Love in Exile is not jazz, despite featuring pianist Vijay Iyer, a heavy in that world. Nor is it “global music” — whatever that means — even though it showcases Urdu vocalist Arooj Aftab, who won a Grammy in that category last year. Instead, listening to Love in Exile, which …
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In “Ghosts Again,” one of many introspective moments on Depeche Mode‘s 15th full-length, Memento Mori, Dave Gahan croons, “Time is fleeting.” This is not a new revelation, but the tranquility in his voice feels fresh. More than four decades have passed since the group formed as a quartet of mostly …
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On their new album, 10,000 Gecs, the hyperpop 100 Gecs face down life after going viral with their breakthrough album, 2019’s brilliantly realized 1000 Gecs. It’s a challenge familiar to every extremely online disruptor, from Death Grips and Slayyyter to Danny L Harle of PC Music. Do you double down …
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“This is a song of surrender,” Bono ad-libs on a low-key, acoustic version of U2‘s 1984 epic “Bad,” one of many highlights from their fascinating new album, Songs of Surrender. Instead of the massive, impossibly moving showstopper about young heroin deaths that floored Live Aid nearly 40 years ago, “Bad” …
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Since the double-life Disney sitcom Hannah Montana debuted in 2006, Miley Cyrus has played with the idea of pop star as persona vehicle. She’s had hits with purgative power ballads and candy-coated odes to America; she’s made forays into synthpop, psychedelia, country, and art-rock; and she’s played with the public’s …
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Much has been said about K-pop over the years and much has been misunderstood about the genre too. Naysayers chalk up K-pop acts to pale imitations of Western artists, while the uninitiated disparage the grandiose production as derivative or cliché. But on their new EP, Ready to Be, the girl …
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Ivy crafted one of the Nineties’ great lost indie-pop gems with their 1997 cult classic Apartment Life. It’s one of the decade’s sharpest portraits of modern urban romance: exquisitely moody adult love songs, all purred by Paris-born chanteuse Dominique Durand in her groovy French accent. And now is a great …
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Morgan Wallen has become one of country music’s biggest stars of the past few years, riding his Everyman persona and brooding, whiskey-soaked country-rock songs to success not just on country radio, but in the pop sphere. But he’s caused controversy along the way, too. He was dropped from Saturday Night …
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“Formula” can be a dirty word among music fans. For many, it evokes thoughts of unimaginative, knackered music by artists dropping off uninspired fan service just to say they did. Artists are pressured by sects of fans to expand their lyrical content, create versatile projects, and promise new innovations with …
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“Most people don’t know how to love/ That’s why they’re empty,” Kali Uchis muses on “Worth the Wait,” a gently unfurling slow jam from her third album, Red Moon in Venus. Over 15 tracks, the Colombian American pop star reveals that her own knowledge of love is overflowing, with songs …
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