Album Reviews 1972
Album of the Week: black midi – Schlagenheim
The London-based band embrace a defiantly weird sound in an age of chillout playlists.
Pelican : Nighttime Stories
The instrumental group returns after six years with an album marked by grief and intensity.
Titus Andronicus : An Obelisk
Patrick Stickles and company pull a 180 on their new album, and rock the fuck out.
Bill Callahan : Shepherd In a Sheepskin Vest
Callahan settles down, thinks about death and returns with a hell of a listen.
Serpent of Gnosis : As I Drink From the Well of Inebriation
Members of Job for a Cowboy and The Black Dahlia Murder
Album of the Week: Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars
The Boss returns to his folk roots for an album of gritty humanity.
Yeasayer : Erotic Reruns
A slight improvement from 2016's <i>Amen & Goodbye</i> that nonetheless feels too slight.
Faye Webster : Atlanta Millionaires Club
An album that seems familiar, despite how odd it is.
TENGGER : Spiritual 2
A new age album that breaks the confines of its genre stereotypes.
Calexico and Iron & Wine : Years to Burn
The two artists reunite after 14 years with another set of breezy standout Americana.
Lust For Youth : Lust For Youth
The Danish band's most polished to date, but still of a piece with their broader synth-pop catalog.
Album of the Week: Baroness – Gold & Grey
The weirdest, biggest and most rewardingly bold Baroness album to date.
The Divine Comedy : Office Politics
A characteristically witty look at office culture marks Neil Hannon's latest.
Mavis Staples : We Get By
The soul legend returns with collaborator Ben Harper on a set of socially conscious tunes.
Black Mountain : Destroyer
The Canadian group's fifth album is far from average stoner fare.
Album of the Week: Denzel Curry – Zuu
In less than a half-hour's time, the South Florida rapper shows he might well have the clearest voice of all.
Hayden Thorpe : Diviner
A more direct singer/songwriter record from the former Wild Beasts frontman.
Haunt : If Icarus Could Fly
A fun and heroic metal album that's definitely not for dweebs.