London – It’s difficult to pin Meniyka Kiravell’s music down to a single genre. The San Diego artist has concocted a sound that is part indie, part jazz-fusion, and part world music. What binds these influences is an ever-present, palpable sense of inspiration. Kiravell’s debut album Vaudevillia! is a journey through her life as a seasoned traveller.
Los Angeles – There is a certain art to perfecting a break-up record; it is a fine line to tread between emotional, heartfelt catharsis and over-the-top bitterness and resentment. While the finality of a failed relationship can cause an artist to reach deep into the accompanying well of misery, unpleasant feelings also have a
Los Angeles – Over the last 10 years or so, Beach House has grown more and more sonically ambitious and ornate on each full length release. From the band’s haunting, stripped-down self-titled debut to 2012’s lush, ultra-melodic Bloom, every album has taken a step towards adding layers to the distinct Beach House sound. Instead of
Los Angeles – Midway through August, about a month before their second album was released, Lawton Browning of The Woolen Men made a simple request of writers reviewing Temporary Monument: Speaking in no uncertain terms, he appealed for a write-up that skipped the PR-style RIYL-isms that are all too common in music journalism. In place
Los Angeles - Widowspeak’s second full-length, All Yours, sees the formerly Brooklyn-based duo embracing an entirely new life, while still mourning parts of the old. The album is their most personal yet. It was produced in their home in the Catskills. The album celebrates dream pop and elements of shoegaze and classic country, interweaving aspects that
Los Angeles – For all intents and purposes, Silicon’s debut release Personal Computer (Weird World) feels a whole lot like a concept record. However, it is unclear whether sole member Kody Nielson is crafting a narrative throughout the album or simply repeatedly tapping into a rich thematic well. No matter what the approach is, throughout
London – Departures is the full-length debut from Owl & Mouse, the London-based quintet built around Brisbane songstress and ukulele player, Hannah Botting (sister of Allo Darlin’s bassist, Bill) and also featuring sibling Jen on backing vocals. Augmented by bassist Tom Wade, Emma Winston on keyboards and Dan Mayfield on violin and baritone ukulele, the
San Francisco – Kanye West wishes he was the voice of a generation. FIDLAR actually is, because few artists have better articulated the rather pathetic state of arrested development many millennials find themselves trapped in today. Alienated by suburban sprawl, disillusioned from an overdose of mass media marketed dreams of easily attainable happiness and utterly
Nashville – Nikki Lane means business on her second album. Joining up with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys to produce All or Nothin, this singer/songwriter is showing her rebel side, her I don’t really give a shit what you think side. This album is 12 songs; songs of one night stands, bad attitudes, bad
Los Angeles – Mont Royal (Roll Call Records) is the grandiose return of Cleveland indie rockers The Lighthouse and The Whaler. It’s been three years since the quartet’s last full-length effort, This Is An Adventure. The record is both sprawling and substantially complex with its incredible build of strings, guitar crashes, and pulsating kick drums.