As artists were struggling to reach pandemic-isolated fans, the progressive metal band TesseracT presented the live cinematic performance entitled P O R T A L S in December of 2020.

“The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet, like the closing of a gigantic circle…”

From the reemergence of old flames, to falling prey to a crime, along with dabbling in both booze and nostalgia, this is a deliciously plot-packed episode.

Fun House, the third album by Hand Habits (aka Meg Duffy, who uses they/them pronouns), is undoubtedly their best to date. Though it seems something of an affront to subject Fun House’s artistry to conventional measures or a stack ranking.

In the early days of New Wave, drummer David Kendrick and singer Leslie Bohem approached the Mael brothers of Sparks at an LA coffee shop and invited them to check out their popular live act, Bates Motel. Rather than help getting a contract, as they likely hoped, the Sparks brothers instead invited Bates Motel to become their backing band for an upcoming world tour

The Naked Spur starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Anthony Mann is possibly the best of their films together, which is saying something.

Memoria is a work that rewards its viewer long after it decides to part from them.

On last year’s anthemic “Be Afraid,” Jason Isbell sang, “And if your words add up to nothing, then you’re making a choice/To sing a cover when we need a battle cry.” But sometimes, a collection of cover songs can be the battle cry itself, as Isbell and the 400 Unit claim with Georgia Blue—a covers album in support of voting rights in Georgia where the 2020 presidential election came down to the thinnest of margins.

Essentially via word of mouth, A.A. Williams managed to sell out the iconic Southbank Centre in London within a year of her first live performance. And after one sumptuous self-titled debut EP, she was snapped up by Bella Union who last year released her glorious full-length debut album, Forever Blue.