Adam Witt

One of the more arresting things about Clinic has always been the vocal delivery of Ade Blackburn. Nobody sounds quite like Blackburn, whether through his simultaneously narcoleptic and acrobatic delivery, or Clinic’s dazzling psychedelic production choices. On Fantasy Island, Ade dials it back a little bit, but gives in to druggy disco vibes. Where previous Clinic […] More

From the opening chords, it’s easy to tell that HEY WHAT is something special. It would be easy to write the words album of the year(!!!) over and over again, but you deserve better. The sentiment remains. Since starting their artist / producer relationship with BJ Burton, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker have, somehow, been throwing […] More

Infinite Granite is a titan. In any other discography, it would look like a kind of beast, but in Deafheaven’s discography, it will be viewed as a bit of a minor note. It is anything but minor. A lot of Deafheaven fans, genre purists (somehow not scared away by the last three records), and metalheads raw […] More

Arab Strap took sixteen years off and now bring themselves back as an undeniable voice in 2021, as Joy Division and LCD Soundsystem and numerous intangibles meet on As The Days Get Dark. The inimitable Aidan Moffat says it best on opening track “The Turning of Our Bones”: Tonight we salsa, we rave. There is […] More

As the Love Continues reminds us that Mogwai have one great curse: consistency. If you look at a certain website whose name rhymes with Itchspork, the reviews for their albums hit a steady decline just before Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. This is to give short shrift to a crew that have, since 1995 […] More

At a glance, Bill Callahan’s Gold Record seems insincere. From the album title that leans toward a brag to his monotone and plain-spoken delivery on subjects ranging from harsh to hilarious, he proves, on a close listen, to be one of the most sincere American songwriters working today. He takes these subjects—again, on the rainbow […] More

Straight-up: Bryan Devendorf is one of the best drummers in modern music. Even when he’s doing “drum programming” electronically, his ear for percussion is second-to-none. Listen to what he did with Taylor Swift on folklore, or tracks like “Squalor Victoria” by main band The National, to get a sampling of what he can really do. […] More

Whole New Mess contains nine songs that are, at their hearts, re-recordings or re-imaginings of their debut appearances on Angel’s Olsen’s release from last year, All Mirrors. This will be a divisive choice for even the most staunch of fans. In the year of bold releases by women—Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher, Jess Williamson’s Sorceress, and Fiona […] More

2020 is The Year of the Reanimated Musician (see also: X, Brandy, Bright Eyes, Mr. Bungle, Hum, and many more). So, it’s Secret Machines, Awake in the Brain Chamber, but the big question remains: is it any good? For that matter: who are the Secret Machines, anyway? That query, as well, is understandable, considering their […] More

This is the second half of the 20 albums from 2020 list. Read the first here. No effort was made to give these any kind of ranking or preference level, nor to focus on any certain genre. These are just some really good things that might have flown over your radar during this whole…worldwide thing […] More

In the midst of COVID-19, many things have gotten lost. Music has had something of a strong period; with Bandcamp’s regular Fridays waiving their take of album sales, a lot of musicians rushed out old material or put out new material to capitalize on the opportunity. We, as listeners, benefit greatly. This list was difficult […] More