Alex's Staff Picks

Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist Stretch Out (Just a Little) on 'VOIR DIRE'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Oct 10, 2023

The other day, my colleague Calum Slingerland asked me what's the first thing that grabs me when I listen to a new hip-hop album; I respond...

John Carpenter's 'Anthology II: Movie Themes 1976–1988' Will Genuinely Scare Trick-or-Treaters

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Oct 5, 2023

Horror Master John Carpenter already reworked his best-known film scores for 2017's Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998, on which Carpenter,...

David Vertesi Celebrates Olivia Quan — and Life Itself — with "One in a Million"

PUBLISHED Sep 28, 2023

Hey Ocean! bassist David Vertesi wrote "One in a Million" about the death of Vancouver producer Olivia Quan last year, and while the lyrics...

The Alchemist, MIKE and Wiki Conjure Effortless Chemistry on 'Faith Is a Rock'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Sep 22, 2023

Faith Is a Rock is one of the most flat-out beautiful rap albums I've heard in ages. With the Alchemist on production — continuing an extre...

Love's as Old as the Universe Itself on Big Thief's Radiant "Born for Loving You"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Sep 13, 2023

There's a very silly joke that stands out from 1982's Airplane II: The Sequel, when the flight is in trouble and the air traffic controller...

'End of the Day' Is the Beginning of a Whole New Courtney Barnett

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Sep 8, 2023

Lyrics have long been Courtney Barnett's greatest songwriting strength, but she's also got impressive guitar chops, something that was part...

Slowdive Remain Undiminished on 'everything is alive'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Sep 6, 2023

Slowdive's self-titled 2017 album was a rare comeback album that equalled or possibly even surpassed the band's classic work. Coming 22 yea...

Hannah Georgas Is Her Truest Self on 'I'd Be Lying If I Said I Didn't Care'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Aug 25, 2023

Now six albums in, Hannah Georgas is fully in command of her art: her inward-looking lyrical perspective, and the various sonic dressings s...