Album Reviews

It’s been a mere five months since Ice Spice went viral with “Munch (Feeling U),” a coldly efficient putdown of the opposite sex that earned her a million-dollar deal with the label 10K Projects. The Bronx rapper has generated headlines from gossip folks ever since. She was feted by Drake…or …

The second full-length from Bartees Strange comes with massive expectations. Since the U.K.-born, Oklahoma-raised producer and songwriter released his debut album, Live Forever, in 2020, he’s ascended to indie rock’s upper echelons, booking late-night-TV gigs, racking up critical acclaim, touring with artists like Courtney Barnett and Lucy Dacus, and signing …

Listening to Angel Olsen’s records used to feel like stumbling into an empty roadside bar and finding the greatest torch singer the world had ever forgotten. She sang about loneliness and mistrust, her voice burning pure and intense whether the guitars were solo-acoustic or electric and in the red. The …

“Sometimes I think I am free,” Mitski sings nearly halfway through her new album, “Until I find I am back in line again.” The moment comes during “Everyone,” one of the more understated, easy-to-gloss-over numbers on Laurel Hell, a record that both buries and embeds its meaning in synthesizer sheen. …

It’s been a few years since The Weeknd went full-on pop star. Early in his career, the Canadian crooner refused to reveal his identity and sang dark songs about sex, drugs, and longing. His seminal 2011 mixtape, House of Balloons, was like the woozy soundtrack to an endless, libidinous loop …

When David Bowie died on Jan. 10, 2016, the tragedy was alleviated to a degree because he’d just released one of his greatest records. Blackstar, which came out just two days before — on Bowie’s birthday — was a glimpse into the genius mind of an artist who knew his …

Baby Keem raps in an exasperated rasp, with an abrupt rise in his tone, as if he were stunned by something he just recalled. That the Carson, California native has seen a lot in his 20 years is evident in each well-enunciated bar, which seems to boil down his distinctive …

Colombian singer J Balvin has established himself as one of reggaeton’s most successful ambassadors of the last decade—taking pleasure in the broad, often vague task of making music “para la cultura” (or to push “Latin culture” forward). But, on his fifth album, Jose, he tries to separate himself from his …

Superstar collaborations between two platinum rappers are a dime a dozen since Drake and Future linked for What a Time to Be Alive in 2015. Still, a summit with Lil Durk and Lil Baby carries a special sense of anticipation. Peaking in critical and commercial acclaim, both seem ready for …

24KGoldn, the 20-year-old San Francisco rapper-singer born Golden Von Jones, has big Gen Z tween-idol energy. Maybe the biggest: What other cherubic, shortie-courting rising star can claim a TikTok-powered Billboard Hot 100 Number One? That would be “Mood,” featuring gloomy hip-popper Iann Dior (also adorable), which inspired a dance challenge …