FLOOD

This self-titled record takes The Mars Volta in the most unexpected of directions as it firmly shakes off any preconceptions of what this band is or ever was.

The fifth full-length from the Baltimore post-hardcore outfit is a beautifully bleak yet overwhelmingly comforting examination of life.

Despite being a record about feeling stuck, the Norwegian trio’s sophomore LP shimmers with an infectious freedom and inexorable vitality.

Carré Callaway’s latest is a brilliant testament to human endurance, to battling extreme adversity, to keeping going when you really don’t want to.

Ramesh Srivastava discusses self-growth, making big statements, and reviving the band after 12 years.

While this motley crew surely had no idea of the profound impact their songs would go on to have on alternative music and culture, this 1982 debut EP nevertheless sounds revolutionary, vital, important.

It’s the cumulative effect of the Austin rockers’ 11th LP that makes this album what it is: an interdimensional fever dream that reinvents the entire history of modern music.

The latest from the Cincinnati-based folk songwriter captures the extremes of the human experience, the highs and lows of being alive.

The songwriter’s 18th LP is a haunted concept album that brings to life the tired hearts, souls, and minds of characters based in a distant, perhaps parallel, past.

The Austrian political-punk four-piece’s unfortunately timely third record is out now via Hassle Records.

The Ontario punks’ sixth full-length New Ruin is out August 5 via Fat Wreck Records.

Barry Johnson talks blending past and present on 40 oz. to Fresno, and how curiosity continues to fuel the West Coast pop-punk outfit.

The band’s fourth full-length is a powerful homage to the good, the bad, and the stasis of smalltown America.

Bird’s 13th full-length is a delirious journey into a world that’s both recognizable and exaggerated, half-real and half-fictional.

For her sixth full-length, Olsen has erected a country-tinged shield around the heart of her songs which often makes them feel more like pastiche than a sincere effort at conveying her usual heartfelt emotion.

The 13 songs on the Chicago trio’s fourth album conjure up memories of the kind of childhood you see in movies, the kind of love that you’ve dreamed of forever but never had.

The Philly-based songwriter’s latest solo release is a deeply personal, revealing, and vulnerable collection of songs that sounds like hearts breaking for eternity.

The D.C. group’s new album is out this Friday via Misra Records.

Far from embracing the abrasive nature of the punk and hardcore scenes its members come from, the 10 songs on this sophomore LP lean heavily into what could almost be described as pop.

The debut LP from the Red Lake Ojibwe Pow Wow singer is comprised of 10 songs that bristle with beautiful tension and a deep, dark, wordless poetry.

The first proper album from the punk seven-piece thrives with a sense of wild abandon and sheer joy at being alive.

This ninth full-length offers a contemporary yet simultaneously anachronistic soundtrack to a world that’s become even more fucked in the four years since its prequel was released.

The urgency and intention and raw, ragged truth that usually defines the Cursive frontman’s work is often lost within his latest solo LP’s arrangements.

For this Bartees Strange–produced third record, the emo trio explore how Black genius often goes ignored.

This 2015 performance from Conor Oberst’s punk band pays less attention to being in tune than it does to turning the rage of the songs into tangible energy.

The duo’s first full-length in almost nine years recaptures the glory of their earlier days more than the path of slight self-parody they had occasionally veered into since.

While there are slivers of Superchunk, early R.E.M., The Lemonheads, and Hüsker Dü here, the Liverpool punks’ debut also shimmers with its own distinct personality.

We caught up with Blake Schwarzenbach ahead of the punk trio’s belated 25-year anniversary tour for their last record, which kicks off tonight.

This tenth studio album from the Gainesville punks is a positive and triumphant dance in the face of trauma.

The Stockholm-based band’s sixth full-length draws you deeply into the warm memories that serve as its foundation.

This third album of black metal incorporating African-American spirituals steps further into the future while reasserting the gruesome events of the past.

The balance between light and dark is both more pronounced and more nuanced than ever before on the British metal band’s sixth album.

The addition of live recordings, B-sides, and covers from the era provide great context for this album, adding to its dark, gritty atmosphere.

The group’s 5th LP tones down the dark, nervous energy that was previously at the core of their identity.

The duo’s 13th full-length often sounds less like a collection of songs than a manifestation of the frequency of existence.

This 11th studio album isn’t as cohesive as some of the band’s previous efforts, but it shows they’re still evolving.

Mikaiah Lei discusses the new perspective that influenced his sophomore album that was seven years in the making.

Beneath the facepalm titles on the band’s third full-length lie songs full of heart, purpose, and meaning.

Chris Simpson also talks the past, present, and future of the band in a Q&A about his accompanying vinyl reissue project.

The third full-length from Jack Antonoff feels devoid of heart and soul, fizzling and fading forgettably into the background.

The Daughters vocalist’s solo debut captures the collapse of society over the course of a tormented, uneven 9 tracks.

The posthumous debut from the New Hollywood actress is an album of ghosts and haunted hearts.

There’s still darkness present on the noise rock band’s latest EP, but it’s more of a shadow than an abyss.

The songwriter’s new collection of drawings is a practical, humorous, and irreverent guide to overcoming his (and, by extension, our) anxieties and depression.

While often an uneven mess of sound, there are some real gems to be found on this DC Comics compilation.

The debut LP from the At the Drive-In co-founder tussles with indie-pop and boisterous stadium rock.

The ska-punk collective finds itself as boisterous, relevant, and energetic as ever before on their new EP.

The songwriter/visual artist discusses 11 pieces that tie into the fictional Whispering Pines universe.

Hatfield’s 17th collection of original solo material is a fever dream entirely of the indie legend’s own creation.

While this homage to hard rock isn’t a return to the great heights the band has scaled in the past, it’s also far removed from the valleys they’ve trudged through.

There’s a loose recklessness to these classic alt-rock melodies that convey being stuck in a rut—but also the determination to get out of it.

The French prog metal collective’s seventh album is a tornado of blastbeats, guttural growls, and devilish incantations.

In a Q&A, the London-based artist shared their thoughts on the classical new single, transness, and the duality of identity.

Helen Ballentine’s sophomore EP is just as resplendent and poignant as that first release.

On the outfit’s second LP, Jenn Wasner refrains from giving in entirely to obvious melodies and instrumentation.

A quarter of a decade on, the band’s debut remains a worthy companion for both aimless road trips and personal crossroads.

This self-titled debut draws on the members’ vast pool of experience, as well as the chemistry of their intertwined personal lives.

This 2009 LP is a reinforcement of The Clean’s rightful place in the pantheon of quirky alternative rock.

The songwriter discusses his new Aaron Dessner–produced LP and the unreal times that inspired it.

VanGaalen’s seventh proper studio album is pure nourishment for the soul—the sound of nature taking over again.

The bummer-pop quartet’s latest is an EP of feelings, memories, regrets and hope of actively seeking the elixir for life’s hardships.

The viral YouTube covers artist humbly discusses his unexpected rise to online stardom.

While the amusement value of the track list is high, the music lags behind at times.

This is the sound of a band burrowing deep into the heart of its genre, ripping it apart and reviving.

The LA rockers kick off 2021 with an upbeat—though emotionally complex—single.

The debut from the avant-garde supergroup demonstrates the power of collaboration, but struggles with cohesion and emotional drive.

The Canadian punks’ pugnacious third LP is also their most tender and nuanced release yet.

The doomy pair share more mournful explosions of existential tragedy and aggressive solemnity that transcend genre.

This B-sides comp demonstrates the one-dimensionality at the heart of the rock duo’s two-decade career.

The Atlanta garage rockers’ debut is the sound of four women who don’t give a damn for convention or perception.

The songs on the group’s first live album sound more lush and textured than they do on their recorded counterparts.

At under 12 minutes, the Philly hardcore band all punch hard while documenting what it’s like to be a Black band in a white scene.

The “Mandy” tie-in record convincingly blurs the line between truth and fiction with songs that, on their own merits, are actually pretty cool.

While its experimental attitude should be applauded, “Shiver” is at its best when Jonsí tiptoes across familiar ground.

These 13 tracks are as oddball and incohesive as should be expected from the California band.

In lieu of their planned Japanese tour, Houston’s Overo and Tokyo’s Asthenia share four new songs.

“Sun Racket” finds frontwoman Kristin Hersh on her trademark fine and fiery form.

The new video from the Swedish blues/death-metal musician feels perfectly on-brand.

Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott discuss how picking up where they left off in 2011 has been a source of comfort for them.

There’s a real sense of dread and foreboding in the posthumous record’s dark sinews.

The Detroit post-punk group’s fifth album “Ultimate Success Today” is out this Friday.

The LA duo’s fifth record is full of weird and unexpected twists and turns.

The sheer scope of Johnston’s talent shines brightly on Built to Spill’s album-length homage.

The Fort Collins punks share the latest single from their forthcoming EP “KILLERMAJESTIC.”

“Strange to Explain” is a confused swirl of hope, wonder, and melancholy.

The ex-Gaslight Anthem frontman on leaving his label, therapy, and what Bruce Springsteen told him about writing political songs.

Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter discuss their move to LA, new album, and longtime bond.

Lyxzén discusses the politics of the Swedish post-hardcore band’s second new album since 1998’s classic Shape of Punk to Come.

The Brazilian psychedelic band discusses “Soumbrou Dúvida” and the benefits of working with a professional engineer.

A new Lower East Side music fest is looking to do what CMJ (R.I.P.) and SXSW used to—focus on up-and-coming bands.

The Animal Collective co-founder discusses the evolution of his songwriting and the significance of ocean buoys.

Jason Pierce considered having the bedroom-recorded “And Nothing Hurt” be the last Spiritualized album—and even though it might not be, it still sounds like quite the finale.

Both their debut EP and LP—now repackaged together—sound as fresh, inspired, and inventive as they did three decades ago.

The band deliberately favor Pavement-inspired oddness in an attempt to introduce some levity.

A heartfelt tribute to both Jamaica and Caribbean music that’s much better than it has any right to be—but cool, it is not.

Superchunk’s “What a Time to Be Alive” combines the irreverent with the thoughtful, and the jittery, chaotic melodies reflect a nervous wreck of a world.

No Age’s “Snares Like a Haircut” is a record that offers some kind of solace while also invoking the unnerving and disquieting times we live in.

While “Ruins” doesn’t quite beat out First Aid Kit’s debut album, it’s certainly the sisters’ best record since. 

“Don’t Break Down” looked like a movie that might never see the light of day. And then the Jawbreaker reunion happened.