Clockwise from top left: Alice Merton, Jenny Hval, Jpegmafia, Jessica Pratt, Kingfish, Kim Petras, Cate Le Bon, Swans, Ty Segall and Bad Wolves. We’ve reached the halfway point of RIFF’s top 50 albums list! It only get harder from here, but we can certainly guarantee a wealth of quality…

San Francisco singer-songwriter Jessica Pratt has a way with simplistic arrangements, bringing a tranquil feeling along with her uniquely folky voice. On her previous records, 2015’s On Your Own Love Again and 2012’s self-titled record, she sang gorgeously poetic lyrics over the top of calming guitar strumming. Pratt doesn’t deviate…

Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms like Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time to sort through all that? RIFF does! We pooled our resources to find some of…

Kurt Vile and the Violators perform at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Dec. 12, 2018. Photos: Chloe Catajan OAKLAND — Kurt Vile and the Violators stopped by the Fox Theater Wednesday and put on an impressive performance, stringing together a set brimming with long, melodic ballads that intermingled with waves…