It’s reasonable to surmise that no modern musician with an already well-stocked discography was better prepared to persist in their creativity through an extended lockdown than John Darnielle. The frontman of the Mountain Goats started his now-lengthy tenure as a … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Dark in Here

For at least a little while longer, every new album is going to feel like it carries the woozy hangover of the lockdown times. I don’t know anything about the genesis of Faye Webster’s new album, I Know I’m Funny … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — I Know I’m Funny haha

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, the new album from Marina, opens with its title cut. An electrified drum beat and burbling synths are soon joined by Marina’s rich, low-tone vocals declaring “Our ancestors had to fight to survive/ Just … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land

Sleater-Kinney began as a partnership between Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, an outlet for their intertwined expression and furious voices. On Path to Wellness, the band’s tenth studio album and third since a surprise revival in 2015, it is back … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Path of Wellness

If the world is shutting down around you, might as well try to make some music. The English band Wolf Alice were ensconced in a Brussels studio when COVID-19 made European borders close as decisively as heavy steel doors. They … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Blue Weekend

After a set of years that have been marked by misery — not only the global pandemic, but also the rampant corruption and malfeasance of the interlopers in the White House during the latter portion of the twenty-teens — I … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Jubilee

Sour isn’t an album for me, and I’m fine with that. Scratch that. Try again. I’m great with that. Olivia Rodrigo made her young fame bounding along the Disney treadmill, including a turn as one of the leads in the … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Sour

The short description of the new album Daddy’s Home is “St. Vincent does soul music.” More specifically, the shape-shifting modern-art-rock maestro looked to the soul and R & B music of the early nineteen-seventies, citing Stevie Wonder specifically but clearly … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Daddy’s Home

I suspect the Black Keys would be very happy if every one of their albums from here on in was simply a variation on their latest, Delta Kream. It makes sense. Why strain and struggle to write and record original … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Delta Kream

The town of Marfa was established in Southwest Texas, in the late eighteen-hundreds, because steam-engine locomotives needed a place to stop in their journey and replenish their water supply. A century and half later, the community endures. With a population … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — The Marfa Tapes