Berated

Three years removed from his last full-length album, Canadian sensation Jeremy Fisher follows through with his most complete album yet. Released on October 25th, Flood is an outstanding collection of indie-folk tunes that will leave you craving more from this Dylan-esque singer-songwriter. By any indication, it should be one of many accomplishments to come for Fisher.

Bias is rarely a good thing, but if you are a quality artist from New Jersey then you are certainly likely to get my attention. It helps even more if you perform regularly at The Stone Pony, a trademark Jersey venue that my parents frequented when they were in their teens. My teenage self experienced [...]

I have no complaints about post-punk fetishism. If an artist justifies their attempts to replicate the dark, grumbling moodiness of bands like The Chameleons UK or Joy Division, then listeners are generally treated to polished songwriting that parallels styles arising from primitive psychedelic-rock. Post-punk, shoegaze, and indie-rock show frequent tributes to early forms of psychedelic-rock [...]

My anticipation for Magenta Skycode’s second album, Relief, has been building for years now. The Finnish group was one of the first featured artists in the history of this site, and in my first “Top Albums of the Year” feature I lauded it as being the best debut from that year, 2006. There were few [...]

In my first feature of Grimes, I made the point that the music of Claire Boucher resembled conceptual art. With gauzy layers of synth that embed themselves into post-punk rhythms reminiscent of Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control”, theatrical art-pop hooks that resembles the likes of The Knife and Björk, and subtle sampling to the effect [...]

Picture this scene: a dimly-lit bar with a wide variety of liquor lined up alongside its oak walls, the multitude of bottles casting a refraction on the dozen or so guests in the room. A grand piano sits on a small, elevated stage, several feet from your comfortable red silk-laden table. Those around you are [...]

Down There may be the most apt album title of the year. Avey Tare’s debut full-length sounds like it was recorded in some submerged swamp, where the croaking of frogs and buzzing of flies is enough to satisfy the percussive urges of Tare – AKA David Portner, best known for his work in Animal Collective. Portner’s production on his debut full-length is resourceful yet serene, sparse enough for his voice to tremble with signature passion yet expansive enough to allow for the monumental build-ups that Animal Collective fans are accustomed to.

Ben Talmi wants to fuck with your ears. He does not want you to know that his instrument collection is limited, or that his recordings rarely extend beyond his bedroom. In an age where popular music is bursting with superfluous production it is hard to blame him. Talmi recorded his debut EP, For the Dreamers, [...]

Though we're forever resistant to let go of the warm weather, the transition from summer to fall is never unpleasant. Sweaters and autumn-colored foliage greet us warmly, while our ears begin to beg us for grunge over the pop-filled melodies we have been continually listening to under the sun. Lauren's compilation offers her personal favorites that complement this period of transition seamlessly, offering a variety of artists that just sound better during this time of year.

Armed with his eponymous debut EP, John Nagle is aiming to find out if jazz can still be received well if it took on a modern edge. While the release is not perfect, there are moments that remind us Nagle is on to something. If he can maintain the riveting balance of pop and jazz found on the EP's highlights, his upcoming full-length could be everything you wish contemporary jazz was: stylish, suave, and actually entertaining.