Boygenius, “the record.” The record, the first full-length album by boygenius, starts out with a lovely, sparse, Carter-Family-style a capella harmony on “Without You Without Them.” It’s as if Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker wanted to stake their claim right up front as members of the great American…

Sza performs at Outside Lands in San Francisco on Aug. 5, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo and Matt Pang/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — SZA is an excellent musician and performer, and she showed how excellent as the Friday headliner, but first we have to talk about her stage production. Even by Outside Lands…

Rachel Goodman’s top alt-rock and alt-pop songs of 2021. L to R; Row 1: Paul McCartney and Phoebe Bridgers; Maxïmo Park; Kings of Leon; Black Country, New Road; Wet Leg, The War on Drugs. Row 2: BC Camplight, Cannons, Strand of Oaks, Hovvdy, Ladyhawke, Fences, Sea Wolf, Courtney Barnett.…

Phoebe Bridgers performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Oct. 16, 2021. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF. BERKELEY – Phoebe Bridgers brought her “Reunion Tour” to the Greek Theatre Saturday night, and fans were singing along from the first song, “Motion Sickness,” off 2017’s Stranger in the Alps. The wanton wails of…

Insert Foot vs. Ryan Adams and forgiveness. STAFF file photo. Ryan Adams wants our forgiveness. I want lots of things, being as talented as Ryan Adams would be a fine start. Adams wants fans–the people who, for more than two decades, have paid his bills–to set aside years of…

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.…

Julien Baker has never been one to shy away from depicting dramatic and intimate parts of life in her music. Since her 2015 debut, Sprained Ankle, her vices, addiction and sexuality have featured heavily into her work and are ever apparent on her new album, Little Oblivions. But unlike the previous…

Rachel Goodman’s top alt-rock and alt-pop songs of 2020. L to R; Row 1: Tame Impala, Caribou, Washed Out, Trace Mountains, The Big Moon, Future Islands. Row 2: Strfkr, Surfer Blood, Surf Rock Is Dead, Of Montreal, Hazel English, Suburban Living. Row 3: Jack River, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever,…

The best albums of 2020 include (clockwise from top left): Sufjan Stevens, Jehnny Beth, John Frusciante, METZ, Pearl Jam, clipping., Hailey Whitters, Black Thought, Throwing Muses and Phoebe Bridgers. We’re starting to get into the nitty gritty of our list of the best albums of the year. These next…

Boygenius performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Nov. 27, 2018. Photos: Chloe Catajan. OAKLAND — It may have been Julien Baker at the top of the marquee Tuesday at the Fox, but the Memphis singer-songwriter shared equal stage time with her two openers, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.…