Lil Nas X performs during WiLD 94.9’s Jingle Ball at The Masonic in San Francisco on Dec. 8, 2019. The debut album by Lil Nas X, Montero, has been a long time coming.  The Atlanta rapper has transformed before audiences from the meme zeitgeist of “Old Town Road” to a…

José González has such a distinctive sound. Even though the first song on his fourth album, Local Valley, is in Spanish, which is new for the indie folk artist, the hushed vocals atop the nylon-stringed guitar are unmistakably his. The album, his first since 2015’s Vestiges and Claws, finds González…

The music of bluesman Jimmy Reed was one of the notable influences on the nascent Rolling Stones in the early 1960s. And even if Ronnie Wood didn’t become a Stone until the late 1970s, it’s clear from his new album, Mr. Luck – A Tribute To Jimmy Reed: Live…

After what nearly amounted to a Fleetwood Mac reunion album with 2017’s Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie, the first solo album from Lindsey Buckingham in a decade sounds as if it could have been the second disc of the fine 2011 solo release Seeds We Sow. Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Buckingham Reprise,…

The second album from Injury Reserve emphasizes the impact last year had on the hip-hop group. But it wasn’t just the pandemic or societal unrest. Injury Reserve’s Steppa J Groggs (whose real name was Jordan Alexander Groggs) died unexpectedly in June 2020. The remaining members, MC Ritchie With a T and…

For all of his existing accomplishments as the reigning king of reggaeton—the Latin Grammys, the duets with Beyoncé, Cardi B and other English-speaking heavyweights, the billions of streams—new album Jose might become the first entry by Colombian artist J Balvin into middle America. Rather than being solely an urbano or Latino…

After two albums from a quieter place, Sleigh Bells are trying to go back to what works for them. Texis Sleigh Bells Mom + Pop Music, Sept. 10 6/10 “Here we go, here we go / You’re legitimate rock and roll,” vocalist Alexis Krauss sings on the first line…

History proves an airtight case could be made for escapist pop music during bleak times. Though songs like “Revolution” and “Sympathy For The Devil” are mainstays for archival footage of 1968, in reality, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” dwarfed both in terms of sales and airplay in…

In 2018, Andrew W.K. released You’re Not Alone, his first new rock album in 12 years. During his contractually inspired hiatus, he spent time variously as an advice columnist, a children’s show host and a motivational speaker, each new venture gaining him new fans. Perhaps as an acknowledgment of…

“The Metallica Blacklist.” In honor of the 30th anniversary of their self-titled album, mostly referred to as the Black Album, Metallica is doing two things. The band is re-releasing the album with a lot of concert recordings and alternate versions. It’s not their first time doing so; in 2008…