Bree Davies
HEALTH goes totally danceable while maintaining their harsh, turbulent sound on ‘Death Magic’
HEALTH
Death Magic
In a surprising turn in HEALTH’s niche-noise career, the band have gone totally danceable for the long-awaited Death Magic. The L.A. group’s harsh, turbulent sound is still there—tracks wracked with punishing beats, squealing synths and guitars. But songs like “L.A.
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Best Coast – Fade Away EP
Best Coast
Fade Away EP
Fade Away sounds like a reclamation record for Bethany Cosentino; never before has the California girl come off so confident vocally, even as she openly second guesses herself in songs like “Who Have I Become?” and
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Cherie Lily – The Dripping Wet EP
Cherie Lily
The Dripping Wet EP
Best known for being a fitness guru responsible for transforming the traditional workout into a legitimate art form, a turn as a pop vocalist seems like the next logical step for Cherie Lily. On her first proper, non-remix EP, Dripping Wet (her first release on husband Andrew W.K.’s
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We Are The Union – You Can’t Hide The Sun
We Are The Union
You Can't Hide The Sun
The resemblance between We Are The Union and a ska-punk prototype like Less Than Jake is uncanny—but the similarities in horn-constructed harmonies and true-to-life lyrics don’t define them. There’s fr
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That’s Outrageous! – Psycho
Psycho
Sometimes, a band’s strength is revealed not with a first big break, but in a persevering second—and That’s Outrageous! nail it. With only a hotly circulated demo recording to their name and not a single gig under their belt, the Poughkeepsie group was picked up by Rise Records in 2011. They released th
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I Was Totally Destroying It – Vexations
I Was Totally Destroying It
Vexations
In their five years together, I Was Totally Destroying It have been as hard-touring as they have been prolific; the band’s fourth full-length, Vexations, comes off as a product of hard work, polished to near-studio perfection. From
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Animal Collective – Centipede Hz
Animal Collective
Centipede Hz
A listener can drop in at almost any point in Animal Collective’s decade-plus career and find a likeable piece of music with which to connect. 2007’s Strawberry Jam was most accessible through the primal screams of “Fireworks”; 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion had the thumping “My Girls.” But on the band’s ninth full-leng
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