“Negging” by veronicavon: A Suggestive Song with Intriguing Subtext
“Negging,” as I’m sure we all know by now, is the practice of using backhanded compliments to lower someone’s self-esteem and make them more susceptible to manipulation. It’s usually used in the context of “pick-up artistry” by men desperate to pick up women, where they might say something like “the trashy look really works for […]
Jackie West on “Amelia,” Her Musical Family, and Working on Farms in Massachusetts
“Amelia,” a new song by the New York-based singer-songwriter Jackie West, is a rich, soothing piece of music. West plays jazz-inflected folk, and on “Amelia” she takes the coziest elements of both genres and knits them into a warm sweater. The mellow guitar strum isn’t far removed from Jessica Pratt, but while Pratt’s strange, elfin […]
Cate Le Bon’s “Dirt on the Bed”: Art Pop from a Singular Perspective
Today, not one but two members of the indie rock elite, both emblematic of their decades, have released new albums. Animal Collective, whose wild-child exuberance helped define the sound of the genre in the 00s, have returned with the balmy Time Skiffs, their strongest album since 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Meanwhile, Mitski reckons with her […]
Eileen Gogan and Sean O’Hagan on “Wave,” The Art of Arrangement, and Lucid Dreaming
When a singer-songwriter starts folding complex arrangements into their music, there’s always the risk of the music becoming too neat or too fussy: a Ferrero Rocher that’s all wrapper and no chocolate. Eileen Gogan’s collaborations with Sean O’Hagan avoid that pitfall, largely because, well, she’s Eileen Gogan and he’s Sean O’Hagan. Gogan has become a […]
“collar” by sophie meiers: An Intimate Love Song Turned Askew
There’s something great about a song that doesn’t waste any time drawing you into its world. Take a song like “Jack” by U.S. Girls: less than a second in, and the listener is already immersed in a seedy, grungy glam underworld. It’s the mark of an artist in complete control, an artist who knows their […]
“Best Life” by Alex Cameron Considers the Frustrations of an Obscure Content Creator
Yahtzee Croshaw, the video game critic behind Zero Punctuation, once described making content for YouTube as “throwing messages in bottles out into a churning sea made up entirely of messages in bottles.” That was back in 2007, when YouTube was only two years old; since then, the sea has become an entire water planet. In […]
Catey Esler on “Amnesiac,” Production, and Her Influences
There are certain songs where the artist’s influences jump out at you. That’s not necessarily a bad thing: in fact, it offers an opportunity to see whether the artist has taken the right lessons from their influence. In the case of “Amnesiac,” an intriguing, evocative song recently released by Catey Esler, it’s safe to say […]
Retrospective Review: “I Trawl the Megahertz” by Paddy McAloon
Before we begin, I want you to keep this song’s title in the back of your mind. “I Trawl the Megahertz.” It’s the kind of odd, striking title that rolls around in your mind for a while before you even listen to the song itself. Maybe you’ve heard the words “trawl” (dragging nets through water […]
Trentemøller on “In the Gloaming,” “Dead or Alive,” and His New Post-Punk Sound
(Photo by Karen Rosetzsky) There have always been post-punk influences in Trentemøller’s music, but two of the singles preceding his upcoming Memoria really bring them to the forefront. While the Danish musician started out making dark, Knife-esque electronic music, his ear for repetition and textures brought to mind certain gothic rock groups: the foreboding, jagged […]
“Count to Four” by Ollie West & The Wildflowers: A Poignant, Understated Breakup Narrative
Breakups aren’t always dramatic. They don’t always involve cheating, or fighting, or Adam Driver punching a hole through the wall. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of two people coming together a while before drifting back apart. And sometimes, that hurts worse than blowing a relationship to pieces in an acrimonious fight. It’s one thing to […]
