“Getting Bitter,” the new track from New Jersey–based band Teenage Halloween, is a chewy, chunky blast of pop punk. It call to mind the Beths when they’re in a louder mode, and that includes in the way the bouncy music … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Teenage Halloween, “Getting Bitter”

I suspect Billy Bragg was inspired to pick up his guitar by the laughable corollary drawn between the current #1 song in U.S. and the work of Woody Guthrie, a comparison made solely by right-wing ghouls operating with their usual … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Billy Bragg, “Rich Men Earning North of a Million”

Career Woman is a Los Angeles band led by singer-songwriter Melody Caudill. Although Caudill still hasn’t crossed the threshold into her twenties, she’s been impressive prolific to this point, boasting a bandcamp page packed with gleaming pop-rock goodness. The band’s … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Career Woman, “Passing”

It’s been more than ten years since Mark Linkous, the driving force behind the band Sparklehorse, took his own life. In the months leading up to the tragic event, Linkous was working on a new album that was intended to … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Sparklehorse, “Listening to the Higsons”

It’s been five years since the last Speedy Ortiz album, but the string of singles heralding their return have demonstrated no steps have been lost. Their latest, “Ghostwriter,” romps straight towards that sweet spot of buzzy modern rock that I … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Speedy Ortiz, “Ghostwriter”

Misery can have a touch of majesty to it. That’s one of the lessons that Mitski teaches, and it’s reinforced on her quietly staggering new single “Bug Like an Angel.” The music is mostly spare as she intones lyrics as … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Mitski, “Bug Like an Angel”

“The Way Things Go,” the new track from Beabadoobee, absolutely gleams. It recalls any number of indie pop acts who combined elegant melody, wispy vocals, evocatively emotional lyrics, and impeccable musicianship. It builds and builds, like a swirling funnel of … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Beabadoobee, “The Way Things Go”

I mean it as a high compliment when I assert that the new song Billie Eilish created for the Barbie movie soundtrack recalls the expert work of Randy Newman. Especially when Newman was the go-to for Pixar during the animation … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?”

Bush Tetras formed in the late nineteen-seventies. Like a lot of acts formed in the forge of New York City punk rock, they churned out a slew of singles and played loud live shows. They also didn’t release their first … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bush Tetras, “Bird on a Wire”

This week brought an uncommonly large batch of the new tracks that tugged at my music-loving soul and demanded placement in this weekly spot. At different points, I was sure this week’s model was a recently unearthed gem from the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”