The My Morning Jacket frontman is back with a follow up to his 2013 debut solo release Regions of Light and Sound of God. Jim James is an artist whose work is clearly born of deep and varied influences, a man who takes his music seriously and for whom emotional resonance is a key anchor.

LVL UP in an anachronistic sense are heirs poised to inherit Sub Pop’s “Shins mantle,” a classic pop act overlapping into the Venn diagram of commercialism.

Weyes Blood, aka Natalie Mering, is a musician who spent copious time early in her musical career delving deeply into DIY ventures and noise projects such as Jackie-O Motherfucker and Nautical Almanac.

It’s intrinsically difficult to review a holiday album given that it’s intended to be listened to for only two months per year. The provenance for David Bazan‘s began in 2002, while he was still recording as Pedro the Lion.

Out of the now five released Star Wars prequels, sequels, and spinoffs, only Rogue One is worthy of standing alongside the original trilogy.

Familiar Touch, the sophomore album from Toronto band DIANA, sounds familiar. Its shadowy ‘80s inspired synth-pop style, which wavers between energetic and sullen, is in-line with the throwback sound that has submerged contemporary pop music.

Reporter Julia Talben (Jessica Lowndes) gets the worst news imaginable when her sister’s family is viciously murdered in their home one night.

Swedish outfit The Radio Dept. explores some darker spaces on their first studio album since 2010’s Clinging to a Scheme, with their irrepressible pop gifts maintaining a buoyancy that doesn’t disrupt the tenor of the lyrics.

La La Land is one of those movies made for people who love movies, which unfortunately speaks less to the quality of filmmaking than its referential nature.