Wordplay, vulnerably, honest lyrics and aggressive bass lines lace Ab-Soul’s Do What Thou Wilt, creating a record that offers activism and personal reflection. As a member of the Los Angeles supergroup Black Hippy; which features other Top Dawg Entertainment artists like Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. Ab-Soul has carved…

In an album that focuses on the apprehensions of the future—apprehensions about robotics, politics and the Earth—all while preaching about honesty and peace, Neil Young manages to keep his countryman persona intact. Peace Trail, Young’s 37th studio album, is wrought with his famous sound of folk, rock, electric guitar…

If it’s not as good as Achtung Baby or The Joshua Tree, U2 have failed. That’s one prevalent barometer to judging a new U2 album. That’s a flawed way to judge, because those two albums are flawless. It doesn’t mean U2 can’t create another masterpiece, though. Is Songs of…

This debut album could be subtitled, “’70s rock-influenced sounds from Australia.” Many in the U.S. are about to find out about the Rubens, a band that includes three brothers, as they open for Grouplove across the country. The story goes like this: They completed a demo and gave it…

Franz Ferdinand performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on April 28, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Franz Ferdinand have never seemed to care about popularity and record sales. That they achieved it with their debut album was an added bonus. All they’ve wanted to do was make the music they…

Stereophonics, courtesy. To be honest, I had written the Stereophonics off several years ago. They’d fallen into a rut and everything they released sounded the same. It turns out singer-guitarist Kelly Jones thought the band had fallen into a rut as well. Following the release of the band’s previous…

Eleanor Friedberger, “Personal Record.” On her second solo album since sidelining the Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Freidberger is still chasing ’70s nostalgia. The singer-songwriter wrote and polished these 12 songs while touring in support of 2011’s “Last Summer,” and while they may be more personal, they are by no means…

This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. You’re bummed. You had tickets to tonight’s (June 16) U2 concert at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and then Bono had to go and injure his back. So now you’re sitting in front of the television and wondering how you’re going to spend…

There are only so many ways a band can reinvent itself before arriving full circle. That’s why it’s not surprising that the 12th studio album from U2, “No Line on the Horizon,” is not the great rebirth the band was promising. No Line on the Horizon U2 Interscope, March…