Since they formed in 2019, the Austin duo Black Pumas have developed a reputation for a slamming live show that they’ve come to refer to as “electric church.” And their second album, Chronicles of a Diamond, is made explicitly to carry the energy of their in-person performance. The record rollicks around palatable soul and psych-rock […]
RELATED: Amanda Mull in The Atlantic on why you can’t get a good sweater these days. The reasons are many, and can be summed up this way: we don’t really bother with wool any more. Instead of simply knitting clothes out of natural fibers, we lean on synthetics now because they’re cheaper, in more ways […]
You like opposites? Let’s talk hair, my big preoccupation at present. Really. I went to this. I witnessed this in person (lol). Most importantly, I helped make this. The last “this,” for those of you who can’t be bothered to click links, is an episode of Articles of Interest, the wonderful fashion podcast by my pal […]
On My Soft Machine, Arlo Parks juxtaposes sharp emotional truths with super palatable production, which I find super poetic — this 22-year-old Brit has moved to LA to pursue pop-stardom, and here she is serving classic Gen-Z candor, mitigated by a stiff upper lip. On “Impurities,” that contrast builds a foundation for more opposites in lines […]
Well obviously I’m going to lightbulb-moth all over a record called Bury The Lede, and you might as well, too. This is the latest release from Dessa, who at 42 can still drop a banging album that both luxuriates in heartbreak and reveals new parts of her artistic sensibility. Typically, Dessa codes as indie, but […]
Please tell me your reaction to this NYT headline: “In Pricey London, Parks Are A Cherished Haven.” Surely there must be something of substance there, right? An economic breakdown of how Londoners survive such high rents and such low salaries. A study on how abundant green space relaxes stressed urban minds. Nope. The gist of […]
Sorry if that was unnecessarily cranky, I really just wanted to talk about infrastructure. Let’s start fresh and see how they’re approaching it in New England, shall we? We all grew up hearing about what an embarrassment the Big Dig was: The most expensive public works project in American history, it was a textbook boondoggle, […]