Wale wastes no time whatsoever on Florian II, getting at the heart of his frustration with critics, superficiality of his peers and asserting his status within the hip-hop scene—all while packing punch after punch, track after track. In the follow-up to his 2012 mixtape of the same name (coming after…

Blue Banisters has arrived. After one of the most confusing and ill-planned album releases in recent memory, the eighth studio effort from Lana Del Rey is finally out. Originally titled and announced as Rock Candy Sweet just a day after the release of her previous album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club,…

For the release of the band’s 15th studio album, Future Past, Duran Duran looked to fuse old and new, and no more is that present than on opening track “Invisible.” The song takes infectious guitar and bass riffs and lays them down with big beats and atmospheric layers. Worth…

Lee Chae-rin, better known as CL, is one of the most formidable female artists in the K-Pop industry to date. After breaking away from the popular second generation mega girl group 2NE1 (YG Entertainment) to focus on her own work, CL continued to make a name for herself by…

Elton John, “The Lockdown Sessions.” Like many of us, Elton John found some extra time in 2020 after his plans came crashing down. At the time, the iconic musician and singer was in the middle of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. After shows were halted, he still had…

Jim James feels lucky to be alive, and you can hear his exultation on the new self-titled album from My Morning Jacket. “Lucky to be Alive” is the seventh track on the band’s ninth album, but you can catch the vibe immediately. The album was reportedly inspired by the band…

It’s kind of wild that Punk is only the second album from Young Thug, considering his prolific output of 19 mixtapes. The rapper had expressed a desire to embrace a significant shift in tone on the follow-up to 2019’s So Much Fun. He sought to embody what he referred to as “real rap”…

Kelly Clarkson, “When Christmas Comes Around…” It’s become trendy for artists to put out Christmas songs and albums as the season rolls around. Some are serious, some are silly, some are cheesy—mostly it’s an opportunity to have a little fun and do something different. And yet, making a truly…

Music of the Spheres, the ninth album from Coldplay, is the auditory culmination of years of electronic experimentation. Over the course of about two decades, Coldplay transitioned away from acoustic earthly music and into the world of big-budget production. Five of the 12-track song titles are emojis, reflecting the…

If you’re unaware of Billie Eilish and her songwriting partner, producer and older brother Finneas, then you simply haven’t been paying attention to pop culture in recent years. Their collaborations on her music have hit No. 1 on albums and singles charts across the globe, they penned the newest…