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.
music review
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’
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
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’
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’
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
Throughout Woodland, Americana songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings underscore the sinews of relationships that are stretched but never torn.
Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd Visit ‘The Moon and the Melodies’
The collaboration between ethereal pop trio Cocteau Twins and avant-gardist Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies, hits vinyl for the first time since 1986.
Fake Fruit Are Caught Between Catchy Hooks and Sloppy Playing
When Fake Fruit find a strong musical hook on Mucho Mistrust, their songs are a lot of fun. When they don’t, their sloppiness comes to the fore.
Susanna Distills Life with ‘Meditations on Love’
Norway’s Susanna aims to distill the world and bring it down to a set of uncomfortable truths on this album. Love will tear us apart again and again.
Brazil-Rooted Ayom Party with Purpose on ‘Sa.Li.Va.’
Ayom’s Sa.Li.Va. is meant to be heard and felt to move a listener literally and figuratively. Complex in its makings, its joy is straightforward.
No More Apocalypse Father Plead We Are Winter’s Blue and Radiant Children
On their first missive, We Are Winter’s Blue and Radiant Children create beauty amid the contemporary horror of a vicarious, voyeuristic existence.