Album Reviews

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  Fake Palms Make Lemonade on the Life-Affirming 'Lemons'

  PUBLISHED Sep 14, 2022

  Near the end of the penultimate track of their third album Lemons, Fake Palms' mastermind Michael le Riche croons "I do exist, do exist, do...

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  Whitney Find Their 'SPARK' in Slick Studio Experimentation

  PUBLISHED Sep 14, 2022

  In the early 2010s, Smith Westerns represented indie rock's new direction. Alongside other evolving acts (and tourmates) Foxygen, Girls and...

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  Rina Sawayama Can't Hold Back on 'Hold the Girl'

  PUBLISHED Sep 13, 2022

  Rina Sawayama's muscular 2020 debut album — a pop juggernaut bearing her surname — came into the world with a fully realized sound, an impr...

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  The Beths Continue Their Humble Quest on Whip-Smart 'Expert in a Dying Field'

  PUBLISHED Sep 13, 2022

  New albums from the Beths are not capital "E" events. There are no new eras declared, no wiping of social media accounts, no new visual aes...

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  Heaven for Real's Wise, Open-Hearted 'Energy Bar' Is Packed with Nutrition

  PUBLISHED Sep 12, 2022

  Heaven For Real pierce through facades and lance false impressions on their sophomore album, Energy Bar. Peeling back the layers until they...

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  The Mars Volta Throw Away Their Own Rulebook on Self-Titled Album

  PUBLISHED Sep 12, 2022

  Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez have always been iconoclasts. From the antipathy that imploded At the Drive-In, to the apathy...

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  Greber Find Details Amid the Noise on Punishing 'Fright Without'

  PUBLISHED Sep 8, 2022

  While it features much of what listeners have come to expect from Greber, Fright Without — the band's first record in four years — is full...

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  Sampa the Great Weaves Past and Present on the Electrifying 'As Above, So Below'

  PUBLISHED Sep 8, 2022

  After making a splash with her 2019 debut album The Return, Zambian-born and Botswana-raised rapper Sampa The Great has faced the sophomore...