A Comeback Story for the Ages: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication at 25
Red Hot Chili Peppers made an LP on their own terms with Californication. They silenced the doubters and launched the second act of their extraordinary career.
Music
Summer 2024 European Music Festivals Light Up Major Cities
Sure, Glastonbury and Rock Werchter dazzle with pastoral grandeur, but if you’re more of a city-dweller, check out the best European music festivals this summer.
‘No Songs Tomorrow’ Compiles the Best of 1980s Darkwave
No Songs Tomorrow, a new compilation from Cherry Red Records, offers a new perspective on darkwave, coldwave, and other ethereal delights from the 1980s.
Gabriel Birnbaum’s New LP Is Filled with Deep Emotion
Gabriel Birnbaum takes many aspects of rock, folk, and indie music that everyone is familiar with and subtly rearranges them in ways we never thought possible.
Phish Inspire Instrumentally, Falter Lyrically on ‘Evolve’
The verdict on Evolve is what so many people have given Phish in the past: the instrumentals are fabulous, but the lyrics leave something to be desired.
The Mysterines’ New LP Is Moodier, Darker, and Slower
The Mysterines’ new record is the aural equivalent of a spooky, creaky old house—at an amusement park. It gets the look and feel right, but it’s artifice.
Upon the Edge of No Escape: Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ at 45
A unique-sounding album, Unknown Pleasures retains the dark mystery of Ian Curtis and Joy Division while anticipating future moods and genres.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Opus Remains Powerful and Prescient
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor reminds us that sometimes the most powerful protest is (nearly) wordless.
Gracie Abrams and the Secret of Confessional Writing
The strong hooks on The Secret of Us provide the missing third dimension to Gracie Abrams’ songs and create a winning formula that could sustain more albums.
All-Star Lineup Celebrates Linda Thompson at City Winery NYC
The collective effort to bring folk legend Linda Thompson’s ‘Proxy Music’ and this musical night saluting it to life was nothing short of magical.
Cicadastone’s ‘Future Echoes’ Is Grunge’s Rip-Roaring Last Stand
Cicadastone’s Future Echoes is a gleeful, rip-roaring, endlessly entertaining beat-down of everything sensitive or delicate in our homogenized society.
K-Pop Finally Has Its Meta-Moment with the Dynamic Art of ARTMS
The K-pop market is oversaturated, but ARTMS cut through the technicolor noise by remixing and defying lore conventions to create something drastically new.