Music Features

Caroline Polachek in the cover art from Pang (out Oct. 18), her first solo release under her own full name.

Music & Culture

A Pop Cyborg With A Human Heart

1:08pm October 18, 2019

by Sasha Geffen

As the voice of Chairlift, Caroline Polachek crisscrossed indie and mainstream tastes. Her solo LP adds digital flex to that voice, melding real and "enhanced" performance into one penetrating force.

Music & Culture

Angel Olsen, Master Of Solitude

12:20pm October 18, 2019

by Jenn Pelly

As she's grown upwards and inwards, the singer-songwriter's work has dramatically increased in scope and scale — a mirror reflecting the internal world she's working to conquer.

Fans and supporters of singer/actress Sulli flooded social media with posts celebrating her artistry, praising her outspoken and unapologetic stances on sexuality and feminism, and calling for an end to online harassment and bullying.

Sudden Death Of A Young K-Pop Star Spurs Talk Of Action On Mental Health, Bullying

2:40pm October 16, 2019

by Jenna Gibson

Sulli wasn't afraid to defend herself against online bullies, or advocate for women's rights in South Korea — a relative rarity. Now, after her death, the country is looking inward.

Can music map the shifting meaning of a place?

Music & Culture

All Ears: Music That Maps A Personal History Of Place

6:00am October 10, 2019

by Ruth Saxelby

The meaning of a place can change based on tiny shifts in perspective, by returning to a location after time away or by digging into the dirt underfoot. Can music bring these layers together?

Big Thief's Two Hands, out this week, is its second album of 2019.

Music & Culture

'Two Hands' Captures Big Thief's Force And Intimacy

9:00am October 09, 2019

by Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey

This week, Big Thief will release its second album of 2019. But Two Hands is a deeper accomplishment than the statistic: It's a record that finally captures the band's audible unconditional closeness.

Rafael Sarabia holds an American flag in tribute to those killed during the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting on October 1, 2018 in Las Vegas.

2 Years After Route 91, Nashville's Artistic Community Is Still Learning How To Heal

1:10pm October 08, 2019

by Marissa R. Moss

"I think everyone got on their horse too fast," says trauma therapist Dr. Lee Norton of the many performers affected by the 2017 tragedy — but there's often no other choice for stage-bound artists.

Wilco, left to right: Nels Cline, Glenn Kotche, Jeff Tweedy, Mikael Jorgensen, Pat Sansone, John Stirratt.

Music & Culture

Wilco, Forever In Competition With Its Own Best Work, Tries Shifting The Stakes

2:30pm October 03, 2019

by Matthew Perpetua

The new Ode to Joy couldn't sound less like the ambitious clatter of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — but Jeff Tweedy and crew sound at home in its skeletal frame, driven by something cozier than ambition.

From left: Caleb McLaughlin, Kai, Gaten Matarazzo and Suho, photographed in Seoul, South Korea on June 20, 2019. McLaughlin and Matarazzo star in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things; Kai and Suho are members of the K-pop group EXO.

Netflix Loves Music Content – But Also All Other Content

10:03am October 03, 2019

by Sophie Haigney

Netflix seems to release so many music-related projects — but are they just another box to check on the road to eyeball monopolization?

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and BRON Creative's Joker.

Music & Culture

Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir Finds The Humanity In 'Joker'

5:05am October 03, 2019

by Tim Greiving

Joker is a psychological character study of a disturbed man who turns violent. To give the comic book villain human depth, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir had to dig deep and empathize with the character.

Queue Listen Now

The definition of New Age music is as mercurial as the genre's sound.

Music & Culture

The State Of New Age Music In The Always-On 'Wellness' Era

6:00am October 02, 2019

by Harley Brown

"Wellness" is a poorly defined term that's applied to myriad products and practices, legitimate or otherwise — much like its soundtrack.