ACL 2020 ~ The Happiest Music of the Year

The year was so rough that we feared there would be no happy music.  Thankfully, we found that we had reviewed plenty in every genre!  The very concept of happiness is difficult to define, and a wide definition includes inner

Inventions ~ Continuous Portrait

Continuous Portrait is the sonic version of recessive genes.  This is not the type of album one might expect from an ambient artist (Matthew Cooper) and part of a post-rock band (Explosions in the Sky’s Mark T. Smith). But it makes

ACL 2015: Top Ten Electronic

When looking at this year’s staff selections in the Electronic category, I am struck by one glaring fact: none of these selections are typical.  There’s no straight-up house, techno or club music here, although we do cover such genres.  This may

Inventions ~ Maze of Woods

Inventions, the collaboration between longtime friends Matthew Cooper (Eluvium) and Mark T. Smith (Explosions In The Sky), have just released their second album, and it’s a dreamer’s paradise. Cooper and Smith are kings of their craft (their differing genres are