Dark Times, represents a new direction in an already singular major-label rap career.'/>
Staples has always lived in a few worlds: art-rap hero, hall-of-fame interviewee, and a homebody whose inner life is none of our business. On Dark Times, his worlds finally converge.
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Please Don't Cry functions as a reintroduction to the rapper — long defined by her technique, now revealing some of the real person behind that prowess.'/>
Rapsody and Mach-Hommy, two rap technicians long defined by their skill above all, shake off that armor on a pair of striking new albums that demonstrate wildly different kinds of vulnerability.
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Carsie Blanton sings a protest anthem in "After the Revolution." Sabrina Carpenter channels a disco party with her catchy hit "Espresso." "Life Is," by Jessica Pratt, is an immediate, sweeping drama.
One of the best albums of 2024, Diamond Jubilee, isn't on streaming services. The artist who released it, Cindy Lee, has rejected the streaming era's demands to create something entirely their own.
The rapper slipped free from the legal mess that swallowed his label and his mentor Young Thug — but on his new album, he's still in the grip of an unending image crisis.
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Thirty years after Portishead's debut, Gibbons' first solo album is the testament of an uncanny singer simply making it through each day.
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Cowboy Carter has ignited discourse about the place of Black musicians in country music. But it's also evidence of its creator's desire to break genre walls by following her most eccentric impulses.'/>
Cowboy Carter has spurred plenty of discussion for being a groundbreaking country album. But for one critic, it calls to mind a cult favorite '70s psych-rock concept album.
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The 86-year-old Kyiv native, living in exile in Berlin, has a new album of symphonic works that explores the idea of reminiscence.
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After a decade ruled by their influence, the buzzy reunion of two hip-hop giants finds one imbued with a startling new power.
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The Tortured Poets Department, her artistry is tangled up in the details of her private life and her deployment of celebrity. But Swift's lack of concern about whether these songs speak to and for anyone but herself is audible throughout the album.'/>
With The Tortured Poets Department, the defining pop star of her era has made an album as messy and confrontational as any good girl's work can get.
(Image credit: Beth Garrabrant)
The British singer Dua Lipa has become one of the world's biggest pop stars. Now, she's back with Radical Optimism, a sort of concept record about moving through life with a more mature and constructive attitude. But it's also a pretty straightforward collection of grievance-free, hyper-catchy bangers.
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Taylor Swift dropped an epic new album that spans two hours — and two high-profile breakups. The Tortured Poets Department delves deeply into two of the singer's recent relationships — one with the English actor Joe Alwyn and the other with Matty Healy, who's the lead singer of The 1975. And while Taylor Swift indulges in a few beefs on this record, the target she returns to most often is herself.
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(Image credit: Beth Garrabrant)
Though Swift performs a range of experience and emotions, the music on her 11th album feels thin and is often in service of lyrics that could have used a red pencil.
G Slim's Revenge, a certain rap archetype that has faded since its '90s ubiquity appears to be alive and well.'/>
A familiar rap character, the Cali hustler cruising in a low-rider, has faded in the 21st century. On new albums by G Perico, Mozzy and Gangrene, that figure is alive and well, living in the margins.
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Here in the Pitch, her best album, feels completely lucid.'/>
The singer-songwriter's fourth album is her best yet, with crisp, commanding songwriting, shades of '60s baroque pop and melodies that seem to have existed forever.
In 1959, Rollins was a few years into one of the great hot streaks in jazz history when he took a three-week trip to Europe. Three hours from that tour are heard on a new Rollins-approved reissue.
In 1959, Rollins was a few years into one of the great hot streaks in jazz history when he took a three-week trip to Europe. Three hours from that tour are heard on a new Rollins-approved reissue.
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