Welfare Jazz is a progressive tweak of the punk ethos, embracing much of the genre’s texture but reconceiving of its messaging. Viagra Boys’ sophomore effort Welfare…
Egyptian producer Amr El-Alamy has been involved with his country’s dance music scene for years, but his debut album under the 1127 moniker is the…
Puerto Rican singer-songwriter/trap star Bad Bunny characterized his recent collaborative effort with Columbian reggaeton idol J Balvin — rather dramatically — as “a transcendental and refreshing…
For their last few releases, Japanese idol rock group BiSH has been focused on fashioning a larger sound and building a cult of personality around…
Love songs come second nature to Kiki Vivi Lily on her debut full-length, Vivid. Thinking about black coffee leads to the sweet dedication “Caffeine Holic,” addressed…
Since their self-titled debut in 2014, Fumaça Preta has had a penchant for brashly blending and utilizing the most eclectic elements of sleazy ’60s psychedelia,…
Youssou N’Dour has always been a huge personality — as has been expressed through both his music and his status as a public figure and…
Otoboke Beaver: What is an all-female Japanese punk outfit from Kyoto? Itekoma Hits: What is a compilation of new tracks plus singles and EPs from…
Tricot pack a lot of musical ideas into a single song — and they unwind or abruptly pause their guitar playing, all based on a…
Maluma is currently having ‘a moment’ on the global stage — but not exactly in his home country, where he’s been having a moment since…
To say that Polkadot Stingray rose to fame overnight might be a bit dramatic — but not too far off. The group only formed in…
An interest in outer space has informed both the visual aesthetic and music of Dempagumi.inc over the past year. While the group first appeared as…
Austrian composer Christian Fennesz’s glitchy compositions operate like a more understated Rube Goldberg machine: every seemingly insignificant sound effect or pronounced use of reverb ultimately…
As a title, Hell Like Heaven serves to explain the clashing contradictions that bring about the joys in The Peggies’ music. The Japanese trio’s buzzing,…
The Higher Brothers’ 2017 album Black Cab is one of the most confident debuts in recent memory, rap or otherwise. On that project, the Brothers…
Norma, the fifth album from Chilean pop artist Mon Laferte, opens with a chance encounter in a dancehall between two soon-to-be-sweethearts, and concludes with their eventual separation. While 2018 has brought…
Maison Book Girl don’t craft full-fledged songs so much as attempt to make sense out of cacophonous noise. Toy flutes, jagged guitars, and pensive pianos sound-off at once, but don’t fully communicate with…
Red Velvet rose to prominence just as girl groups like Miss A, Sistar, and 2NE1 were disbanding, with a string of projects that showcased K-pop at its…
With the reissue of Park Jiha’s 2016 debut, Communion, the South Korean composer and multi-instrumentalist has gained considerable notice for her positioning of traditional Korean…
Kayoko Yoshizawa has approached songwriting as a process somewhat akin to writing a storybook since her 2013 mini-album, Majo Zukan, building her elaborate pop songs around the…