Toward the end of La Dispute’s 2008 debut, vocalist Jordan Dreyer proclaimed authentic love in spite of everything: “We are but lovers/ We are the last of our kind/ And if we let our hearts move outward/ We will never die.” La Dispute circa 2019 now begins its final…

Illinois quartet American Football may have broken up right after releasing its 1999 self-titled debut, but that album’s intricate guitar work, revolving time signatures and folksy singing pervaded beyond the band itself. The sound defined Midwest emo and profoundly influenced the “emo revival” over a decade later. Such was…

English singer-songwriter Lucy Rose returns with a beautifully ethereal fourth album filled with gorgeous acoustic guitars, piano, harmonies and strings. Coming two years after Something’s Changing, No Words Left‘s poignant and poised lyrics feel personal and reflective. Somber thoughts and elegantly layered instrumentation brings the record to life as a reflection of Rose’s…

A single glance at whatever coverage Oozing Wound has had over the past few years is enough to confirm that the new wave of thrash never took off in the hearts and minds of the metal community at large. If it did, then this Chicago trio wouldn’t seem so…

Artistic titans collide as enigmatic Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O teams up with songwriter-producer Danger Mouse on Lux Prima. The collaboration was a long time in the making. Danger Mouse said in a recent interview with the New York Times that the partnership started after a 2008 drunk dial…

Omaha electro-punk outfit The Faint continues its exuberant crusade with a 10th studio album, Egowerk. The LP dives deeper into themes on the darker effects of social media and society. It would find itself at home on a disco playlist with its layered synths and repetitive vocal refrains, but taking a closer look…

With the Great Pacific Garbage Patch reaching an estimated 1.6 million square kilometers, the long-term negatives of plastic have begun to overshadow its short-term usefulness. The double-edged sword of plastic’s bio resistance is on the mind of experimental San Francisco power couple Matmos on Plastic Anniversary. With their 11th album,…

Floridian musician Roberto Carlos Lange has been honing his experimental combination of Latin music and indietronica since 2009 under the name Helado Negro. On his 2016 album, Private Energy, Lange took a more vulnerable approach, pouring his ethereal production and singing into socially conscious introspection. This journey inward breaks new ground…

Sigrid, “Sucker Punch.” Norwegian singer-songwriter Sigrid Solbakk Raabe follows up two EPs with her debut full-length, Sucker Punch. Big, catchy and anthemic choruses are Sigrid’s strong suit, supported by feel-good pop production. Continuing this approach, Sucker Punch centers on relationships; whether it’s friends, lovers or breakups. With an album this enthusiastic…

Amanda Palmer’s new album, There Will Be No Intermission, is not a collection of generic, hypothetical songs about vague, universal themes. It does not strive to cast the widest sociopolitical net for the sake of maximizing sales. It is not a light, blandly cheerful affair. None of that is…