Pokey LaFarge, courtesy. On his seventh album, In the Blossom of their Shade, Pokey LaFarge and his band deescalate the intensity of his last two albums. The emotional highs of 2017’s Manic Revelations and 2020’s Rock Bottom Rhapsody came at a cost to the songwriter, who was hitting personal lows at the time.…

Clockwise from top left: Maria Taylor, Divino Niño, Pond, The Altered Hours, Bipolar Sunshine and Barry Adamson. The messy psychedelic rock of Pond, soulful angst of Bipolar Sunshine, danceable groove and blissed-out drift of Divino Niño, the driving percussion and droning guitars of The Altered Hours, the earthy, retro rock of Azure…

Clockwise from top left: Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Pokey LaFarge, The Ballroom Thieves, DijahSB, Caleb Landry Jones and Piroshka. The freak-folk and neo-garage rock of Caleb Landry Jones, the hyphy vibes of Snotty Nose Rez Kids, the risk-taking of Pokey LaFarge, grownup feelings of Piroshka, hard-hitting message of DijahSB and lush…

Clockwise from top left: seeyousoon, Adia Victoria, Spaceface, SUUNS, Charlie Parr and Hot Flash Heat Wave. Ever find yourself skipping song after song on your playlist after the thousandth rotation? A fresh perspective often breathes life into music, so here are some new singles to give a spin. Hot…

Clockwise from top left: Ambar Lucid, Luna Li, Samm Henshaw, Sarah Neufeld, Trade Wind, Andrea von Kampen and Vacation Manor. Whether you’re listening to the vibrant dream-pop of Luna Li, ambient strings of Sarah Neufeld or psychedelic trip-hop vibes from Ambar Lucid, this week’s selections are a treat for…

Shaun Ross, courtesy. With Shaun Ross’ debut album, Shift, the world-renowned fashion model completes a metamorphosis started in 2017 with his first single. It’s no small feat to switch gears like this when you’ve been so successful at something already, but Ross is already no stranger to transformation, which…

Clockwise from top left: Ethel Cain, Balmorhea, Shaun Ross, The Parrots, Tom McGuire & The Brassholes, and Sorry. Let RIFF pick your playlist! This week’s highlights include a gleefully creepy Midwestern gothic tune by Ethel Cain, Balmorhea’s beautifully hypnotic sound and Sorry’s two-minute smoke break. *** Sorry, “Cigarette Packet” — At only…

Film stills from “Quadrophenia” (left) and “Northern Soul.” I might as well kick off this occasional series on music and the movies with a claim bound to annoy someone: Despite the status of 1979’s “Quadrophenia” as the classic film about the English mod scene, 2014’s “Northern Soul” is an…

Clockwise from top left: Soft Glas, Arlo Parks, Michael Feuerstack, Night Beats, Juan Wauters and Q. Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms like Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has…

Lost Themes III: Alive After Death is the third in a series of what you might call John Carpenter soundtracks to the films he never made. After decades of scoring his own movies, giving him a rare kind of control over the ambience and tone of his films, Carpenter…