Alex's Staff Picks

Mk.gee Makes the Guitar Sound New Again on "ROCKMAN"
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PUBLISHED Oct 21, 2024
It's been about 70 years since electric guitar became the dominant instrument of popular music — a role it held for many generations...
Panda Bear and Cindy Lee's "Defense" Unites Two of Music's Great Pop Deconstructionists
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Oct 16, 2024
On the aughts indie pop pinnacle 'Person Pitch,' Panda Bear channeled the very familiar sounds of '50s and '60s pop into something...
'Rose Main Reading Room' Is Peel Dream Magazine's Very Own 50 States Project
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PUBLISHED Sep 5, 2024
I am but a simple millennial indie fan: when I hear trilling woodwinds, I think of Sufjan Stevens. There are 50 States Project vibes all...
OMBIIGIZI Refine Their Craft on "Laminate the Sky"
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PUBLISHED Aug 20, 2024
OMBIIGIZI, the super-duo of Daniel Monkman (a.k.a. Zoon) and Adam Sturgeon (a.k.a. Status/Non-Status) have announced their sophomore album...
Charli XCX Continues to Reinvigorate the Remix Thanks to "Guess" with Billie Eilish
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PUBLISHED Aug 2, 2024
When Charli XCX got Lorde for her "Girl, so confusing" remix, it was a revolutionary way to sing about friendship. In an era when pop stars...
Sean Leon Keeps Listeners Wanting More on Addictive "WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
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PUBLISHED Jul 26, 2024
Sean Leon's "WHAT IS HAPPENING?" could easily have been a funk banger. All the pieces are there: a shimmying synth bass, choppy strums of ...
Future Star's Nostalgia Hits Home on 'It's About Time!'
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PUBLISHED Jul 16, 2024
For reasons that are difficult for me to fully articulate, there's something so quintessentially Vancouver about Future Star, whose...
Mo Kenney's "Evening Dream" Is a Polaroid of a Bittersweet Breakup
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PUBLISHED Jul 3, 2024
Mo Kenney's "Evening Dream" is a breakup song that plays out like a movie — even when the emotions are painful, the hazy glow of nostalgia...