Interview w/ Chronic Tiger
Sometimes self-effacing, occasionally peppered with bruised confidence, and always awash in memories — musician Nathan Kowalski’s debut album, Nowhere with You, doesn’t shy away from confessional knob-turners.
Interview w/ Sera Cahoone
In advance of Sera’s show at the Capitol Theater in Olympia, Washington, we interviewed the musician about her creative process, the greatness of Frank Ocean, and the possibility of a future Jenn Champion/Sera Cahoone album.
Top Ten Music Videos of 2017
There was an amazing variety of music videos that reflected our collective resilience in 2017. Elation was behind the fog. In picking my favorites of the year, I went with themes of nostalgia and determination. If anything can be said, artists were unafraid and resolute.
The Return of Haim + Two Other Pop Records We Need Right Now
As we wait out over a month before Este, Danielle and Alana officially unveil the album, it can be comforting to know that there are plenty of other artists within the same vein delivering considerably excellent work, and we need to give them attention.
Pick Six: Overlooked Tracks of 2017
Music did its best to try and apply soothing antiseptic to an otherwise frightening 2016. At least we had some sort of positive, yeah? The incredibly strong year for music has seen no issue carrying over, seamlessly, into the first three-plus months of the new year.
Premiere: ‘Contrast’ by Dream Joints
With spectral reverb, bleeding dyes, and a baritone inflection, Mike Turi’s project as Dream Joints is an effervescent mystery of lights and rolling smoke.
Nick Lowe: Jesus of Cool
Yep Roc’s expanded 30th anniversary edition is a worthy thing to own. It’s not as hard to find as the old records, but there are plenty of extras, and the release captures Lowe’s lo-fi “bash out the tracks and meet up round the pub” philosophy.
The Total Bettys: Peach
With their latest release, Peach, The Total Bettys — Grabmeier, Bri Barrett, Chris Nolasco, Sami Perez — reinforce their contagious and unaffected fury with a collection of songs emblematic of the band’s saltwater and Pop Rocks sound.
Interview w/ Megan Hattie
With the hauntingly layered and chaotically cool release of 9 Bed, No Bath, Megan Hattie has launched the most entrancing and inimitable compilation of the year.
Strange Relations Releases ‘Maria Sweet’
With last year’s Going Out EP, St. Paul, Minnesota’s Strange Relations created the perfect narrative of faded neon signs and corkscrewed cigarette smoke. Casey Sowa’s lyrics poured over compositions that played like eerie reveries.