Category: Reviews
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Avril Lavigne Is Inconsistent on Clunky Comeback Album
On a comeback attempt, Avril Lavigne’s Head Above Water takes the blueprint Kesha used when her music style shifted gears on 2017’s Rainbow: the radio-friendly vibe is traded in for a more emotional adult contemporary feel. Both works presented a pop star of yesteryear rebounding from personal trauma, Lavigne’s tribulation being a battle with Lyme…
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Ariana Grande Opens Up On 2nd Album In Six Months
It’s only been half a year since Ariana Grande dropped Sweetener, but more than enough has happened in her life to write another full-length. It’s a cryptic experience, as thank u, next seldomly names names from a roster of celebrity exes. It’s a release ripe with tea from her dramatic personal love life, but it’s…
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Why Golden Hour Deserved to Win Big at Last Night’s Grammys
In recent years, the Grammy awards have been under fire for their tendency to cater to the mainstream. Radio-friendly albums like Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Adele’s 25 topped critically adored works To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé’s Lemonade, respectively. It all culminated a year ago when Top 40 regular Bruno Mars swept…
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Beirut Ventures on Musical Journey Through Europe on Gallipoli
As a kid, I had a little bit of contact with Eastern European culture. Half of my family comes from that part of the world, so naturally a few traditions have been passed on–mostly in the category of food. I’ve had a lot of paprikash and goulash over the years. But I guess some of…
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Maggie Rogers Channels Newfound Fame on Sparkly Debut
Indie pop’s rising star sings about the journey through her world morphing around increasing fame on Heard It in a Past Life. Maggie Rogers’ melodic voice enchants many of the album’s tracks, while tranquil sounds retain the style that garnered her instant potential in a viral video from 2016. The soft indie pop style shouldn’t…
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Neutral Milk Hotel’s Classic Turns 20
20 years ago, the band Neutral Milk Hotel released In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, an album that later became a beloved cult classic. Although most of the ‘90s was dominated by the caustic sounds of grunge or the sarcastic humor of alt-rock, an underdog began to emerge when Neutral Milk Hotel released its first…