Nov 30, 2017 By Ilana Kaplan Issue #62 - Julien Baker

To the naked eye, indie-pop duo Cults may have been off the radar for the past four years. Band members Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin released their sophomore record Static back in 2013, which showed the band going into more experimental territory than 2011’s self-titled debut. More

Nov 27, 2017 By Matt Fink Issue #62 - Julien Baker

After 45 years and 25 albums, Sparks’ multi-instrumentalist Ron Mael admits that writing songs is no easier now than it was when he started making music in Los Angeles in 1968 with his little brother, Russell. More

Nov 27, 2017 By Frank Valish Everything Everything

“Is there something wrong with all of this, or is there something wrong with me?” Those are the sole lyrics to “New Deep,” the penultimate track on Everything Everything‘s fourth album. As gentle piano anchors a sparse, airy soundscape, frontman Jonathan Higgs sings the lines over and over in his inimitable falsetto, voice and message front and center. More

Nov 21, 2017 By Ed McMenamin Issue #62 - Julien Baker

He wasn’t exactly depressed before he formed Protomartyr, frontman Joe Casey says, but he didn’t have a lot to look forward to, either. Eight years later, he’s 40, and his band is ready to release its fourth LP, Relatives in Descent, its first on Domino. More

Nov 20, 2017 By Kyle Mullin Issue #62 - Julien Baker

Even before they settled on an approach for writing and recording their sophomore album, Christie Simpson and her bandmates in the rising New Zealand synth pop troop Yumi Zouma knew what they wanted to avoid. More

Nov 17, 2017 By Frank Valish TORRES

“Nothing is off limits. I think that’s what people should know.” This quote was given by Mackenzie Scott, artistically know as TORRES, in discussion of a particular lyric off her third album, Three Futures. But it very well could apply to Scott’s career as a whole. More

Nov 16, 2017 By Stephen Mayne Issue #62 - Julien Baker

Benjamin Clementine‘s life story is absorbing to the point of distraction. Born and raised in London to a family of Ghanaian descent, the self-taught musician emerged from school with almost no qualifications, fell out with his family, and ended up living homeless in London and Paris. It was in the French capital he started down the road that took him to winning the Mercury Prize for his debut At Least for Now in 2015. More

Nov 15, 2017 By Lily Moayeri Tricky

Tricky looks like he’s carved out of teak wood, his visible body parts scribbled with tattoos. He cuts an incongruous figure in Berlin, his home of the last two years. Once he starts holding forth about his adopted city, however, it sounds like he’s getting paid by the Berlin tourist board. More

Nov 03, 2017 By Mark Redfern Web Exclusive

To end out the week, we ask Kelcey Ayer some questions about endings and death. Ayer is Local Natives’ vocalist, pianist, and one of the band’s primary songwriters, but in September he released his debut solo album as Jaws of Love. (the period at the end of the name is intentional). More