Japanese Breakfast, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)” Japanese Breakfast, the project of vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Michelle Zauner, has been in the indie spotlight for almost a decade. Her debut, 2016’s Psychopomp, brought instant success and acclaim for her poignant style. Six years later, the band was nominated…

St. Lucia (Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek), Photo: Xander Ferreira. In recent music videos and live performances, St. Lucia band members and spouses Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek wear matching bright red outfits in the middle of expansive desert landscapes. The videos, filmed on a road trip in South…

The Weeknd, “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” The Weeknd has had a fascinating career trajectory, entering the alternative R&B scene in the early 2010s as a mysterious crooner and becoming one of the world’s biggest pop stars. His hits include “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Blinding Lights,” Spotify’s most-streamed song of…

FKA twigs, “EUSEXUA.” FKA twigs, a genre-bending visionary, explores the spirituality of dancing and catharsis of seeking pleasure on EUSEXUA, her first album since 2019. It’s singer-songwriter Tahliah Debrett Barnett in her truest form, an artist piecing together parts of previous projects—like CAPRISONGS’ (2022) electric dance elements and MAGDALENE’s…

Kendrick Lamar, “GNX.” Kendrick Lamar became one of the world’s most acclaimed rappers for his conscious, intricate penmanship. In the last year, he’s found success in a somewhat different lane: diss tracks against Drake. The most popular from the now infamous rap battle is “Not Like Us,” a punchy…

Tyler, the Creator, “CHROMAKOPIA.” Despite being one of the most prolific faces in hip-hop, Tyler, the Creator has always been intentionally opaque with his personal life, letting his artistic endeavors speak for themselves. On his new album, CHROMAKOPIA, he slowly begins to take off his mask. CHROMAKOPIA Tyler, the…

Leon Bridges, “Leon.” Leon Bridges’ 2021 album, Gold-Diggers Sound, expanded on the soulful feeling of his first two records with some new electronic elements, making for an exciting and fresh body of work. With his new self-titled, Leon, though, he’s returned to the more traditional sounds of his first…

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds perform at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 24, 2017. Photo: Paige K. Parsons. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will be headed on a North American tour next spring in support of new album Wild God. The tour begins in April…

Sabrina Carpenter, “Short n’ Sweet.” Since the mid-2010s, when the Disney Channel gave her airtime, Sabrina Carpenter has had difficulty establishing a distinct sound or persona as a pop star. With all five albums she’d made, she threw different sounds at the wall, and while some stuck, she lacked…

Glass Animals, “I Love You So F***ing Much.” Riding on the high of their 2021 mega-hit “Heat Waves,” British pop band Glass Animals have big shoes to fill with their newest album. Can the group achieve another chart-topper while also satisfying their longtime fans, many whom generally prefer the…