Arcade Fire’s ‘Funeral’ Still Amazes As a Conceptual Statement
On Funeral, Arcade Fire found catharsis in music while processing grief for the loss of loved ones. As a result, they shifted the course of indie rock.
Music Features
Paul McCartney’s Beautiful Tribute to Lovely Linda McCartney
When Paul McCartney lost Linda McCartney in 1998, he described his grief as all-consuming, grief that haunts her sole solo studio album, ‘Wide Prairie’.
The New Freedom of Jawbox’s Zach Barocas
Drummer for post-hardcore legends Jawbox, Zach Barocas is living his best life creating jazz with friends in New Freedom Sound. He discusses his new music.
How Underground FM Radio Saved Rock
This is what happened when college-age music enthusiasts raided empty FM radio studios and played whatever turned them on.
Kolumbo and the Quest to Tour Every Tiki Bar in America
As a kid in landlocked Texas, Frank LoCastro has wanted to make Exotica music. With Kolumbo’s sophomore LP, his dream of touring tiki bars is within reach.
Moses Sumney’s Self-Aware Icarus
With 2017’s Aromanticism, Moses Sumney negotiates the self as body and spirit and attempts to reconcile his emotions and sexuality with his religion.
Elvis Costello’s ‘Almost Blue’ Was Rescued by Its Bonus Tracks… for a While
The release history of Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue provides a framework for examining how the delivery of recorded music can relate to our experience of it.
Impermanent Candy: Xiu Xiu Aim for an Uncompromising Future
Two decades out from their wild debut, Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo reflect on their fans, band-free music videos, and uncompromising new LP.
Ambient Composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Dispersion of Belief
For a record conceived of following the 2016 US election and a global pandemic, ambient maestro Rafael Anton Irisarri is ready to soundtrack our downfall.
Americana’s Shelby Lynne Writes Through the Pain
Americana singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne talks to PopMatters about her acclaimed new album, Consequences of the Crown, and the long road it took to get here.
Skank’s Postmodern ‘Calango’ Keeps Trippin’ at 30
Skank’s Calango mixes Jamaican reggae, Latin percussion, keyboards, and guitars into a blend that sounds very much from Brazil and yet completely alien.
The Far-Reaching Legacy of Tonny Brasil’s Tecnobrega Song “Lana”
There are debates about technobrega’s origins, but tracking its history leads us to one artist and one song: “Lana” by Tonny Brasil.