There’s always a lot of chatter about summer songs. Don’t the other seasons deserve songs, too? Just as the first tracks suited for accompanying bright, shiny days start appearing a few weeks before anyone would reasonable declare summer to be … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Carla dal Forno, “Come Around”

Allow me to add my own Yeah. Actually, let’s make that a Hell Yeah. Cool It Down, the new album from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, is scheduled for release in September. Continue reading This Week’s Model — Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Burning”

When Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson decided to collaborate, they didn’t treat it as a lark, some mere noodling that might provide a B-side or two. They came up with enough material for a full studio album and recorded it … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Plains, “Problem with It”

When Robyn Hitchcock burble blasted his new single, “The Shuffle Man,” in the ionosphere this week, most digital dispatches dutifully noted that it came with the announcement of a new album, the first full-length studio effort from the inner plane … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Robyn Hitchcock, “The Shuffle Man”

Pop songs have piled up clever metaphors for dashed romances and heartbreak since the first time Elvis Aron Presley swiveled his hips. Some are better than others, to be sure. To alight on a new metaphor that borders on genius? … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Beths, “Expert in a Dying Field”

Look, I am who I am. Much as I earnestly strive to diversify my musical tastes, becoming genuinely enraptured by blipping, blooping tunes I would have been quick to disregard in the past, there are certain sounds that are going … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Rat Tally, “Longshot”

NNAMDï is a force. The Chicago-based musician has put out a slew of solo records, played in multiple bands, and co-founded a label, Sooper Records, that is dedicated to showcasing artists whose hail-Mary commercial prospects make them unlikely to get … Continue reading This Week’s Model — NNAMDï, “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous”

I was a relative latecomer to the kingdom of Beyoncé, but I’m a devoted subject now. Given the opportunity I will expound at tedious length on why Lemonade is rivaled by only Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters in any … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Beyoncé, “Break My Soul”

Because I, too, am sometimes ready to rage. Gnosis, the eighth album from Chicago trio Russian Circles, is scheduled for release in August. Continue reading This Week’s Model — Russian Circles, “Conduit”

For music fans with a long enough memory, I think there’s probably no way for the new Laura Veris single, “Eucalyptus,” to avoid comparisons to Suzanne Vega. A lilting female voice engaged in plain, crisp storytelling using a staccato rhythm … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Laura Veirs, “Eucalyptus”