Sleep Token distinguishes itself with more than anonymity. Run by a mysterious mastermind known as “Vessel,” the project plays a combination of contemporary indie pop, tech-metal and post-rock as a form of worship. The object of worship is an ancient deity crudely dubbed “Sleep.” As the entity’s potency relegated…

Chelsea Wolfe performs at Palace Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 15, 2019. Photos: Kyle Kohner. LOS ANGELES — Singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe marked a birthday last week. She’s kept busy for much of 2019, releasing her meditative folk album The Birth of Violence and embarking on an acoustic tour. While…

South Carolina singer-songwriter KaiL Baxley started fleshing out songs and recording demos for his 2020 album around the time a friend bought a cabin in Skyforest, a town in the Angeles National Forest, north of San Bernardino. The location’s beauty during autumn made for a perfect setting for his…

During deathcore’s infancy in the early 2000s, Despised Icon helped pioneer some of its key traits. “Pig squeal” vocals, Roland TR-808 drum machine drops and flat-brimmed hats are scene hallmarks at this point, but the Canadian sextet further distinguishes itself with the dual vocal assault of Alex Erian and…

Under that moniker DJ Shadow, Joshua Paul Davis in 1996 gave sample-based music one of its first hit albums with Endtroducing. He transcended the established norms of ‘90s hip-hop by incorporating elements of ambient music, electronica and “sampledelia.” Davis found more common ground with U.K. trip-hop than West Coast G-funk—which might…

Camae Ayewa rose from Philadelphia’s DIY music scene under the moniker Moor Mother, delivering a unique combination of industrial noise, abstract hip-hop and slam poetry. Her 2016 debut, Fetish Bones, proved a disturbing commentary on the era started by that year’s presidential election. In the midst of societal chaos and…

Some might argue that it’s impossible for Jeff Goldblum to be boring, and they’d be right. The man’s charisma has almost become its own sentient entity. Unlike many actors-turned-musicians, he has the musical chops to back up his entertaining personality. His Capital Studios Sessions debut with the Mildred Snitzer…

Nile has long distinguished itself with a unique concept. Guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter Karl Sanders propelled the South Carolina band by infusing technical death metal with Egyptology and Lovecraftian horror. It’s served the band’s first eight albums well. But for Vile Nilotic Rites, Brian Kingsland replaced longtime guitarist Dallas…

Rex Orange County, “Pony.” For those who haven’t kept up with Alexander O’Connor’s work as Rex Orange County, perhaps his work on Tyler the Creator’s Flower Boy will ring a bell. His combination of neo soul, alternative hip-hop and art-pop has set him apart since his 2016 self-released debut, bcos…

While Deafheaven popularized blackened shoegaze, France’s Alcest planted the stylistic seeds. Stéphane “Neige” Paut has spent the past two decades refining his amalgamation of palpable beauty and harrowing melancholy. His creative journey reached a crucial milestone with 2016’s immaculate opus Kodama, which suddenly put Alcest at the forefront of…