It's been six years since Patty Griffin released an album of new material. Yeah, she did a way cool Gospel album (which won a Grammy) then recorded and toured with Robert Plant's Band of Joy but no new stuff since '07's stand out Children Running Through. Well, girlfriend is back with what I consider to be her most personal album yet and it's in tribute to her recently departed father. Although Ms. Griffin is identified as an ... Read More

The So So Glos' latest full-length album, Blowout (out now on the band's own label), starts out with a home recording of a boy about seven or eight saying, “Do you think he has a gun? Yes, he shot himself! Well, we’re listening to Nirvana, and as you know Kurt Cobain, POW,” before the Bay Ridge–bred punks fly into opener “Son of an American.”  Singer Alex Levine roars through with a perfect blend of ... Read More

Electronic dance music—otherwise known as EDM—sometimes gets a bad rap, but Miss Kittin’s new album Calling from the Stars is a nonstop dance party. The French femme fatale sounds as sharp as ever. Songs like “Night of Light” and “Tamarin Bay” find Miss Kittin experimenting with various pitches and tempos, all while using her voice as a flexible instrument. “Ballad of the 23rd Century” sounds more like a ... Read More

Authors Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudúlph wanted to “dispel negative ideas about feminism” and give ladies “the tools to bring feminist ideals into their daily lives.” The result, part feminist primer and part self-help book, is certainly accessible: the chapters are loosely-organized riffs from a friendly and well-read perspective. The first half gets into ethical aspects of typical ... Read More

It’s been four long years, but avant-punk trio Yeah Yeah Yeahs has returned with a trippier-than-ever LP to feed your inner art-school weirdo. The psychedelia-infused album pays homage to the band’s punk roots while weaving in the raw intensity of Show Your Bones andIt’s Blitz!-like electronica/dance beats. Mosquito boasts 11 dreamy tracks fueled by Karen O’s fiery yelps, Nick Zinner’s striking guitarwork, and ... Read More