Album Reviews

Much as its title implies, the music video for King Riley’s new single “Substance” has a lot going for it, and it all starts with the song’s superior compositional integrity. While a lot of rappers are more than content to piece something together in the studio with little to no …

Bouncing between huge beats and a lazy but lush psychedelic melody that whispers to us like the wind, Milky Chance’s “Synchronize” is an interesting, albeit surreal mixture of sway and swagger that is certain to get a lot of indie-pop fans’ attention this spring. Although it’s structured like a typical …

Collaborations tell us a lot about who the artists involved really are, and in the case of the new single “Gimme Love,” I think it can be said that Matt B and Eddy Kenzo are showing us a side of their artistries that is unique to the studio experience. They …

Ahead of the chorus kicking into gear in her new single “Goliath,” rocker Chaz Kiss tells us straight up – “I’m sinful and cold / When I’m threatened the most / But I always regret it / I bet you thought I was less than I am / I bet …

The first element that really jumps out of the speakers and grabs us in the new single “Little Dance” from Neon Dreams is the warm melody, led by the vocal, and its incredible sonic reach across the groove. Rather than trying to put all of their stock in the verses, …

The neon-stained imagery in the music video for N.C. Palma’s “Morning in the Dark” alludes to a nightlife that he isn’t entirely embracing with the groove in this all-new single, but it’s perhaps this contrast between visuals and sonic poetry that we’re supposed to focus on the most here. Palma …

A debut is typically one of the hardest releases an artist will ever craft, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that most players on the underground side of the industry put a lot into making their rookie effort perfect. Meticulousness is important, and while you can’t accuse …

Lindley Creek continues to reinvent Bluegrass with their latest single “Too Bad You’re No Good.” Made up of the Greer family (John, Kathie, Jase, Katie), Lindley Creek has been innovating the genre for nearly a decade since they discovered it as a family back in the day. John and Kathie …

How do you improve upon a classic country track that hit number one on the Billboard charts when it debuted seventy years ago? For Dale Ann Bradley and Danny Paisley’s new cover of the timeless duet “One By One,” the answer seemed pretty obvious: bring almost a dozen Best Vocalist …

Crash Taylor was raised around musicians and became one himself. His album Retired Outlaw, however, is his actual recording debut years after the fact.. Capturing a lifetime of personal and artistic experiences within ten songs looks like a tall order but, in this reviewer’s estimation, Taylor’s reached that lofty peak. Retired Outlaw’s …

In the competitive cluster of New Music Friday tracks that litter our feeds and streaming service playlists, it is often hard to stand out amongst such an array of new music. This past Friday in particular presented an overload of options, and not enough hours in the day to listen …

Don’t get me wrong – the melodicism on full display in the new single “FaceTime” from Devinn Le’Raay and Lakes the Voice is the kind of heart-melting energy that I want more of in my R&B, but if you’re asking me what the most soul-stirring element of this track is, …