Category Archives: Featured Articles
How to Get Noticed in 2022 ~ A Guide for Musicians and Labels
A flash of red stands out against a field of white. This photograph illustrates a basic concept: if you want to get noticed in 2022, you’ll have to catch the eye ~ or in this case, the ear. The musical landscape
How to Get Noticed in 2022 ~ A Guide for Musicians and Labels
A flash of red stands out against a field of white. This photograph illustrates a basic concept: if you want to get noticed in 2022, you’ll have to catch the eye ~ or in this case, the ear. The musical landscape
ACL 2021 ~ The Top 20 Albums of the Year
If 2020 was the most surreal year in recent memory, 2021 was the runner-up. A rollercoaster of emotion was supplanted by a mountain of malaise. And yet, many artists broke through with the finest albums of their careers. Some of
ACL 2021 ~ The Top 20 Albums of the Year
If 2020 was the most surreal year in recent memory, 2021 was the runner-up. A rollercoaster of emotion was supplanted by a mountain of malaise. And yet, many artists broke through with the finest albums of their careers. Some of
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Rock and Post-Rock
Sorry, friends, no folk or jazz made our top ten this year ~ 2021 was the year of rock and post-rock! With almost every major post-rock band releasing an EP or album in 2021, even some of the top performers
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Rock and Post-Rock
Sorry, friends, no folk or jazz made our top ten this year ~ 2021 was the year of rock and post-rock! With almost every major post-rock band releasing an EP or album in 2021, even some of the top performers
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Modern Composition
This year, we reviewed more modern composition albums than those in any other genre ~ not because more were submitted, but because their overall quality was so high. We read this trend early in our Spring Music Preview, and it
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Modern Composition
This year, we reviewed more modern composition albums than those in any other genre ~ not because more were submitted, but because their overall quality was so high. We read this trend early in our Spring Music Preview, and it
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Field Recording & Soundscape
The natural world existed long before the creation of instruments: music made by wind and waves, birds and beasts. During the pandemic, many people have rediscovered the aural joys of nature: music that is always playing, and that can best
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Field Recording & Soundscape
The natural world existed long before the creation of instruments: music made by wind and waves, birds and beasts. During the pandemic, many people have rediscovered the aural joys of nature: music that is always playing, and that can best
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Experimental
Our Experimental section boasts the widest dynamic contrast of all the fields we cover. From near-silence to curdled wails, children’s classes to looped drums, every nook and cranny is explored and excavated. Where else might one discover an examination of
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Experimental
Our Experimental section boasts the widest dynamic contrast of all the fields we cover. From near-silence to curdled wails, children’s classes to looped drums, every nook and cranny is explored and excavated. Where else might one discover an examination of
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Electronic
Due to lockdowns and quarantines, most of us have not gone clubbing for years. Thankfully, electronic artists have kept making music during the pandemic ~ although not all of it for dancing. They can imagine an alternate universe in which our
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Electronic
Due to lockdowns and quarantines, most of us have not gone clubbing for years. Thankfully, electronic artists have kept making music during the pandemic ~ although not all of it for dancing. They can imagine an alternate universe in which our
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Drone
Drone is the music of suspension: a constant underpinning of sound graced by modulation. The music was perfect for a year in which things seemed to move very slowly, as if through molasses. Many of the artists on this year’s
ACL 2021 ~ Top Ten Drone
Drone is the music of suspension: a constant underpinning of sound graced by modulation. The music was perfect for a year in which things seemed to move very slowly, as if through molasses. Many of the artists on this year’s
a closer listen 