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

ALDOUS HARDING Warm Chris (4AD) — The fourth studio album from Aldous Harding crackles with invention. Well, crackles might not be the right terminology, since that overall impression this smoothed-out, folk-grounded pop gives is of ideal refinement. The tracks on … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Warm Chris; Crooked Tree

SUPERCHUNK Wild Loneliness (Merge) — It should not be said that time has mellowed Superchunk. Sure, it’s been more than thirty years since “Slack Motherfucker,” their official debut single after a release under the name Chunk, but the nail-spitting rage … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Wild Loneliness; Painless

ROKIA KONÉ AND JACKNIFE LEE, Bamanan (Real World) — You don’t have to understand the language Rokia Koné sings in on Bamanan to feel the power of her words. A gifted performer from Mali, Koné expresses herself with resonant intensity, the … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Bamanan; Angel in Real Time; Squeeze

SPOON Lucifer on the Sofa (Matador) — Ten albums deep, there’s only so much boat rocking Spoon is likely to do at this point. They can change recording locales and approaches, layer on different sonic techniques, and try to tap … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Lucifer on the Sofa; Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You; Life on Earth

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD Ants from Up There (Ninja Tune) — If Ants from Up There must be the valedictory statement from this particular lineup of Black Country, New Road, at least it’s a bold, bristling farewell. Just days before … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Ants From Up There; Pompeii; Lighten Up

Although a sharp, evocative songwriter who regularly delivers new albums stuffed full of beautifully tarnished gems, Chan Marshall gets a lot of mileage out of repurposing other performers’ material. Titled with admirable clarity and directness, Covers is the third instance … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Covers; The Boy Named If; Anaïs Mitchell