It’s hard to imagine anyone would need extra stress in times like these. Yet it’s a gamble METZ is willing to take. Since 2008, the noise-punk trio has honed its high-pressure sound to a serrated edge. The band’s guitar-driven compositions have existed at the margins of meltdown, filled with…

Scottish band Travis has drifted rather pleasantly on a long and stable career. Starting as an undistinguished band with a glimmer of mass appeal, an atmospheric coincidence helped catapult the band’s second album, The Man Who, into public consciousness. Since then, they’ve enjoyed commercial success as a consistently visible mainstream…

The place where pop and art intersect eludes most seekers. Some ambitious bands aim for the sweet spot and overshoot grossly. More commonly, a group disdains one dimension in favor of the other. Too arty for the mainstream yet too accessible for the purist, alternative rocker Thurston Moore is…

Few active rock bands consistently bring the weird like The Flaming Lips. Resonant, immersive sonic experiences are the band’s calling card. On American Head, their 16th studio album, Wayne Coyne and company explore somber tones and rapturous uplift. An atmospheric yet somewhat gentle affair, the record nevertheless skirts abrasiveness at…

One of the extant joys of modern pop music is the capacity for under-the-radar but persistent artists to emerge like a butterfly in creative reawakenings. With Sun Racket, indie rock work mules Throwing Muses throw their hats into the ring for a potentially vital resurgence. Sun Racket Throwing Muses Fire…

Since the mid-’90s, international megastar Toni Braxton has been a household name. Blessed with a voice that perfectly balances technical control, raw power and a touch of grit—Braxton rocketed to fame with a string of chart-topping albums and singles. Her massive success speaks to the widespread appeal of her…

If you were to ask a record-store-frequenting college student, circa 2005, about Conor Oberst, the response would be invariably the same: “Isn’t that the dude from The Faint?” Err, well, yes but no; and good job being a hipster. Though these disparate Omahans did collaborate briefly in the mid-1990s,…

In the heart of Appalachia, that rich musical territory, lies West Virginia, a place known for beautiful mountains and luckless coal mining ballads. The latest record from Steve Earle and the Dukes ventures into the state’s musical and economic heritage. On Ghosts of West Virginia, Earle explores the hardships of the…

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, “Reunions.” Jason Isbell exists in an unpretentious universe. The accomplished Southern rock veteran plays in a style that almost sounds retro in 2020. The fact that his new album, Reunions, sounds so vital reminds listeners of the possibilities inherent to the classic rock format.…

Lucinda Williams, “Good Souls Better Angels.” Perhaps stoicism is the price of singularity. The eminently hard-to-categorize Lucinda Williams is the rare mainstream artist who maintains street cred in both country and rock. But establishing herself entailed a grueling campaign. During the 1970s and ’80s, the Louisiana native romped around…