Owen Maxwell

Museum of Love — Life of Mammals (Brooklyn) For those enamored with the electronic chapel that is DFA Records, Museum of Love's latest record manages to fulfill both an abrasive art and analogue electronica need. Constantly bubbling with a danger from its synths and a chaos from its voices [...]

Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth — Utopian Ashes (Glasgow, Scotland & Poitiers, France) Merging the emotional intensity of Jehnny Beth's music and performances, with the arrangements and swing of Bobby Gillespie's work isn't an immediately apparent concept. While more of a fun [...]

Sleater-Kinney — Path of Wellness (Olympia, WA/Portland, OR) Though a more strict art-rock turn and the departure of certified drum-Goddess Janet Weiss certainly had given a mixed sense of niche to the last Sleater-Kinney record, they're asserting they're riotous as ever on their new [...]

Tyler, The Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost (Ladera Heights, CA) After the chaotic, art-pop, start-to-finish flow of IGOR, Tyler the Creator's latest record feels more like an unpredictable pop collection that has its best moment in single songs rather than as an entire unit. Though this [...]

Loraine James — Reflection (London, U.K.) The abrasive world experimental electronic music isn't always easy to dive into, but Loraine James provides a cool, yet challenging album to tempt fans into their sound. With intoxicating beats and unusual synth tones, this record holds nothing [...]

The Armed — Ultrapop (Detroit, MI) Though metal and punk in their undercurrents, there's also a fusion of noise and ambient pop to the latest The Armed record that makes it feel utterly unique in our music landscape. Definitely a dense and often overpowering experience, those looking for [...]

Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee (Philadelphia, PA/Eugene, OR) After releasing a book only a few months ago, Michelle Zauner has managed to finish a record that also evolves her sound even more than her last album. Warm, hopeful and full of a wonder instrumentally that is often hard to find, Japanese [...]

Black Midi — Cavalcade (London, U.K.) Grime, freestyle and a furious melding of solo styles from both rock and jazz make every Black Midi record soar. Unpredictable as ever, this record wastes no time grabbing you and saying "Let's go all out!" This is immediately apparent as [...]

CHAI — WINK (Nagoya, Japan) Though their live shows and aesthetics come off as playful, CHAI bring a true sophistication to their studio recordings. As they mix this kind of fun and more lush sensibility into their albums, WINK ends up a sublime listen that will appeal to your mind and soul. [...]

St. Vincent — Daddy's Home (Dallas, TX) The more she dives into full-blown art-pop, the more Annie Clark's music demands repeat listens to really get into it. In a record that infuses her style with a bit of soul-era-Bowie swagger, Clark is definitely pushing limits, and playing a [...]