SYLVAN ESSO No Rules Sandy (Loma Vista) — On their prior albums, it was sometimes difficult to discern whether Sylvan Esso wanted to master or deconstruct pop. They decisively elide that question on their fourth studio full-length, No Rules Sandy, … Continue reading Medium Rotation — No Rules Sandy; In My Car

AMANDA SHIRES Take It Like a Man (ATO Records) — There’s a lot of backstory that can be weighed when listening to Take It Like a Man, the eighth solo album from Amanda Shires. By her own accounting, Shires was … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Take It Like a Man; Surrender

SOCCER MOMMY Sometimes, Forever (Loma Vista) — For her third full-length album as Soccer Mommy, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sophie Allison enlisted fairly unlikely help from Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin as producer. Her earthy, moody material seems somewhat at odds with … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Sometimes, Forever; Beatopia

HORSEGIRL Versions of Modern Performance (Matador) — It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Versions of Modern Performance, the debut album from the Chicago band Horsegirl, starts exactly as it should: Gigi Reece’s thumping drums all alone for a few … Continue reading Medium Rotation —Versions of Modern Performance; Farm to Table; Remember Your North Star

FANTASTIC NEGRITO White Jesus Black Problems (Storefront Records) — Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz has a new story to tell on White Jesus Black Problems, his fifth studio album under the name Fantastic Negrito. Some impromptu examination of his family tree yielded … Continue reading Medium Rotation — White Jesus Black Problems; Big Time

THE BLACK KEYS Dropout Boogie (Nonesuch) — On their eleventh album, Dropout Boogie, the Black Keys are still finding fresh ways to make meaty magic with an endless variety of blues licks, thumping rhythms, and lyrics that howl out about … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Dropout Boogie; Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky

SHILPA RAY Portrait of a Lady (Northern Spy) — Now seems like the ideal time for a take-no-shit woman howling lyrics of feminist dissatisfaction, doesn’t it? If Shilpa Ray doesn’t quite go full riot grrrl on Portrait of a Lady, … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Portrait of a Lady; Endless Rooms; A Bit of Previous

ARCADE FIRE We (Columbia) — The first impression of We, the new album from Arcade Fire, is that the rock gods of Montreal are circling back to their foundational sounds after a couple albums tinkering with some electroclash of the … Continue reading Medium Rotation — We; We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong

MJ LENDERMAN Boat Songs (Dear Life) — The new album from Asheville-based singer-songwriter MJ Lenderman is a revival triumph for the era of sloughy dudes with guitars and an attitude grounded in sardonic misery. Boat Songs, the third solo album … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Boat Songs; Headful of Sugar

LUCIUS Second Nature (Mom + Pop) — To the legions who’ve been longing for the next great record that’s suited to be accompaniment for a tearful backwards skate after a roller-rink break-up, Lucius is here for you. Six long years … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Second Nature; Growing Up