I never expected to like Lana Del Rey as much as I do. I originally thought of her as little more than a curiosity, a pretty face focused on style over substance who flamed out hilariously on Saturday Night Live.
But high critical praise for her 2014 album Ultraviolence prompted me to buy it, and I was blown away by the lush instrumentation, sneakily passionate vocals and nuanced lyrics. I promptly bought her earlier releases and found them equally compelling.
A few years ago I counted down my favorite albums of the decade so far and The Shins’ Port of Morrow took the #1 spot. I’ll have to revisit that exercise as the end of the 00’s gets closer, and when I do, I’m confident that album will remain at or near the top.
Five years after Port of Morrow‘s release, The Shins have finally released a new album, Heartworms. Will it give its predecessor some competition on that list?
I’ve waited five long years since the last solo Aimee Mann album. She released an album with Ted Leo in 2014 under the moniker The Both, which was fine, but not the same. I’m stoked.
Even better, Mann told Rolling Stone that the new record, titled Mental Illness, promises to be her “saddest, slowest, most acoustic, if-they’re-all-waltzes-so-be-it-record.” That, my friends, is melancholy music to my ears.
I first encountered the Austin-based indie rock band Spoon after the release of their fifth studio album, 2005’s Gimme Fiction. Their spare, crisp sound and founder Britt Daniel’s raspy vocals made up one of my favorite releases of that year.
I’ve mostly kept up with the band since, missing out on just one of their releases in the past decade. Spoon is one of those bands whose work I always love when I play it, but whose music I seldom play.
It’s that time of year when the promise of new music bursts forth like flower blossoms in spring. This week I’ll feature songs from five upcoming albums I’ll definitely buy.
It’s been four years since a 16-year-old Lorde became the youngest artist ever to score a #1 Billboard hit. Her album Pure Heroine was a smart and resonant collection, all the more impressive when you took her age into account.
