Reviews

After a decade, Tobias Jesso Jr. returns to the spotlight with s h i n e. The songs sound incomplete and unfinished, like rough sketches or demos that could be more refined on a proper album. The presentation leaves a lot to be desired, making me wonder why he came back in the first place. R&R - 2025 Tobias Jesso Jr. seemingly came out of nowhere and then returned back to nowhere in an instant. A Canadian singer and songwriter, Jesso picked up the piano at a later age in

Like its predecessor, many of the moments on Geese's Getting Killed  are instantly mind blowing, jaw dropping, and beyond impressive. It's such a stunning record from such a young band that I have to remind myself that the band members are barely past the legal drinking age. Getting Killed  is arguably this year's best album, regardless of genre. Partisan - 2025 Geese, not to be confused with the Connecticut jam band Goose, are a NY-based band of young musicians who've b

Afie Jurvanen continues to thrive on My Second Last Album . Despite its title, I feel like he's got a lot more to offer in the future than simply one more album, since he continues to make compelling singer songwriter music that's equally memorable as it is entertaining. Brushfire - 2025 Afie Jurvanen is a singer, jokester, and songwriter based in Canada and he's been making heartful, cheeky songs under the Bahamas name for over fifteen years now. I've always found the "

Deadbeat sounds so lifeless, derivative, and void of any charm or personality. Kevin Parker's attempts at making dance music lacks the whimsy, charm, and magic that made Tame Impala such a great and interesting project in the first place. It's a vapid listening experience. Columbia - 2025 2020's The Slow Rush feels like it was released ages ago. 2015's Currents feels even more so. So when I initially heard about a new, fifth album coming down the pipe from Kevin Parker'

Cutthroat is indeed cutthroat, where its songs are about all the liars, cheats, and scum of the Earth people. The music is pummeling, full of rapid fire rockers that are all the more thrilling, making it one of shame's most enjoyable and infectious records to date. Dead Oceans - 2025 The South London post punk scene is thriving and one of its highly acclaimed bands, shame, are on another level. Their discography so far has been bulletproof with bangers and rapid fire per

The Beths pull out another solid album with Straight Line Was a Lie , their most emotionally vulnerable record to date full of catchy hooks and lyrically dense lines. Anti - 2025 Indie pop rockers The Beths hail from New Zealand and have been one of the more buzzed about bands as of late. With an ear for hooks soundtracked by lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes' self deprecating humor, The Beths have been a favorite for indie blogs and college radio alike. Their 2020 album Ju

That Wasn't a Dream  is a remarkable collaboration that continues to show, if anything, that Pino Palladino and Blake Mills are up to the task at creating some beautiful and technically crafted jams. Verve - 2025 In purely technical aspects, bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist Blake Mills are the best in the game. Palladino has been around forever it seems, providing his fretless bass for artists ranging from The Who to Adele to D'Angelo (Rest In Peace!). Blake Mills ha

Inspired by Americana, Spanish and Irish folk,  Geckøs is a pleasant detour for M. Ward, Howe Gelb, and McKowski, but it will simply be a...

The joy and positivity across Who Is the Sky?  is presented in such a forced, grinning while held at gunpoint way that it's borderline...

Interior Live Oak, Cass McCombs' sprawling new double album, holds together like a tightly knitted glove and it 100% deserves its...