Missy Elliott’s Super Bowl moment said plenty about hip-hop’s current creative drought. This timely set from four style-hungry producers recalls Elliott’s turn-of-the-century heyday, with post-national street beats and an army of fresh MCs and singers. It feels like a genuine next-generation moment. Dominican-American MC Maluca spits hot Spanish over a… Source: RollingStone Link: Future Brown
Over four years and two albums, Detroit rapper Big Sean has made his biggest mark as a semi-novelty hitmaker (the awesomely stupid “Dance (A$$),” the giddily spiteful “IDFWU”) and the worst part of at least five Kanye West songs. Big Sean is G.O.O.D. Music “trying to make ‘fetch’ happen” — keep supporting this guy, and… Source: RollingStone Link: Dark Sky […]
“I got them red-blooded white-boy blues,” Kid Rock sings. Now 44, he finds himself looking back wistfully, tracking the passage of time. He laments that “we can’t fight this getting older” — but the LP’s muscular rock & roll tells another story. The Kid has no intention of aging gracefully — happily,… Source: RollingStone Link: First Kiss
At their peak, Gang of Four stylized 1970s dissent into cutting post-punk. Sadly, the qualities that once made the English act so influential are gone on its ninth LP, and first since co-founding singer Jon King’s departure. The question posed by the record’s title is not one the band seems… Source: RollingStone Link: What Happens […]
Screaming Females started from the bottom of a New Jersey basement, but it wasn’t long before they were big enough to tour with bands like Against Me! and Garbage. The trio’s sixth album is a rocker’s delight, reviving the signature sludge of the Nineties on “Empty Head,” hightailing into thrash… Source: RollingStone Link: Rose Mountain
Bearded roly-poly Baltimore EDM dude Dan Deacon looks a little like a highly intelligent teddy bear — a perfect fit for his playful, complex music. Deacon’s previous works have included the high-octane 2007 album Spiderman of the Rings and a mischievous remix of Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop.” His latest features… Source: RollingStone Link: Gliss Riffer
Swedish singer-songwriter José González’s new album — which is just the third LP from the 36-year-old artist, in a 12-year solo career — sticks to the formula that has served him well in the past. Intricate fingerpicking backs up his soft vocals; melodies flow without urgency; vague but evocative lyrics drift to… Source: RollingStone Link: Vestiges & […]
For his 16th album, country renegade Steve Earle gets in touch with the hardboiled blues of his native Texas — not the sad-slurring, throw-yourself-in-the-bayou blues, but the bar-stomping variety. Songs like the scorching “Go Go Boots Are Back” are stacked with the tight musicianship of his longtime band the Dukes, including-… Source: RollingStone Link: Terraplane
Once a pioneer of San Francisco psychedelia, Jorma Kaukonen is a bona fide graybeard folk swami at age 74. His latest LP is all austere, unplugged displays of the Piedmont finger style that’s been his signature since his 1966 Jefferson Airplane showpiece “Embryonic Journey.” There are covers and originals: “The… Source: RollingStone Link: Ain't in […]
Kate Pierson has defined the eccentric soul of the B-52s for more than three decades. Now the feisty Jersey girl has a private Idaho of her own. Executive-produced by Sia, Pierson’s solo debut is a collection of brassy manifestoes about independence and, naturally, outer space. One of the best intergalactic… Source: RollingStone Link: Guitars and […]