Whitney K — ‘Two Years,’ 4/5
Whitney K, the drifter alter ego of Whitehorse, Yukon songwriter Konner Whitney, is a keen interpreter of rock music’s dingier corners. His debut record, the…
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Grimes — ‘Miss Anthropocene (Rave Edition),’ 3/5
Claire “Grimes” Boucher is no longer a person. She is a pile of money, a series of angry articles, a class traitor, a problem and…
Julien’s Daughter — ‘The Static That Carries Over,’ 4.5/5
There are some bands that spring to life fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus or one of those sweet tents that just…
PETRIC — ‘Flashbacks,’ 3/5
PETRIC’s Flashbacks is airtight nearly to the point of airlessness, the dusty corners of country music sandblasted until even the shadows are gone, every instrument…
’Toban tracks
In a year that felt like an endless series of rugs being pulled out from under us, the one thing you could always rely on…
JR Charron — ‘Impression,’ 3/5
What do you say about a record like JR Charron’s Impression? Its instant familiarity and country-radio soundalike style is part of the appeal, its lack…
Vagina Witchcraft — ‘Vagina Witchcraft,’ 4/5
Vagina Witchcraft’s debut record doesn’t open with a scream or sludgy riff, but a missive, spoken with such raw feeling as to make the hair…
Odario — ‘Good Morning Hunter,’ 4.5/5
There is a notion that times of political and social turmoil create incendiary music, the kind of essential, galvanizing work that inspires and unites people….
Creativity in a climate of constant change
As we plunge headfirst into another wave of tightening restrictions, it’s hard not to look back at the pandemic’s tentative beginnings in March, when it…
Madisyn Whajne — ‘Save Our Hearts,’ 4/5
One can imagine the sunlight that must’ve filled the studio as Madisyn Whajne recorded Save Our Hearts — pooling like melted caramel and casting flecks…