Thirty years ago, when I was in high school, Morrissey was the patron saint of wispy wallflowers and those too perfect for a world such as this. We loved his odd mixture of sentimentality and aloofness, his queerness, his hair and his love of romantic poetry. Most of all,…

Glasgow’s Honeyblood started as a duo in 2012, but after two albums, founding member Stina Tweeddale has taken the reins on In Plain Sight.  She collaborated with producer John Congleton, who has worked with both contemporaries Angel Olsen and St. Vincent, a pair of artists who share Tweeddale’s talent for…

Sting, “My Songs.” It’s not uncommon for an artist to live many lives through the course of a career, but few transcend boundaries quite like Sting. Having won a Grammy or Best Reggae Album of 2018 for his collaboration with Shaggy, Sting’s identity has been subject to much interpretation and…

Following 2017’s momentous Flower Boy, Tyler, the Creator begins a new era with IGOR. It feeds his iconic approach to hip-hop through a fresh, complex instrumental and emotional filter. Before releasing the album, Tyler tweeted, “The first listen works best all the way through. No skips. Front to back.” Indeed, the songs…

Carly Rae Jepsen, “Dedicated.” Carly Rae Jepsen has come a long way since coming in third on 2007’s “Canadian Idol.” “Call Me Maybe” from 2012’s Kiss has more than a billion views on YouTube, and 2015’s Emotion stayed on track with flirtatious bangers. Fourth album Dedicated plays that role as…

Rammstein, untitled. Since breaking out of the German techno-metal Neue Deutsche Härte scene in the mid ‘90s, Rammstein remains one of the last real shock rockers. The moral panic this band caused with over-the-top stage antics and spreading music videos on adult entertainment websites seems rather silly this far…

Within the isolated DIY metal and punk music communities of Iowa, Aseethe has championed leveling riffs, nuanced ambiance and conscientious themes since 2007. What started as a solo project for guitarist-singer Brian Barr is now a power trio with drummer Eric Diercks and bassist Noah Koester. Like contemporaries Thou…

Indie rock mainstays The National have nothing left to prove. The success of 2007’s Boxer, a post-punk revival masterpiece, made the band a critical darling. Subsequent releases grew its diverse fanbase as accolades piled up. Sleep Well Beast, the National’s 2017 release, and a slight diversion from the band’s usual…

Liverpool imports Clinic return after a seven-year absence to release to their eighth studio album, Wheeltappers and Shunters. The album’s title comes from an inside joke between the band members, referencing the ’70s British variety show The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. It’s the term they use whenever they think…

Like Venom to black metal, so is Possessed to death metal. Possessed defined this infamous region of extreme music, and even the late Chuck Schuldiner looked back on 1985’s Seven Churches as the true godfather. Founding vocalist Jeff Becerra has undergone many trials since releasing that seminal album—including a…