I may have heard these songs before. "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire," the two 20-minute slabs of epicness that make up the meat of Godspeed You! Black Emperor's new album Allelujah! Don't…   Read Story »

This week is a big one for new albums, especially if you like the sounds that electric guitars make when they're turned up loud. I'm not as besotted with Tame Impala's new Lonerism as a lot of people…   Read Story »

Before I get into this absolutely lovely new Miguel album, I'd like to say a quick word about the Mountain Goats. The Mountain Goats are quite possibly my favorite band on the face of the earth, but…   Read Story »

The first song on Six, the first album from the Connecticut band Empty Flowers, begins with a rising, chiming drone: Single-chord guitars wrapping themselves slowly around a metronomic drum beat,…   Read Story »

It's not to say that the Album Of The Week selection for this second week of September has always been a foregone conclusion. This slate on September 18th is actually full of great efforts by a broad…   Read Story »

This is a big day for new albums: Animal Collective's Centipede Hz, Cat Power's Sun, Jens Lekman's I Know What Love Isn't, the Fresh & Onlys' Long Slow Dance, plenty of others. And all the albums I…   Read Story »

As a music dork, two of the most transcendent, quasi-religious experiences you can have are going to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Neurosis live. And after I saw Neurosis a few years ago,…   Read Story »

I spent something like five seasons recapping American Idol, so I feel like I can tell you some things about backup singers. Along with church wailers and vocal instructors and major-label refugees…   Read Story »

My wife, just now: "Are you listening to monk music up there?" Close enough! Among the vampire-pop auteurs who first gave 4AD Records its signature sound, Dead Can Dance were the ones whose music…   Read Story »

Culturally, at least, it's hard to imagine a worse cultural moment for a Redd Kross comeback. Think about all the strains of underground rock currently running shit -- orchestral chamber-pop twinkle,…   Read Story »