Chartreuse arrive with their second EP that builds upon previous work while adding heaping helpings of uniqueness and a burgeoning self-awareness.
Imploding the LP
Albums are difficult to pull off well, but The Killers have spent over a decade making singles look easy. 2007’s Sawdust is an excellent case in point.
The DJ Tent of Dr. Moreau
Richard Fearless and his co-conspirators drew on an old and fundamental empathic response to create their debut album, and it all started with the LP’s first single.
Waves of Complication
(Blonde Dissected, pt 1)
New contributor Anne enters the maze of Blonde’s obliqueness and the pull of its gravity in attempting to sort out what makes Frank Ocean’s 2016 sophomore LP so prescient and timeless.
New Ideals for Living
(Blonde Dissected, pt 2)
One of the ways to parse the meaning of Blonde is to look at the many voices present in the work. A mother’s voice rings out as one of the clearest and loudest for a brand of social justice that starts in the mirror.
Zimmy and The Loser
One went electric, one went ironic. Where is the fork in the road between these two artists who beat their own paths through the artistic wilderness?
The Existence and The Bliss
How important for a writer is the rush of inspiration in the moment? Maybe easing up and allowing in the comfort goes just as far. Maybe it goes even further.
Simply (Un)Complicated
Tobias Jesso Jr.’s 2015 debut (and only album so far) still offers waves of easy pop looseness to get lost in, but it’s not afraid of a little texture and confrontation.
A Command To Gently Sway
Healing Potpourri is a Bay Area seven-piece who’s on the trail of that most elusive of feelings: wistful pleasure. Ride with them on the way there on their newest LP.
Summer Album Blues
Everything is changing. Some of our music-related touchstones may be lost for good. But that’s probably not so bad.
Eighteen Seconds on a "Lovely Day"
“I don't think I've done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia.”
-Bill Withers
Raphael and the Dream of Gospeldelic
Raphael Saadiq’s debut solo album is a beacon for another direction for neo soul. Revisiting it now feels like a glimpse into a future we never achieved.
Why The End Credits Matter
Our new contributor Zach presents an argument for the value of end credits and the rituals of the arthouse theater experience.
The Psychopunk Wingman
The secret to unleashing Iggy Pop’s efficacy as a godhead turned out to be collaboration…and it helped that the collaborators were also geniuses.
The Untold Truthiness of Fall Out Boy
What’s better than being real? Being almost real.
Your Sweet Little Myth
Soul Coughing serve up a slice of corn-fed nostalgia, but the things that make it truly special come to life inside the memories and aspirations of a young fanboy.
Everything Everything Is Everything
Some bands you have fun with, and some you remember forever. Art-pop aficionados, unite!
A Blueprint For Gleeful Anarchy
How Kevin Barnes used four tracks to outline an extravagant penchant for breaking the rules.
An Open Letter To You
A whimsical tale of writer’s block, terminal illness, and a triumph of the human spirit. Or, you know, maybe nothing quite that grandiose. Who can say?
EZ Rock for the Indie Set
In 2011, Dan Bejar and his band Destroyer did something unthinkable: they made soft rock. And it really, really worked.