A fabulously loud debut from an Irish band and a spare but still powerful album from a seasoned singer-songwriter. Continue reading Medium Rotation — Letter to Self; Big Sigh

HOTLINE TNT Cartwheel (Third Man) — The second album from Brooklyn-based band Hotline TNT is a ravishing mudslide of revival shoegaze. Largely the brainchild of Will Anderson, a transplanted Midwesterner who wears the influence of the many Minneapolis maestros of … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Cartwheel; Spiritual Cramp

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Jenny from Thebes (Merge) — Now that the Mountain Goats’ main man, John Darnielle, has solidified his successful side hustle as a nimble novelist, it makes perfect sense that he’s embracing similar deep-dive storytelling in his songwriting. … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Jenny from Thebes; Black Bayou

BOYGENIUS The Rest (Interscope) — Let’s hear it for the boys. Let’s give the boys a hand. Carrying four new tracks like a baton they all grip, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus cross the finish line together to … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Rest; All That Was East Is West of Me Now

WILCO Cousin (dBpm) — By the time a band gets to lucky album number thirteen, complacency would be understandable. That’s especially the case if the band has a songwriter who can evidently dash off accomplished new tunes as easily a … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Cousin; Silver

SLOW PULP Yard (Anti-) — Slow Pulp might be the only act that actively tried to preserve some of the limitations they endured during the era of COVID lockdowns. The band that originated in Madison, Wisconsin before setting up shop … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Yard; Bury the Lede

THE NATIONAL Laugh Track (4AD) — Matt Berninger, the frontman and main lyric writer for the National, talked openly about a relatively recent bout with writer’s block that put the future of the band in doubt. He evidently had quite … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Laugh Track; Black Rainbows

ALLISON RUSSELL The Returner (Fantasy/Concord) — It’s phenomenally fitting that Joni Mitchell inspired the title of Allison Russell’s sophomore full-length, The Returner. After being a firsthand witness to Mitchell’s transcendent 2022 comeback performance as one of the musicians onstage, Russell … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Returner; Hox; Careful!

SLOWDIVE Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans) — Like a lot of folks, the members of Slowdive have come through a tough couple of years. There were the usual lockdown woes to be sure. They also faced down the deaths of … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Everything Is Alive; Relentless

BE YOUR OWN PET Mommy (Third Man Records) — There was a time, not so long ago, when bands that made a mighty racket were expected to hang up their well-weathered Chucks when they reached a certain age. Stepping away … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Mommy; Jump for Joy