Way back when, I showed up at my college radio station convinced that I needed nothing more to achieve music fan bliss than a bunch of brutish, sloppy dudes banging out raggedy rock songs using the foundational combo of guitars, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Hazel English, “Shaking”

It’s that opening sound, like the “Edge of Seventeen” riff infested with twenty-first century anxiety. And here we are, back in Haim territory, where the three Cali sisters draw upon the finest pop music inventions from a few decades ago … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Haim, “Now I’m In It”

According to Courtney Barnett, “Keep On” was a song she practiced every night when touring Europe last year. The stellar singer-songwriter took fellow Australians and label-mates Loose Tooth on tour with her and became enamored with one of their songs, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Courtney Barnett, “Keep On”

Because sometimes nothing sounds quite as good as big ol’, messed up, slap and bash rock ‘n’ roll. The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City, the new album from Beach Slang, releases January 10, 2020. Continue reading This Week’s Model — Beach Slang, “Bam Rang Rang”

Hailing from Atlanta, the band Omni plays in a style that leaves me fairly helpless. In the most succinct description, Omni plays post-punk, placing their retro sound quite squarely in the chronological territory that loomed very large — and was … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Omni, “Courtesy Call”

I am more skeptical than most about the prospect of a new music released by the Who. I’ve long operated with an instinctual suspicion about the merits of reunited bands, and I defer to my fine friend’s judgment that it … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Who, “All This Music Must Fade”

Freewheeling and delightfully loopy, the new single from Jennifer Vanilla (a performing guise of Becca Kauffman, departing member of Ava Luna) is a dance music knuckleball. Sounding like a turbo-holy union of Laurie Anderson and Sparks, “Space Time Motion” is a … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Jennifer Vanilla, “Space Time Motion”

I should be taking this space to expound at length on the fascinating songwriting style of Sophie Allison, in particular the way her dreamy approach to a thick indie rock sound helps render direct emotional sentiments that are familiar of … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Soccer Mommy, “Lucy”

According to the promotional commentary accompanying the release of “Lark,” the new single from Angel Olsen, the song took years to complete. It sounds like it, not because of some evidence strain or a fussed-over meticulousness. Instead, the tracks carries … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Angel Olsen, “Lark”

There are songs and styles that will grab me immediately, tapping into the portion of my inner being that never truly exited my old college radio studio. That sliver of me flips through the heavy rotation shelf for all eternity, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Mikal Cronin, “Shelter”