Waxahatchee surprises by releasing ‘Snocaps’ with twin sister

‘Snocaps’ by Snocaps (ANTI- Records) For the recently converted Waxahatchee fan, Alabama-raised singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield does not drum up the image of distorted riffs, scrappy

Florence + the Machine’s ‘Everybody Scream’ wrestles with greatness and mortality

“Everybody Scream” by Florence + The Machine” (Republic Records/Polydor Records) During his acceptance speech for best actor at this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, Timothée Chalamet

Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ is unlike anything in mainstream music — thank God

“LUX” by Rosalía (Columbia Records) Before Rosalía became a global pop phenomenon, she was Rosalía Vila Tobella — a flamenco student at Catalonia’s elite College of

Brandi Carlile looks inward on the great ‘Returning to Myself’

“Returning to Myself” by Brandi Carlile (Interscope Records) It’s been 20 years since Brandi Carlile released her self-titled debut album. After two decades of extensive collaborations

Olivia Dean breaks down ‘The Art of Loving’ with jazzy soul-pop sounds

Olivia Dean performs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival last Saturday Olivia Dean, the rising British soul pop singer-songwriter, has returned with a confident sophomore

Khalid bounces back with complex look at love in ‘After the Sun Goes Down’

“After the Sun Goes Down” by Khalid (RCA Records) If you want to know how far Khalid has traveled in a year, just look at his album

Geese’s ‘Getting Killed’ is Brooklyn band’s most accessible album yet

“Getting Killed” by Geese (Partisan) There’s a bomb in my car!” Geese frontman Cameron Winter warns through blood-curdling screams on “Trinidad,” the opening track of the band’s

King Princess scoffs at heartbreak on ‘Girl Violence’

“Girl Violence” by King Princess (section1) It’s impossible to hear King Princess groan “I’m a loser” on their ambitious third album and not think of Beck singing

Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ is a sincere but still sexy breakup album

“Man’s Best Friend” by Sabrina Carpenter (Island Records) If Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” celebrated the start of a romantic relationship, the pop sensation’s seventh studio album,

Jon Batiste opts for chill vibe on stripped-down album, ‘Big Money’

Big Money” by Jon Batiste (Verve) On “Big Money,” Super Bowl-sized singer Jon Batiste opts for a surprisingly intimate sound. The just over 32-minute, nine-song set

English post-punks Wet Leg level up on sophomore album

A few songs into the second studio album from buzzy English post-punks Wet Leg, singer Rhian Teasdale yells “level up!” And level up they have. The alt-rock duo-turned-group

HAIM return with a superb and salty breakup album

HAIM has declared this season to be “single-girl summer” and offered us the soundtrack. Heartsick never sounded so good. “I Quit,” the fourth full-length album from the

‘Broken Branches’ offers safe, familiar, cold beer country

Nashville hitmaker Dierks Bentley has delivered “Broken Branches,” his eleventh studio album that leans into some well-tread country rock territory, the kind that invariably involves broken

Cautious Clay’s dreamy R&B-pop album is an exploration in time

Cautious Clay, the multi-instrumentalist whose dreamy R&B and indie-pop sound has earned him the attention of everyone from Arooj Aftab and John Mayer to Taylor Swift, embraces the passing

PUP’s pop-punk album is unapologetically imperfect

For those unfamiliar with Toronto-based punk rock band PUP, the name is an acronym for “pathetic use of potential,” lead singer Stefan Babcock has said. That should

Elton John and Brandi Carlile’s collaboration deepen

It started with a movie. Country star Brandi Carlile, so moved after watching a rough cut of the 2024 music documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late,” began

Jessie Reyez returns in triumph with ‘Paid in Memories’

Most artists would make the first song on their new album something welcoming, trendy or pleasing, at least to make the Spotify algorithm happy. Not Jessie Reyez.

The Lady Gaga you loved and missed returns with pop ‘Mayhem’

She hath returned: A new Lady Gaga, like the old Lady Gaga, but a different Lady Gaga. “Mayhem,” released Friday, is a satisfying full-length project of

Blackpink star Lisa’s ‘Alter Ego’ is an ambitious, chameleonic solo debut

Lisa, one-fourth of the K-pop juggernaut Blackpink, has officially stepped out on her own — releasing her first solo album “Alter Ego.” Across rap, dance and pop,

Tate entices with post-Britney Spears, dirty, breathy pop

She can sing. She can dance. She’s mastered a sultry gaze. She can write a smutty phrase. Is Tate McRae the new princess of dirty, breathy pop?

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