Jed Bindeman’s ears hurt. As a co-founder of reissue label Freedom to Spend, he acquired some 1,200 cassettes from the archive of ND, an influential Austin-based magazine from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and began systematically working through the stacks of tapes. What he found made all the effort worthwhile: a home-recorded, self-illustrated cassette by someone called Larrison, entitled Connecters [sic]. When he pressed play on this mysterious tape, Bindeman heard a warbling, lo-fi keyboard, amateur yet sophisticated, unlike anything else he had encountered.
It turns out that Bindeman’s tape was the only copy of Connecters in existence. Its creator, Larrison Seidle, had moved from Indiana to Austin and recorded the entire album on…
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Six years to the date of his last LP, Thundercat release his fifth studio album, Distracted, coming out via Brainfeeder. The new album features contributions from A$AP Rocky, WILLOW, Tame Impala, Channel Tres, Lil Yachty and a previously unreleased collaboration with the dearly departed Mac Miller.
Distracted was primarily created in close collaboration with a new creative partner for Thundercat – the superproducer Greg Kurstin, known for his work with some of the biggest names in pop like Adele, Paul McCartney, Sia, Beyoncé, Beck and more – with additional production turns on the record from Flying Lotus, Kenny Beats (Kenneth Blume), and The Lemon Twigs. Distracted vividly captures…
Temple of Blues II: All-Stars sees Cactus, led by legendary drummer Carmine Appice, continuing their late-career resurgence with a star-studded follow-up to their 2024 comeback Temple of Blues. Rather than simply revisiting past glories, the band expands its sound and scope here, leaning heavily into collaborations that celebrate both their legacy and their influence.
The album thrives on its “all-stars” concept, bringing together a wide range of notable musicians who help shape its blues-rock foundation into something dynamic and varied. One of the standout moments is a new take on the blues standard “The Little Red Rooster,” featuring Dee Snider on lead vocals and Tracii Guns on guitar. The track captures a raw…
The Gathering, originally released in 2007, returns in an expanded edition that reaffirms the lasting significance of Marianne Segal’s long-awaited comeback. This reissue not only revisits the album but also casts new light on a work that already proved her artistic voice remained as compelling as ever after decades away from the spotlight.
Best known for her work with cult ‘70s outfit Jade, Segal used The Gathering to reconnect with the spirit of that era while subtly updating it for a more contemporary audience. In this expanded form, the album’s depth and craftsmanship become even more apparent, offering listeners a fuller picture of her creative vision.
The record moves effortlessly between traditional folk balladry, roots…
VOLUMES: ONE, the first non-studio release from Bon Iver, captures 10 distinctive live performances, recorded between 2019 and 2023, showcasing Justin Vernon and his band at their most whole. There’s a warmth and exuberance across the album, as well as the sort of muscular sound you can really only get at a live show. For the uninitiated and die-hards alike, these recordings could well be the defining versions of the tracks, no doubt made possible through the essential live engineering of Xandy Whitesel and performances from bandmates Jenn Wasner, Sean Carey, Michael Lewis, Matthew McCaughan, and Andrew Fitzpatrick.
Vernon began working on VOLUMES: ONE in 2020, and he spent a considerable amount of time combing through concerts…
After a five-year run of musically intrepid and critically acclaimed studio LPs – Absolute Zero, Non-Secure Connection, ‘Flicted, Deep Sea Vents – as well as entire albums’ worth of still-unreleased material, the virtuoso pianist suddenly found himself “creatively fried.”
Despite his best, well-intentioned efforts to step away from songwriting for a brief time, his creative musings ultimately prevailed. One particularly tenacious song idea led to several months of sleepless nights before Mr. Hornsby finally relented, resulting in the incredibly satisfying title track to his latest release, Indigo Park.
Within the ten tracks of Indigo Park, Mr. Hornsby and his uber-talented musical cohorts, The Noisemakers, this time…
When Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel took over the curation for the May 2026 issue of MOJO, they didn’t just pick a few favorite songs—they built a bridge between the Foo Fighters’ legendary past and their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy.
Foo.Fm functions as a 15-track “musical odyssey.” It’s a rare look behind the curtain at the records that fueled the band’s recent creative pivot back to their punk-rock roots.
The tracklist is a masterclass in balance, weaving together the “holy trinity” of their influences: legacy pioneers, contemporary heavyweights, and the new guard of alternative rock.
The compilation kicks off with a heavy nod to the underground. The inclusion of Hüsker Dü and Kim Gordon acts as a reminder…
Horrorful Heights marks a formidable new chapter in The Bevis Frond’s deep and storied catalogue, showcasing the enduring creativity of songwriter, guitarist and frontman Nick Saloman as he moves into yet another decade of recording. Long established as one of the most distinctive voices in British underground rock, Saloman continues to refine the band’s signature blend of melodic psychedelia, wiry guitar epics and sharp, emotionally attuned songwriting. Horrorful Heights offers one of the most approachable entry points to the band’s world in years: a record that gathers their core strengths into a cohesive, vivid set.
Recorded with long-time drummer Dave Pearce and guitarist Paul Simmons, alongside new bassist Louis Wiggett, the album moves…
Wendy Eisenberg has evidently always been a fan of the rhetorical question, but perhaps never more so than on Wendy Eisenberg. “You are the oldest you’ve ever been,” they intone, sweet and clear, on the opening track: “Did you feel yourself change?” Whos, whats, wheres, whys, and hows abound: see “Who was I becoming?” (“Meaning Business”), “What gave me that idea?” and “Where was I when that happened?” (“The Ultraworld”), “Why did I try? Did I try?” (“Will You Dare”), “Is that how I wound up here?” (“Another Lifetime Floats Away”). But, as with all rhetorical questions, there are no answers expected. The asking — or, more specifically, the spacious, open silence that follows in the question’s wake — is the point. After all, absence is itself a kind of presence. Those gaps…
Emerging out of semi-nowhere — well, Northwich — the Charlatans were saddled with a name that lent itself to jibes about their quality and the early burden of being a one-hit wonder with “The Only One I Know.” That all changed when Some Friendly, the group’s debut, planted itself at the top of the UK charts in 1990. Drawing on Martin Blunt’s background in mod and psych outfits, Rob Collins’ outrageously funky keyboards and Tim Burgess’ unexpected star quality, Some Friendly combines the joyous bounce of baggy with the good natured immediacy of indie pop, then wraps it up in state of the art production. Some of the lyrics betray Burgess’ sharp-tongued punk background — “You’re Not Very Well,” the opener, expresses anything but sunny sentiments…
…Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt met while studying at the University of Hull in 1981. Thorn had already formed the DIY post-punk group Marine Girls and recorded their beloved debut album Beach Party. Meanwhile, experimental singer-songwriter Watt’s debut single – ‘Cant’, produced by Kevin Coyne – was released that year on Cherry Red. The pair started a side project, Everything But the Girl, and released their first EP, Night and Day (led by a cover of the Cole Porter standard) in 1982.
After a couple of years pursuing their respective solo projects, Thorn and Watt came together again in 1984 for their debut full-length, Eden, a timeless set of plaintive bossa nova (No 28 single ‘Each and Every One’), shimmering indie-pop (‘Another Bridge’), wee-small-hours jazz…
Following so closely on the heels of the January 2026 concert piece One Moment in Time: Live in the USA, the re-release of Robin Trower’s 1975 Live! might seem a bit suspect. Instead, it serves as a template for such expansive archival projects (not just for this artist’s discography).
Issued in an elaborate 2CD or 2LP package, what was once a mere concession to the marketplace now becomes an essential entry in the venerable guitar hero’s discography. Fifty-some years ago, the constraints of the vinyl audio configuration prevented the 1975 Stockholm Concert Hall performance from being issued in its entirety.
Now, in observance of the half-century milestone, the entire performance, sequenced in the running order of the actual concert’s…
In the liner-notes to this, the tenth studio album that Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson have released as Sunn O))) the nature writer and poet Robert MacFarlane compares the band’s music to the sound of storms, a fast-flowing river and the shifting of tectonic plates.
They are familiar images to any fan of the drone metal duo who has followed their career over their past 26 years, and read reviews in which critics attempt to ascribe powerful visual images to the dynamics, tone, amplitude and physical effect of such landmark releases as 2005’s Black One, 2009’s Monoliths & Dimensions and the 2019 Steve Albini-produced double of Life Metal and Pyroclasts. As O’Malley himself has said, “It’s putting language on something…
Minneapolis-based novelist, songwriter and vocalist Dan Hornsby is not the first to lead a band, but might be among the first ones to set his lyrical vision through jangly guitar rock with his band True Green.
Hail Disaster, the band’s second 13 songs are set in that catchy musical frame that somewhat abandons the band’s original lo-fi sound for a clearer sound and warmer production values, that shine a brighter light on both the band’s intricate instrumental sound and Hornsby’s literate lyrics.
In many ways, the music on the album draws comparisons to both David Berman’s Silver Jews and solo output, as well as Phil Elverum’s The Microphones phase, to which Hornsby and multi-instrumentalist Tailer Ransom add…
Slayyyter’s music is vile, explicit, and a threat to common decency. Since her early days as a salon receptionist, the artist formerly known as Catherine Garner has channeled her unbridled id with a head-spinning boldness that would be probable cause for exorcism in most God-fearing countries. Over beats as blunt, chromatic, and gleefully stupid as a Jeff Koons sculpture, the singer has vied to make hyperpop more garish and alarming by being hornier, messier, and more extreme than her peers. Together with producer Ayesha Erotica, she dared listeners to join her Bimbo Summit as she barreled through Y2K hedonism without the burdens of taste or conventional morality to slow her down. The mileage one got out of songs like “Daddy AF,” “Throatzillaaa,” or “Purrr”…
The Østfold county is dubbed by some as Norway’s Mississippi, as the country’s longest river, the Glomma, flows through its densely populated lowland area on its way to the Oslo Fjord. A fitting backdrop for americana four-piece Norma, whose debut album Country Catering pays reference to older legends like Poco and the Grateful Dead, as well as combining influences from more recent bands like Wilco. Produced by Simen Følstad Nilsen, who also contributes pedal steel, it’s a melodic meander down a path of floating melodies and chiming guitars.
The opener, Rabbit Feet, is typical of Norma’s approach: an understated driving beat accompanied by dreamy vocals that burst into life in the mid-section. The band was raised on…
If there was any question young blues rocking guitarist Gabe Stillman would progress from his impressive 2018 debut Nighthawks-assisted EP, it was demonstrably answered in the affirmative with his first full length album.
Stillman proved that his vocal, instrumental and most importantly compositional talents were more than ready for prime time on 2019s extraordinary Just Say the Word, one of the finest offerings from a new talent that year, and a Top 10 entry on Billboard’s blues chart.
Five years, one label change and a few hundred live dates later, he returns with the terrific What Happens Next?. It’s worth noting that most of the supporting musicians contributing to Stillman’s first Vizztone release – notably…
The Longest Way Round, New York City-based pianist, accordionist and composer Ben Rosenblum and his cutting-edge Nebula Project take listeners on a wild and exhilarating ride across musical boundaries, through multiple genres and around customary intersections to a destination that is as fresh and pleasing as it is creative and unique.
While contemporary jazz remains the core element, this is music whose broad framework flows beyond the confines of normal depiction to encompass a harmonic and rhythmic panorama that lends new meaning to the phrase ‘creative design.’ Rosenblum’s compositions (he wrote and arranged every number) are shrewd and inventive with nary a trace of dubiety or discord. Even when treading more moderate paths, as he does…
Arriving after Vision Is the Identity (2024) and Asp Nimbus (2021), REX is the third album cellist Christopher Hoffman‘s recorded for the avant-jazz label Out of Your Head Records and formally speaking his debut solo album. However, REX is hardly a jazz album in the traditional sense, as its methodically built-up pieces have as much to do with folk, rock, and ambient as they do jazz. The story behind the album’s fascinating. When the Brooklyn-ensconced Hoffman and his family itched for a change of scenery in 2023, a 116-acre property north of the city presented itself that turned out to be the former home to Rex Brasher (1869–1960), a celebrated self-taught painter who created more than 1200 watercolours of North American birds. How dedicated…
There’s a current tendency among post-modern classical composers to paint their musical pictures, or compositions if you will, in darker overtones, but then, it just might be the mirror of the times we live in. Or, as a composer, you can devote a composition cycle to an inspirational friend and colleague who passed too early, as Canadian post-classical composer Matthew Patton, who operates under the moniker of Those Who Walk Away, does on his latest release, Afterlife Requiem.
Devoted to, as he points out, a friend and collaborator, late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, Patton uses an interesting concept – he combines drone, electroacoustic, and near-silences extracted from unfinished recordings on Jóhannsson’s hard drives, underpinning…