Owen Maxwell

Haim — Women in Music Pt. III (Los Angeles) Haim is one of those bands that you could easily be won over by interviews of the band before you even hear their music, and it's the cherry on top that they sound so great. For one of their smoothest listens in years, the sister trio crafts endless [...]

Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher (Los Angeles) There's always a deep emotional weight behind Phoebe Bridgers' music, one that leaves her albums heavy but rewarding. With a renewed sense of sonic exploration and an even more in-depth understanding of her own inner turmoil, this is Bridgers [...]

Jehnny Beth — To Love Is To Live (Poitiers/Paris, France) Ever since Savages, there's been a raw intensity in Jehnny Beth's performances that was too shocking to ignore. And firing on her own again, her music is a raw and often pounding listen to assault the senses while saying something [...]

Photo: Kamara Morozuk Music is about sharing feeling, and Krista Hartman's latest tale about sustaining love feels like the perfect track for our time of isolation. "I'm Your Garden" is the first release from her new album Transcend, a release she's marking with a single-by-single [...]

Run the Jewels — RTJ 4 (Atlanta/New York City) While they may have crafted their album at the ongoing problems facing America, the timing has only gotten more appropriate for the latest Run the Jewels record. Political, angry and full of the gritty production to match, this is a protest record [...]

Lady Gaga — Chromatica (New York City) Though it's been really powerful to hear Lady Gaga explore the various ends of her music, especially her jazz outings, a return to dance pop feels utterly satisfying. Whether it's symphonic sweeps, experimental effects or just high-octane synth [...]

Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B (Mission, British Columbia) While her last B-sides EP was a surprise hit, it's insane to think Carly Rae Jepsen could follow up a record of single-worthy material with another LP's worth of solid tracks. Though it's a step below the might of 2019's [...]

Charli XCX — How I'm Feeling Now (Cambridge, UK) Whether it's overt Top-40, weird experimental pop or somewhere between all that, Charli XCX continues to prove she's one of the most underrated and ambitious singers out there. With an album constructed in quarantine that follows [...]

The Bush — Ricotta (Melbourne, Australia) It's been hard to relax during our isolation lately, but the subdued bliss of The Bush's helps us lie back and just take things calmly for a bit. More than this, they're one of the few bands with music already reflecting on how the "vacation" [...]

Amyl and the Sniffers - Live at the Croxton (Melbourne, Australia) With such a live fury and no live shows to play right now, Amyl and the Sniffers new live EP feels like the perfect offering for a concert-less time. Roaring and shifting up the dynamics from their album a little, it's a smart [...]