British retro-future funk crew Jamiroquai had about three years as American alterna-pop icons. After frontman Jay Kay wriggled around the couch in the iconic 1996 trompe-l’œil “Virtual Insanity” clip, they nabbed four MTV Video Music Awards, a Saturday Night Live performance, a song on the Godzilla soundtrack and a 2:45 …
Read More »10 New Albums to Stream Now: 'Sorry to Bother You,' Vintage Live Dylan and More Editors' Picks
EDITORS’ PICK: The Coup, Sorry to Bother You: The Soundtrack Boots Riley’s feature-directing debut accompanied its surrealist depiction of life in Oakland during capitalist wartime with a clamorous, giddy score by hometown heroes Tune-Yards; the movie’s official soundtrack, which showcases his long-running hip-hop collective The Coup alongside other boldfaced names, …
Read More »Eric Church on Garth Brooks' Lip-Syncing: 'That Pissed Me Off'
Eric Church appears on the cover of Rolling Stone‘s August issue, and the “Desperate Man” singer doesn’t mince words when it comes to the art of performing country music. “We don’t use machines. We use instruments,” he tells Rolling Stone‘s Josh Eells. Which is why he was particularly irked when …
Read More »Mac Miller, Thundercat Unite for Fall Tour
Mac Millerrecruited Thundercat and Atlanta rapper J.I.D. as openers on his upcoming North American fall tour. The 26-date trek launches October 27th in San Francisco, California and concludes December 10th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. General tickets go on sale Friday, July 27th at 10 a.m. local time via Live …
Read More »Review: Valley Queen Hit Scrappy, Dreamy Southern California Gold on 'Supergiant'
On their debut LP, this fantastic L.A. band envelops singer Natalie Carol’s bracingly afflicted, mountain-vaulting dream-country yodel in scrappy, sprawling guitar poetry. Carol can evoke anyone from Grace Slick to to Neko Case to Florence Welch to Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries, giving the band’s California roots sound a kind …
Read More »Review: Electronic Experimentalist Lotic Finds Kinder, Gentler Chaos on 'Power'
Since 2011, Texas-Berlin producer Lotic has been sculpting experimental club music from noise swarms, microscopic samples and mutated bass rumbles, making fans of Björk, Ben Frost and more. 2015’s EPHeteroceteraand short mixtapeAgitationscreated mutating nightmares from, respectively, Penderecki-esque howls of microtonal noise and revvingTransformersgrind. However, with the release of their first …
Read More »Hear Kenny Chesney's Reflective New Song 'Better Boat'
Kenny Chesney offers up a big-picture ballad about learning to overcome what gets you down in the new song “Better Boat,” the third track revealed from his upcoming Songs for the Saints album. Written by Travis Meadows and Liz Rose and featuring background vocals from “Come to Jesus” singer Mindy …
Read More »Hear Kathy Mattea's Cover of Martha Carson's 'I Can't Stand Up Alone'
On September 7th, CMA Award-winning vocalist Kathy Mattea will release Pretty Bird, her first new album in six years. A sublime acoustic collection including a number of smartly chosen and heartfelt covers, the record marks something of a new era in Mattea’s 30-plus-year career. Over the past several years her …
Read More »See Soundgarden Members Reunite for First Time Since Chris Cornell's Death
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Matt Cameron played together for the first time since the death of Chris Cornell last month at a gig in Denmark. They played together as part of a supergroup called MC50, which pays tribute to the Detroit-based rock group MC5, best known for their …
Read More »Review: Meek Mill's 'Legends of the Summer' Is a Breezy EP With Moments of Deep Resonance
Meek Mill’s legal battles and subsequent advocacy for sentencing reform has made him a folk hero. Yet even before the “Free Meek Mill” T-shirts, the Philadelphia rapper born Robert Williams earned a reputation for perseverance, whether it was weathering the mockery that ensued after his 2015 rap battle with Drake …
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