Taylor Swift Mines Intrusive Thoughts For Pop Artistry on ‘Midnights’
On Midnights, Taylor Swift reflects on the ghosts of the past and maps the rarely straightforward journey of fully becoming one’s self with pristine popcraft.
Rick Quinn
Rick Quinn is a writer in the Nashville, TN area interested in the interplay between pop culture, religion, and social justice. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University and is currently managing a burgeoning vinyl habit. He blogs at RickTQuinn and can be found on Twitter @apophatic1.
The Unbearable Lightness of Death Cab For Cutie’s ‘Asphalt Meadows’
Death Cab for Cutie show their place in the indie rock pantheon on Asphalt Meadows while also producing music deserving of consideration with some of their best early work.
The Mountain Goats Expose the Limits of Escapism on ‘Bleed Out’
The Mountain Goats’ Bleed Out is a fascinating homage and a meta-commentary on the action film genre and how it soothes our unease in a world on fire.
The Power of Amanda Shires’ Voice Reverberates Throughout ‘Take It Like a Man’
Emotionally Amanda Shires’ Take It Like a Man interlaces heartache and disappointment with the profoundly temporal joys of new beginnings and aches of desire.
Jack White Dazzles With an Expansive Musical Palette on ‘Entering Heaven Alive’
With Entering Heaven Alive Jack White offers the yang to the yin of Fear of the Dawn while broadening his musical palette.
Mt. Joy Bask in the Present Moment on ‘Orange Blood’
Orange Blood expands the range of Mt. Joy’s psychedelic-tinged folk, moving from reflective acoustic to stadium anthems, cross-pollinating laid-back LA sounds with Philly soul.
Drive-By Truckers Forge Ahead By Looking Back on ‘Welcome 2 Club XIII’
Drive-By Truckers’ Welcome 2 Club XIII is more introspective and subdued than the previous raw, unfiltered laments and analyses of American culture.
Wilco’s Wisdom in ‘Sky Blue Sky’ Resonates 15 Years After Release
Is there such a thing as middle-aged rock? If so, it would sound like Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky with its measured simplicity and reflective intensity.
After Ten Year Hiatus, Lyle Lovett Returns to Form with ’12th of June’
The 12th of June is a welcome return to form for Lyle Lovett after a ten-year absence from recording and compelling testimony that he’s still a master.
Leyla McCalla Explores Haitian Music on ‘Breaking The Thermometer’
With Breaking the Thermometer, Leyla McCalla explores identity, freedom, and joy through Haitian music and culture. It’s a reminder of the album as a statement.
Identity and Transition Haunt Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Skinty Fia’
With Skinty Fia Fontaines D.C. deliver a brooding post-punk sensual feast with a distinctly Irish flavor. Longing, alienation, and malice simmer under the surface.
Jack White Rips the Knobs Off on ‘Fear of the Dawn’
Fear of the Dawn is an intense aural barrage of rock from start to finish and may very well be Jack White’s finest solo output to date.