Oddisee's 'ODD CURE' Is Hip-Hop's First Pandemic Masterpiece

Published Jul 23, 2020

Call it hip-hop's first pandemic masterpiece. New York-based, D.C.-born producer and MC Oddisee deftly captures the helplessness and hope of...

Margo Price Keeps Things Simple, Raw and Heartfelt on 'That's How Rumors Get Started'

Published Jul 09, 2020

"I don't have a sigh to take," sings Margo Price, exhaling raw anguish while stretching those already poignant lyrics out for added effect,...

David Strickland's 'Spirit of Hip Hop' Celebrates the Genre's Indigenous Connections

Published Jun 29, 2020

After the high-profile police killings of Rodney Levi, Chantel Moore and other Indigenous people in Canada in recent weeks, David Strickland...

Real-Life Rancher Corb Lund Reflects on the "Ridiculous" Country Craze

Published Jun 25, 2020

He comes from a long line of cattle wranglers, rodeo riders, outlaws and bootleggers. So what's a born and bred high plains drifter like Cor...

Corb Lund's 'Agricultural Tragic' Is Joyfully Comedic Despite Its Title

Published Jun 23, 2020

Fans of Corb Lund's 2005 breakthrough hit "Truck Got Stuck" had better buckle up. Better yet, slip on your best pair of cowboy boots for the...

Run the Jewels Capture Our Troubled Times Brilliantly with 'RTJ4' — but Police Brutality Is Sadly Always Relevant

Published Jun 05, 2020

Before the gruesome murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, before civil unrest boiled over in America, and before Ki...

Steve Earle and the Dukes Decry Blue-Collar Tragedy on 'Ghosts of West Virginia'

Published May 19, 2020

Steve Earle will leave you shaking in your boots as you listen to "It's About Blood."  Thankfully, you aren't the subject of the American...

Jason Isbell Gets Real About Sobriety on Gripping, Heart-Wrenching 'Reunions'

Published May 13, 2020

Sobriety journeys should be soundtracked by Jason Isbell deep cuts like "It Gets Easier." One of many highlights from his new album Reunions...

Lucinda Williams Pulverizes the Satanic on 'Good Souls Better Angels'

Published Apr 23, 2020

The devil has met his match, and it's the 67-year-old Queen of Southern Gothica. On "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," Americana icon Lucinda Wi...

dvsn Prove That Heartache Can Make Your Hips Shake on 'A Muse in Her Feelings'

Published Apr 20, 2020

Who knew heartache could make your hips shake? Yes, you'll be compelled to dance your pain away while listening to dvsn frontman Daniel Dale...

Tory Lanez Owns His Flaws on 'The New Toronto 3'

Published Apr 15, 2020

On the cover, he's cradling his kid, chains gleaming on their otherwise bare skin. And some of the lyrics on Tory Lanez's new album therein,...

Knxwledge 1988

Published Mar 24, 2020

Fans of the propulsive percussion and soulfully soaring musical tone that ace producer Knxwledge gifted to would-be megastar Anderson .Paak...

Chika Industry Games

Published Mar 13, 2020

Chika's major label debut EP, Industry Games, is a challenge to review, for a fantastic reason. The breathlessly enthused Alabama MC packs s...

Dave Simonett Red Tail

Published Mar 10, 2020

Mysterious mist; crisp, dewy air; the encroaching dawn's warmth — this is the setting evoked by Dave Simonett and his backing band on Red Ta...

Lil Uzi Vert Eternal Atake

Published Mar 09, 2020

The breadth of styles and sounds that Lil Uzi Vert explores on Eternal Atake is as vast as the cosmos on the LP's cover art.   Supposedly...

Jay Whiss Peace of Mind

Published Mar 09, 2020

Plenty of gangsters gloat, but few have braggadocio like Jay Whiss. "Eatin' lobster bisque / Watchin all my enemies do the opposite" the Tor...

Brandy Clark Your Life Is a Record

Published Mar 04, 2020

The risk of getting scorched sounds well worth it on "Love Is a Fire," a standout track on Brandy Clark's new LP, Your Life Is a Record. Ove...

Sadler Vaden Anybody Out There?

Published Mar 03, 2020

"I don't wanna hear it, it's all been done before / Feel like a broken record playing all the same rock'n'roll" goes Sadler Vaden's earnestl...

Royce 5'9" Tells Harsh Truths on 'The Allegory' but Not for Rap Beef Cred

Published Feb 19, 2020

Although Royce 5'9" tersely calls out fellow Eminem associate Yelawolf on "Overcomer" (a single released ahead of the Detroit vet's new LP,...

Royce 5'9" The Allegory

Published Feb 18, 2020

Over a stifled horn and yearning strings on "Mr Grace," the sonically skeletal opening track from his new LP, The Allegory, Royce 5'9" spits...