one in which the band as individuals have exper…
Album Review: Jeff Tweedy – “Together At Last”
It’s inherently unsettling to hear the words “I dreamed about killing you again last night.” Such is the tone set from the get-go on Jeff Tweedy’s Together At Last. The album is effectively a retrospe…
Album Review: Portugal. The Man – “Woodstock”
There are few, if any, other single events in American pop music more venerated than the original Woodstock Music and Arts Fair. As a watershed moment in the cultural revolution of the 1970s, occurrin…
Album Review: Rise Against — Wolves
In the summer of 2004, a little over a year after the United States invaded Iraq, Rise Against released their major-label debut, Siren Song of the Counter Culture. The band had made a name for themsel…
Album Review: Dan Auerbach – “Waiting on a Song”
Artists have a habit of creating art about art. No matter who and no matter what the medium, it seems that something about creating art turns the act itself into a potent muse. We can pick any number …
Album Review: Justin Townes Earle — Kids in the Street
If reflection is a natural process of aging, songwriting is among its greatest agents. On his new album, Kids in the Street, alt-country artist Justin Townes Earle validates such wisdom. The singer sp…
Album Review: The Mountain Goats – “Goths”
There is probably no word that describes John Darnielle better than “prolific.” In this decade alone, he has penned four albums with the Mountain Goats and published two novels—which is to say nothing…