RIFF’s best albums of 2023 include Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, Lana Del Rey, Mitski, boygenius, Slowdive, Hozier, Yves Tumor, Foo Fighters, Corinne Bailey Rae, Kylie Minogue, The Clientele, Avenged Sevenfold, PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode, Caroline Polachek, Blur, Feist, Sonic Youth and Billy Woods with Kenny Segal. Our album reviews are…

Mitski, “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We.” Singer-songwriter Mitski is widely regarded for her lyricism and specific musical aesthetic. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, her seventh album, is an exploration of human connection and mortality, while also expanding on her skillset as an artist. The…

The best albums of 2022 include Amanda Shires, Mitski, Shinedown, Jack White, Sharon Van Etten, Luke Combs, Blackpink, Broken Bells, Lamb of God, Bad Omens, Noah Cyrus, Kevin Morby, Freedy Johnston and Zach Bryan. Welcome back! Or, if this is your first click into our list of the best…

Post Malone performs at Outside Lands in San Francisco on Aug. 7, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo and Matt Pang/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — At Outside Lands past, Sunday’s headlining slot has often been reserved for a legacy act. Producers went the other way this year with Post Malone. From the moment the…

Mitski, “Laurel Hell.” Getting a new Mitski album in 2022 feels surreal. The indie rock star was catapulted to fame following Puberty 2 (2016) and Be the Cowboy (2018). The intensity and size of her following led her to a decision both grueling and necessary: she announced in late…

There are few things as nostalgic as pulling out a home movie on VHS and seeing your childhood self. Running around in dress-up clothes, with high-pitched voices or even a full set of baby teeth, home videos often conjure memories and feelings of a time when life was simpler.…

Mitski performs at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco on July 14, 2019. Photos: Roman Gokhman. SAN FRANCISCO — On a Sunday afternoon when the sun refused to peek out from above the fog, Mitski brought a dramatic performance to the Stern Grove Festival that at times fit…

Jeff Rosenstock performs at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2018. Photo: Kyle J. Kohner. Would ya look at that? You’ve made it to the finale. If you are just joining us, please, don’t spoil the big reveal and go back to parts one, two, three and four to…

Sharon Van Etten performs at Treasure Island Music Festival at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland on Oct. 14, 2018. Photo: Chloe Catajan. Kyle Kohner’s top 100 songs countdown gets one step closer to revealing his favorite song of 2018, with numbers 50 through 26. Catch up with part one and…

Mitski performs at The Warfield in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2018. Photos: Chloe Catajan. SAN FRANCISCO — When Mitski recorded her 2018 LP, Be The Cowboy, she often envisioned someone singing alone onstage under a single spotlight. It’s what inspired the album’s theatrical exploration of sounds. Now, the New…