Album Reviews
Manchester Orchestra Retain Their Majestic Magic on The Million Masks of God: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T15:55:23+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 11:55am ET The Lowdown: Manchester Orchestra have evolved considerably since 2006’s relatively rowdy and simplistically produced debut LP, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child. That’s not to imply that it’s lackluster in any way, but rather to note how it offered only glimpses of the grand, luscious, and welcoming Americana/indie rock that they’d achieve fully with 2017’s A Black Mile to the Surface. Led by songwriting duo Andy Hull and Robert McDowell – and rounded out by Andy Prince and Tim Very – it was a gracefully melodic, emotional, and dense collection that ranked alongside the best modern entries into those styles. Luckily, follow-up The Mi...
Luther Vandross Seized the Moment and Redefined R&B with Never Too Much: Classic Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-22T17:20:55+00:00“>April 22, 2021 | 1:20pm ET April 20th marked what would’ve been the 70th birthday of the late, great Luther Vandross. To celebrate his memory and musical legacy, we’re holding a giveaway for a one-of-a-kind prize pack, featuring Never Too Much and This Is Christmas on vinyl, plus a special plaque commemorating the icon’s gold and platinum singles. Visit here for more information and a chance to win. And in the meantime, enjoy Rashad Grove’s classic review of Vandross’ game-changing debut, Never Too Much, which will turn 40 later this summer. Nobody aware of his backstory would ever characterize the emerging stardom of Luther Vandross as an overnight success. Va...
Cannibal Corpse Expand Their Brutal Palate with Violence Unimagined: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-15T18:14:52+00:00“>April 15, 2021 | 2:14pm ET The Lowdown: American death metal institution Cannibal Corpse continue their almost-unbroken string of gory and mosh-worthy killing sprees with Violence Unimagined, their first album with longtime producer Erik Rutan as a full-time guitarist. The result is one of their most subtle and disquieting albums – but subtle is a relative term here. Every Cannibal Corpse album is a nonstop metal assault, and Violence Unimagined is no exception. The Good: While the fortunes of American death metal as a whole have waxed and waned, Cannibal Corpse’s career has remained steady, thanks to a solid lineup and reliable recorded output. Their string of...
Amigo the Devil Digs Further Into His Own Voice on Born Against: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-15T22:13:59+00:00“>April 15, 2021 | 6:13pm ET The Lowdown: Amigo the Devil is back with his second full-length album, Born Against, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 debut, Everything Is Fine. The Austin-based artist also known as Danny Kiranos has been winning over fans with his unique dark Americana vibe that pairs clever storytelling with an infectious musical soundtrack. While Amigo continues to tackle the macabre subjects that were featured on his first LP, Born Against offers a more introspective look at the dark side of the world. The Good: There’s not one single genre that can apply to Amigo the Devil, and that’s a good thing. While his music is deeply rooted in folk, h...
BROCKHAMPTON Get Introspective on the Soul-Searching ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T16:21:05+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 12:21pm ET The Lowdown: We’re now deep into the heart of hip-hop’s psychedelic era. As modern-day rappers and producers have begun to embrace the use of psilocybin and LSD, the mind-altering effects are starting to bleed into the music. But for the same reason that shrooms are being legalized for therapeutic purposes, these drugs, if taken in the right doses and circumstances, can inspire deep reflection and serious psychological growth. Not that BROCKHAMPTON needed any help to gaze inwardly. This Texas crew opt for introspection over braggadocio and thoughtfulness over arrogance. But the tone of their sixth full-length and the subject matter wi...
Taylor Swift Honors Her Own Vision on Fearless (Taylor’s Version): Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T21:50:09+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 5:50pm ET The Lowdown: “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work,” Taylor Swift wrote in a 2019 social media post after her longtime label, Big Machine, sold her master recordings without her consent. Swift had been unable to gain control of her first six albums through contract negotiations, and then Scooter Braun, who’d demonstrated public enmity with the singer-songwriter, was collecting the checks. (Braun’s company has since sold the masters to Shamrock Holdings for $300 million.) What’s one of the world’s brightest superstars and the preeminent pop poet of a generation to do? The answer: Do it all again. Swift has begun to re-...
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Charge Forward into the Unknown on G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-07T16:31:02+00:00“>April 7, 2021 | 12:31pm ET Editor’s Note: Our review looks at the physical version of this release, which consists of four total tracks — two long, two shorter. On many streaming services, the longer tracks have been broken down into a total of eight tracks. The actual music remains the same. The Lowdown: Godspeed You! Black Emperor have always played at being impenetrable. The Montreal post-rock cooperative give their albums and songs difficult, often poetic names (Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, “[…+The Buildings They Are Sleeping Now]”), and the group would much rather hide in the shadows of large, projected images at their live shows than drink in the sp...
Demi Lovato Rises Again on Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over: Review
The Lowdown: With a voice as big as the sky, it’s hard to figure out where to go first — but that’s not going to stop Demi Lovato from trying. It never has. Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over is the seventh full-length album from the child actress turned teen phenomenon turned pop star and arrives almost four years after 2017’s often sultry, R&B-infused Tell Me You Love Me. Her discography has effectively captured many parts of the rollercoaster she has endured: even in her earliest efforts, Don’t Forget and Here We Go Again, her vocal prowess is undeniable. (Demi Lovato could still put out a great pop-punk album if she were to so choose.) She is a remarkably gifted natural vocalist. Lovato has also had a lion’s share of trials and tribulations, almost all of which have un...
Artist of the Month serpentwithfeet’s DEACON Is a Bountiful Collage of Love and Care: Review
The Lowdown: Serpentwithfeet first gained attention in 2016 with his EP blisters, and then more broadly in 2018, when his debut album, soil , earned praise for its complex and subtle portrayals of love. Born Josiah Wise, he grew up in a religious family and sang in the church choir, and the influences of classical and gospel have long made themselves known in his music. DEACON isn’t quite a departure, but it is a move forward into more expansive territory; the sound serpent has taken on feels like it can accommodate more, and indeed, it does. DEACON is full of songs that wrap around the listener, showing in full resolution serpent’s expertise in using his music not only to portray love, but to extend it. [embedded content] The Good: The influence of religion feels present again here; along...
Justin Bieber Gets Too Woke for His Own Good on Justice: Review
The Lowdown: After an unfortunate misstep with Changes, released last year just before lockdown, Justin Bieber found himself, once again, at a sharp crossroads: carry on writing meme-able nonsense for lyrics, or put forth something that makes better use of the large production budget his label shells out. Fortunately, on Justice, he chose the latter. Unfortunately, if ever there was an example of the needle tipping too far, this is it. While Justice steps away from the lyrical fallacies of its predecessor, for an album that is much more expansive and explorative, the record has way too much nonsense surrounding it. If at any point you begin to wonder why the first voice on a song about submitting sexually to his wife is not Bieber, but civil rights leader and martyr Dr. Martin Luther King ...
Lana Del Rey Strips Back the Glamour on the Charming Chemtrails over the Country Club: Review
The Lowdown: In 2019, Lana Del Rey released Norman Fucking Rockwell! to critical acclaim, an album that integrated her long-running motifs of allusive Americana, melancholy femininity, and seedy glamor with more memorable melodies and legibility – a full execution of the vision she’d been expressing since 2012. Now, on Chemtrails over the Country Club, the singer-songwriter and pop icon continues to weave sharp referential lyrics with atmospheric set-pieces. The album is a cohesive extension of NFR!, but the sound is more overtly connected to California country-folk, built around shimmering guitars and gentle pianos. She teams up with Nashville artist Nikki Lane while name-checking her forebears Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Stevie Nicks, and Tammy Wynette. Del Rey still addresses tragic ...
Eyehategod’s A History of Nomadic Behavior Delivers a Fresh Batch of Potent Sludge: Review
The Lowdown: Few myths have been beaten into the ground as badly as the adage that rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to represent danger. Within metal specifically, cultivating a dark aura is so par for the course that it’s actually one of the safest routes artists can take. Nevertheless, when the New Orleans sludgecore outfit Eyehategod roared their way to prominence in the ‘90s with albums like In the Name of Suffering and Dopesick, the woefulness that pervaded their music came from a genuine place. Where the majority of their peers tended toward exaggerated expressions of anger, Eyehategod’s forays into addiction, mental illness, and despair didn’t come across as an affectation, but as a raw glimpse into the human condition that cut all the way to the bone. Eyehategod didn’t need to draw from t...
