Rutger Hoedemaekers ~ All the Good It Would Have Done

Behind this intricate and complex album lies an incredibly simple message: little actions can make a big difference, while the combination of little actions can make an exponentially big difference.  Rutger Hoedemaekers tested this theory by composing parts for twenty instruments playing at

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 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

Rutger Hoedemaekers ~ The Age of Oddities

While we haven’t finished saying goodbye to Jóhann Jóhannsson, we may have found his successor. Not that Rutger Hoedemaekers wanted to carry such a torch; he’d rather have his friend alive.  The Age of Oddities pays tribute to the beloved composer, now three years