Review

Gilded notes glisten in the echo of a gentle melody that leads us into “Ooh La La,” the new single from pop songstress Carly Hanley. Like raindrops pelting against a solemn dry patch of earth, the melody slowly mellows the hardened, silent backdrop until everything is melting under the warm …

Not every rock song is defined by its guitar parts, but in a larger-than-life work like that of Greg Hoy’s new single “Comfort Vendetta,” they’re at the heart of every explosive moment in the track. Hoy gives a stellar performance behind the mic in “Comfort Vendetta” that doesn’t require adept …

A groove has the power to shape an entire song. From the mood to the very tone in which it’s delivered, the beat plays a role in making the new single from Battle Tapes, “Brand New,” as beastly as it can be, and I must say, it’s quite the monster …

Smilez melds more pop elements than he does hard hip-hop rhymes in his new single “I Hate My Ex,” but while his lyrical wit is certainly something that should feel like the proper showcase here, it’s hardly the only reason why I would recommend serious rap fans give the track …

The biggest complaint that I hear from casual alternative EDM fans is that the genre has lost its authenticity in recent times, partly due to the streamlining of its best acts, but mostly because of its constant misapplication. One of the only artists that I’ve heard lately to sound like …

A hook that is as subtle as it is charismatic. Harmonies that wrap around us like a tender hug from someone we’ve missed for far too long. Melodies that are as touching and meaningful as the lyrics they surround. This is all par for the course in “Tub of Love,” …

Young upstart rapper Joe West drops a colorful and abrasively up-tempo new single “Him,” which has been kicking up quite the buzz-storm among his scene and beyond this month (though not without just cause). In “Him,” West establishes himself as an alternative to the commercialized mainstream hip-hop sound not only …

Most critics will agree with me when I say that country music is reshaping its identity right now, and it’s partly due to the influx of alternative, folk-influenced, and outsider talent entering an arena that has traditionally been dominated by artists who are anything but. Among the more interesting newcomers …

Lyrically, Rich Wyman and Lisa Needham are all heart and soul in the new single “Forgiveness,” which features a dexterous arrangement supplying him with a backdrop fit for a king. Both players are belting out line after line in this track with the kind of passion that normally we’d hear …

Heavy rock has become a really strange term in the past couple of decades, but that isn’t stopping Helen Kelter Skelter from reinventing the limits of the genre through music as profoundly interesting as it is easy to listen to. Chroma Crawl, the latest release from this act, has a futuristic …

The numbers speak for themselves – just in the brief time people have been talking about him, ADVM has brought in a lot of attention online through the release of his lead single “Weekend,” which is a track that borrows a little from pop and a whole lot from hip-hop …

In pop music, and especially hip-hop, you’ve got to be a little more daring than the other folks to stand out in the crowd. With the destruction of traditional scenes and the regional professional politics that came with them, the internationalization of cloud rap and trap was inevitable, but no …