North Carolina's Cor de Lux level up in every way with their third release, Year of the Horse, an exhilarating blast of noise rock with heart.

Nate Amos' most heralded project, This Is Lorelei, swaps out electropop for bluegrass and folk with The Singer in My Band.

Emo Revival author Andrew Sacher discusses the importance of the 2010s emo explosion in his new scene history, which is a must-read.

Cold Court emerged fully formed, after digesting a sea of touchstones and pushing them all into the abyss, leaving the listener breathless and ready for more.

Multi-hyphenate Saul Williams' current project Leap Life is a years-in-the-making journey designed to move your body and mind.

Punk troubadour Jesse Malin discusses reckoning with his past by writing about it and looking forward to making new music.

Indie label Secretly Group kicked off a long weekend of events with a tribute to their flagship artist, Magnolia Johnson Electric Co., who is more relevant than ever.

Oklahoma noise band Chat Pile mix more melody into their bleak message on another powerful, unsettling collection, Who Loves the Sun.

Reflections on the drive home from seeing Jawbreaker live for the first time in 25 years.

Check out my new post! I miss Words and Music Club. It was such a rewarding outlet. The concept was simple, but brilliant: Writers agree on a theme for everyone. Writer creates their own piece and sel...

I am an award-winning writer, journalist, and storyteller covering music, film, culture, business, and the people at the center. My work has appeared in PopMatters, The Ryder Magazine, Talent Manageme...

Brian Stout combines customer success leadership with award-winning journalism to drive client outcomes, retention, and business growth.

This is a recollection of the first time I lost a job. It’s paired with a song that came out about a decade later that resonates deeply even today.

"I truly feel that this is the best record I've ever made," says the Blood Brothers' Johnny Whitney of Evil Island, his new fiery, political, and defiantly different project.

The write time for this. I have decided, after playing around with multiple other tools, to host my writing here, and part of that is because there is already a lot of my work here. For the past …

Read writing from B Stout on Medium. Writer. Journalist. Music obsessive. Film nerd. Professional overthinker. Consultant. I write about art, culture, work, and the strange business of being human.

Soft Control would be a great place to dig in if you're new to the Afghan Whigs, but it is also another rewarding collection for devotees.

The Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli talks about losing fear and writing ten (maybe 14) great songs for their latest album, Soft Control.

Afropunk founder James Spooner reflects on the need to rip it up and start again in his new book, It Starts with Anger: A Punk Beginning. An Afropunk Ending.

Quicksand are still standing where peers have fallen off. Their patented sound is evergreen. Smart, upbeat lyrics and chugging riffs will always find an audience.

Unpopular opinion: I hated Obsession.

Trip hop pioneer Tricky continues to surprise on the rewarding new collection Different When It's Silent, which is heavy on collaborators.

Rising Canadian noise rock band Truck Violence's sound coheres on their sophomore release, The weathervane is my body.

Cult novelist Adam Gnade's latest, Wild Horse Shit, wrestles with the state of the world, encouraging untamed joy in the face of fascism.

We scoured the planet to find some of the best albums of 2026. As usual, our gaze is cast across many different styles, but some our very favorites mash-up genres.

The performance-art punks Dead Pioneers create protest music that unites and inspires, just in time for the United States' birthday.

Jesse Malin’s adventures through NYC take Almost Grown's readers through hallowed music landmarks where he is found rubbing shoulders with legends with almost comic frequency.

Indie rock institution Guided by Voices' Crawlspace of the Pantheon is another winning chapter in a late-career run of high-quality releases.

Performance artist-turned-punk Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers talks about his band's new record and opening for Pearl Jam.

Half Man is unsettling as hell to no good end. It is about something so important to talk about, but its obviousness at every turn ensures that it just doesn't matter.

YouTube video by UnisonSongs

Body Shop's sound blends danger and wit and a reputation for confrontational live shows. The music drips with danger and sex, but isn't just empty provocation.

There aren't enough great punk records coming out about the current hellscape, but UltraBomb's latest is certainly one of them.

UltraBomb's Greg Norton is unapologetic about his new LP, The Bridges that We Burn: "If you don't like my politics, you can listen to Kid Rock."