When I tell Loke Rahbek of the Danish band Vär that their debut LP No One Dances Quite Like Our Brothers (Sacred Bones Records) makes me feel like I’ve just drank a little too much GHB, he tells me he actually likes the description. It makes sense to equate Vär’s dark, sludgy electronic feast to the drug commonly associated with date rape. “I knew a guy who died from GHB once,” Rahbek says.  I tell him ... Read More

Okay, to suggest that Brooklyn band Sharkmuffin has their sights on total world domination may be a stretch. However, their recently released EP, She-Gods of the Champagne Valley, IS the perfect summertime album for girls who dreamed of being Tura Santana when they were little. And whether they're dedicating a single to Pussy Riot, or playing at feminist art houses (hauses?) guitarist Tarra Thiessen and bassist Natalie Kirch have developed ... Read More

You know your secret dark place you go to in your mind that feels all comfy and shit despite the cold puddles of despair and dark hallways of longing? (Whoa, Mr. Dramatic.) You know you shouldn’t be lingering there, but like picking a scab or cracking your knuckles, the hurt is just too good. Nadine Shah’s new single “To Be a Young Man” from her forthcoming album Love Your Dum and Mad has received quite the bit of ... Read More

   Since its beginnings in 2002, Los Angeles band the Bronx has incorporated a sunny element within its version of hardcore. Maybe it’s a California thing, but it’s hard to describe their explosive, melodic, pump-your-fist music, other than to call it pizza-party punk. Their latest effort The Bronx (IV) is lacking any form of anger, which feels weird for a band of their ilk. Still, songs like “Along for the Ride” and ... Read More

I’m stoked to say that even after a long break, indie-pop icons Tegan and Sara have still got it—as demonstrated one Thursday night in January when the Canadian sibling duo packed the basement venue at The Standard in the East Village. The sisters laid down old favorites as well as new tracks off their first album since 2009’s Sainthood. Both women took the chance between songs to get personal with the crowd, sharing the ... Read More

Sometime around the release of his 1984 album Climate of Hunter, Scott Walker discorporated and his consciousness scattered. Periodically, he’s able to gather his atoms back together and create a harrowing dispatch from the ether before vanishing for another decade or so. His once-golden voice reduced to a haunted wail, Walker painstakingly recreates the sounds of traveling through half-existence surrounded by phantoms of the 20th ... Read More

Ellie Goulding’s debut Lights reached the U.S. in 2011, but it didn’t take off for over a year. Now, Goulding is new pop royalty, and Halcyon presents a stark contrast to her introduction. Where Lights possessed an almost naïve view of the world, Halcyon shows her to have matured. Songs like “My Blood” and “Dead in the Water” take hopelessness to new heights. There are some nods to EDM—as on ... Read More

Lightning strikes a fourth time with Matt and Kim’s newest album. If the Brooklyn duo seems familiar, perhaps it’s because you saw their bare-naked asses in the now-classic “Lessons Learned” video. Behind the keyboard, Matt Johnson’s deviant, almost Dookie-esque vocals combined with Kim Schifino’s gung-ho drumming make for an upbeat, heart attack-paced record with just a hint of disco. As the first of ... Read More

Ever fancy yourself doing the hula on the sands of Hawaii? Singer-songwriter Victoria Bergsman’s musical outfit Taken by Trees can transport you there, metaphorically speaking, with her third album Other Worlds. During a visit to the idyllic paradise, Bergsman found herself amidst a creative swell, so much so that she fashioned the LP as an impressionist poem that sings the tropical locale’s praises. On “Only You,” ... Read More

With our days numbered and the end of the world imminent, Brooklyn-based Prince Rama’s sixth release couldn’t have come at a better time. For Top Ten Hits of the End of the World, the ex-Hare Krishna siblings have compiled a cover album of 10 fabricated popular bands that died during the apocalypse. While the sisters summon up the spirits of each chart-topping group, every song is still replete with their signature synths, ... Read More