Tag Archives: song-to-know

Alex G is back with a new single, and it’s the kind of indie rock stunner you’ll play approximately 87 times. “Runner” opens with a charming, playful riff, before Alex Giannascoli’s vocals enter and deliver a laidback chorus. The accompanying video nods to Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker’s “The Waiting,” …

Rock & roll is often at its best when exploding dead-ends into infinite possibilities. This is no easy trick. It requires a healthy dose of optimism and some wholly irrational belief, but also a clear-eyed understanding of how cold and indifferent reality, and those with the power to shape it, …

There are many pre-pandemic concert moments that now have a mystical quality to them. Neil Young reviving “On the Beach” for the first time in 16 years. Phoebe Bridgers performing “Garden Song” just weeks before lockdown. And Lana Del Rey recruiting Weyes Blood and Zella Day for a cover of …

Shay Lia promises to pull off a stealthy seduction in “Baby Who,” a new track from the Haitian producer Michael Brun. Lia pushes her voice around in breathy gusts, ending her lines in sharply exhaled “ooohs”; the beat is unadorned and sneakily effective, sometimes just cracking, staggered percussion and melodic …

When you think of the most enduring songs of the 20th century, which ones come to mind? How about Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue”? Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies”? The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset”? Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”? Acid-folk guru Peter Stampfel concurs with all those choices, and as his …

Masked singer Orville Peck‘s distinctive aesthetic plays around with masculinity, queer desire, and cowboy ruggedness, which he delivers in a romantic, trembling croon. Likewise, his productions such as “Dead of Night” tend toward the narcotic and spacious, like a nighttime drive in a David Lynch film. His newly released cover …

Some of the most pissed-off protest rock right now is coming from outside the United States. Case in point: Malian band Songhoy Blues have announced their third album, Optimisme, with the ferocious “Badala,” a potent blast of activist rock. Opening with rapid-fire Kalashnikov drums and a searing guitar lick from …

Holy Hive’s “Hypnosis” has the naive, dreamy qualities of classic lowrider soul, the post-doo-wop sound that is particularly prized on the West Coast. A lot of that feel stems from singer Paul Spring, whose high, guileless voice comes in swirls and artful smears; he would have fit well in an …

Lady Gaga has officially returned to the dance floor that built her early career. Chromatica, a deep dive into the history of house and underground dance music, follows pit stops in jazz (Cheek to Cheek), country (Joanne) and Oscar territory (A Star Is Born). Along the way, she picks up …

The streaming charts are filled with genre-agnostic artists — Post Malone, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish — groomed in a world where continually curating one’s digital self-image is a prerequisite of modern existence. Rapping cowboys and teens with the voice of Regina Spektor and the fashion sense of a Juggalo …