Tag Archives: music-album-reviews

The first solo album from former Slayer guitarist Kerry King is basically the “Still D.R.E.” of thrash metal. But where Dr. Dre wanted to remind his fans that he was still puffin’ his leafs, still fucking with beats, and still not lovin’ police after close to a decade’s absence, King …

You have to hand it to the Avett Brothers in at least a couple of regards. Long before the likes of Noah Kahan, they set the table for the sad-Americana-boy genre, unfurling heavy-hearted songs set somewhere between the mountains and the suburbs. (They became such a brand that they were …

When Chief Keef released his mixtape Almighty So in 2013, Obama was still president and the then-18-year-old Chicago MC was something of a symbol for street violence, viral fame, and rap’s new cacophonous young generation. The tape, while far from a critical darling, solidified Keef, who’d risen to fame with …

Atlanta rapper Gunna achieved one of hip-hop’s most remarkable comebacks last year. After being ensnared in the YSL RICO case and spending seven months behind bars, he got out on a plea deal and released A Gift and a Curse last June, buoyed by the infectious single “Fukumean,” which became …

A few songs into Kings of Leon’s new album, frontman Caleb Followill asks something uncomfortable: “Are we still having fun?” The answer: yes, but maybe in a way you wouldn’t expect. Over two decades after the Tennessee rockers released their excellent debut Youth & Young Manhood, Kings of Leons’ ninth …

The first thing we hear from the Dallas R&B singer 4Batz on his debut mixtape u made me a st4r is something of a defense. He’s here to tell us he’s just as surprised as we are of his rapid, meteoric ascent. This time last year, the 20-year-old musician hadn’t …

In the video for Dua Lipa’sBarbiehit, “Dance the Night,” an enormous disco ball crashes onto the floor, the bottom half of its mirrors shattering into a million pieces. In an interview, her collaborator Mark Ronson theorized that it signified the end of Lipa’s disco era, putting a bow on 2020’s …

The idea of artists needing a “career reboot” often has as much to do with the petulant impatience of content-saturated fans than the actual situation of the artist in question. But in the case of Sia, the urgency of a course correction is hard to deny. Sia broke out from …

In 2021, Mdou Moctar toldRolling Stone,“My music is going to become more inspired by revolution.” That promise was truth in advertising. For more than a decade, the Tuareg guitarist/singer-songwriter, who fronts the band that shares his name, has been staking out a space as a radical guitar innovator as well …

It might come as a surprise to non-Brazilians that the trailblazing pop star Anitta first started her career as an MC. In Brazil, this means you’re a baile funk singer. Born in Rio suburbs, the MC Anitta came up playingpublic court parties with massive, 10-feet-high sound systems blasting heavy kicks …