Music Reviews

Will “True Love” Be the Last We Hear From Jane’s Addiction?

Will “True Love” Be the Last We Hear From Jane’s Addiction?

Even if Jane’s Addiction can’t reconcile their relationship, they owe it to themselves to finish what they started and see their new album to term.

Hinds’ ‘Viva Hinds’ Celebrates Friendship

Hinds’ ‘Viva Hinds’ Celebrates Friendship

Hinds don’t reserve their love for a significant other. They celebrate their love for friends, places, dreams, and activities that make our lives fulfilling.

Incubus Slay the Bay in Morning View XXIII Tour Finale

Incubus Slay the Bay in Morning View XXIII Tour Finale

Incubus ride high on tour supporting Morning View XXIII released in the spring, a re-recorded version of their 2001 classic that propelled them to stardom.

Katy Perry Stumbles on Her Latest Album ‘143’

Katy Perry Stumbles on Her Latest Album ‘143’

Katy Perry’s 143 sounds out of step with current pop, and there isn’t much here that is so eccentric and creative to justify the album’s relative mediocrity.

Punk Troubadour Manu Chao Returns After 17 Years

Punk Troubadour Manu Chao Returns After 17 Years

Latin alternative artist Manu Chao sings for a better future on his first album in 17 years, Viva Tu. This music is meant to be lived with.

Floating Points Returns to Electronic Music with ‘Cascade’

Floating Points Returns to Electronic Music with ‘Cascade’

Floating Points’ Cascade is a bassy, minimalistic swirl of house, techno, and ambiance to be enjoyed on the dancefloor or as the backdrop to solo introspection.

Clinic Stars Blend 1990s Slowcore and Dream Pop on ‘Only Hinting’

Clinic Stars Blend 1990s Slowcore and Dream Pop on ‘Only Hinting’

Detroit’s Clinic Stars draw you into their gauzy, poetic interior world and weave a cozy afghan of 1990s slowcore and dream pop on their debut LP, Only Hinting.

Jamie xx Arrives Fashionably Late with ‘In Waves’

Jamie xx Arrives Fashionably Late with ‘In Waves’

Nearly a decade after his debut, Jamie xx returns with a long-awaited sophomore LP that stylishly swells and retreats with danceable beats and moody romanticism.

Brainy Jazz Saxophonist Walter Smith III Returns to His Texas Roots

Brainy Jazz Saxophonist Walter Smith III Returns to His Texas Roots

For his new jazz album, Walter Smith III discovers new inspiration in the Houston of his childhood to create his most fully realized work yet.

Swiss Duo Citron Citron Make Minimalist Art Pop on ‘Maréeternelle’

Swiss Duo Citron Citron Make Minimalist Art Pop on ‘Maréeternelle’

Citron Citron’s Maréeternelle is accessible avant-garde pop still edging toward highbrow. It highlights the ultramodern sounds coming from Geneva’s underground.

Otis Shanty Make Jangle Pop Magic ‘Up on the Hill’

Otis Shanty Make Jangle Pop Magic ‘Up on the Hill’

With Up on the Hill, Otis Shanty have taken the guitar-based, dream pop template and reinvented it beautifully for a new era.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Trace Landscapes of Connection and Resilience

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Trace Landscapes of Connection and Resilience

Throughout Woodland, Americana songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings underscore the sinews of relationships that are stretched but never torn.