Category: ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC
Essential New Music: Waco Brothers’ “Going Down In History”
To amass 20 years in one cauldron or genre in this fickle mess of a music business deserves high praise
Essential New Music: Elliott Smith’s “Heaven Adores You”
“Untitled Melancholy Song"—that could be the working title of two thirds of the songs in Elliott Smith’s catalog. On Heaven
Essential New Music: The Cars’ “The Elektra Years: 1978-1987”
Find me a person who hasn’t somehow experienced the bubblegum-flavored majesty of the Cars and I’ll show you someone who’s
Essential New Music: Yuck’s “Stranger Things”
It’s a story repeated throughout the ages: Band records bitchin’ debut—a collection of the best parts of its creative existence—and
Essential New Music: Quilt’s “Plaza”
Boston’s Quilt is not blessed by age or geography to possess a legitimate claim on the ability to channel ’60s
Essential New Music: Lucius’ “Good Grief”
The Brooklyn pop stylists in Lucius have a lot going for them—strong songwriting, a striking visual and performance sense, a
Essential New Music: David Bowie’s “Blackstar”
From near the start to the end, from pre-Ziggy to postmortem—the vinyl re-release of Bowie At The Beeb and final album
Essential New Music: Rangda’s “The Heretic’s Bargain”
Rangda’s third album makes a strong case for giving in to the void. Drummer Chris Corsano (Björk, Vampire Belt) and
Essential New Music: Cavern Of Anti-Matter’s “Void Beats Invocation Trex”
Cavern Of Anti-Matter is the new Berlin-based band from Stereolab’s Tim Gane, with synth specialist Holger Zapf and Stereolab drummer
Essential New Music: So Pitted’s “neo”
Usually, we’d be quick to dismiss a band that names itself after a viral video, but since these guys named
Essential New Music: Yoko Ono’s “Yes, I’m A Witch Too”
The worst fate for a remix album isn’t incompatibility—it’s irrelevance. By that standard alone, this second swan dive into Yoko
Essential New Music: Lake Street Dive’s “Side Pony”
Side Pony goes down very, very smooth. How smooth? Like an earworm—or maybe an earthworm—making its cool, moist way through
Essential New Music: Nevermen’s “Nevermen”
A trio made up of seasoned veterans within their respective musical fields, Nevermen is TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe,
Essential New Music: Santigold’s “99¢”
Santi “Gold” White was my discovery of 2008, a new-wave fever dream of synth-happy pop and celebrity DJ support (in