Wanda Jackson deserved a far better party than Encore for her send-off. Recorded in 2019, before she announced her official retirement, Encore will most likely be the…
1/6 is both a confident and vulnerable comeback for Sunmi, a synthpop work of polished songcraft and raw lyricism. Since 2017, K-pop artist Sunmi’s velvety synthpop…
Los Lobos Long before their days of weighty concepts and studio experimentation, Los Lobos cut their teeth as a wedding band, doggedly gigging across Los…
Connie Smith’s excellent The Cry of the Heart is proof that traditional country in 2021 doesn’t have to be mere museum curio. While many of country…
The Asymptotical World EP picks up where Yves Tumor left off with their last album, opening up Tumor as a vocalist and performer. It hasn’t been…
Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night isn’t dull, but it plays more like an album of what other, better artists sound like. After a highly…
Billie Eilish “Do you know me?” Billie Eilish asks listeners at about the half-way point on her ironically-titled sophomore release, Happier Than Ever. She sounds…
Soulja Boy seems content to perform with general indifference, as long as he’s still in the spotlight. OK, hear me out: Soulja Boy’s Big Draco…
Clairo continues to trod the same thematic territory, but Sling gets an aesthetic upgrade that hints at something more up her sleeve. When the world was first…
Happier Than Ever proves there’s plenty Eilish and her brother still have yet to reveal. “Do you know me?” Billie Eilish asks listeners at about the…
25 swerves hard into newfound mature and vulnerable terrain for G Herbo, an organically-implemented pivot that only witnesses occasional missteps. On his latest album 25, G…
Gold-Diggers Sound is a record of newfound honesty, a major step forward for the heretofore bed-hedging Bridges. After exploding on the scene six years ago, Leon…
Ry Ry World is the best kind of sophomore album, one that improves and expands on Mariah the Scientist’s debut while retaining its singularity. Mariah…
Stand for Myself reflects Yola’s next phase of healing after her debut, a sophomore effort that is equally confident and vulnerable. Stand for Myself is…
The House is Burning finds Rashad asserting personhood over persona, to mostly career-stabilizing effect. The frequency and speed with which musicians are now expected to release…
G Herbo On his latest album 25, G Herbo is attempting to pivot into something greater than his current self — that is, a successful…
Faith’s attempt at a post-mortem celebration of Pop Smoke’s artistry is undermined by the record’s structural incoherence and arbitrary collabs. When was the first time…
Sob Rock finds John Mayer effecting something between self-effacement and contrition, but it’s all couched in just more of the same soft-boy bravado. John Mayer may…
Laura Mvula’s latest proves that nostalgic throwback records can still feel fresh, even if its artificial construction keeps things mostly, if pleasurably, surface-level. Listening to…
Ain’t That the Truth continues Drakeo’s winning streak, his loosest, most aesthetically confident work yet. The concept of “The Truth” links Drakeo the Ruler’s recent…