“It’s important to make it sound new,” Justin Vernon explained. “It used to be just a G chord on a guitar for many years. The longer I’ve done it, I’ve become interested in a bunch of other sounds, to...

In 1979, two British musicians, singer David Cowles and producer/multi-instrumentalist Richard Haines, got together to form a synthpop duo called 50/50. At the time, both of them had demanding careers...

You guys know about horsegiirL, right? Not Horsegirl, the Brooklyn-via-Chicago indie rock band who released the album Phonetics On And On last year. That’s a different thing. Know your horse bands. I’...

Scottish post-rock warriors Mogwai have had a hell of a run over the past 30 years or so. Early next year, they’ll release a career-spanning collection under the title Happy Tears. It’s funny to think...

Fairly often these days, I see a fresh round of social-media discourse on whether or not R.E.M. have been forgotten, whether new generations don’t appreciate what the college-rock godfathers brought t...

Emma Ogier is a young alt-rock singer-songwriter from Houston who seems to be on a very sharp upward trajectory. Ogier was a teenager during the pandemic, and she developed her twangy and oblique soun...

Any Gorillaz performance, like any Gorillaz record, tends to include a whole lot of guest performers. Right now, Damon Albarn and his various cartoon associates are touring North American arenas with ...

Last year, Mei Semones released her debut album Animaru and we named her an Artist To Watch. Since then, the idiosyncratic indie artist has joined the big leagues. She’s announcing her new album Howl ...

It’s not easy for a new band to generate a healthy buzz on the basis of just one song, but that’s what Brooklyn shoegazers Crate did. Back in February 2024, Crate released their lovely, blissed-out de...

Right now, the roster at Sub Pop Records includes the Philadelphia noise-rock band Pissed Jeans and the Vancouver noise-rock band PISS. That’s synergy, baby! We need to get them together for a Monster...

Angèle is on the rise. Her third album, Instinct, comes next month, and so far the Belgian singer has unleashed the Justice collab “What You Want,” “Dis-le,” and “Une seule vie.” Now, she’s showing tr...

In June, SOAK returned with a heart-wrenching acoustic ballad called “Death Valley Fridge Magnet.” Now, Bridie Monds-Watson is announcing their new album decembers and sharing the poignant title track...

Hayley Williams has been awfully busy touring this year, and she’s also carved out the time to launch Power Snatch, her unpredictable new side project with producer Daniel James. Since announcing thei...

Death From Above 1979 are back. The Canadian troublemakers are announcing their new album Private Lives, the followup to 2021’s Is 4 Lovers, as well as an extensive North American tour. The duo is mak...

Things are generally quite difficult for the Asiatic black bear, sometimes known as the moon bear. The moon bear’s bile is used in some traditional Chinese medicines, and many of the animals are being...

Billy Joel was already on his way to stardom by the time he released Turnstiles, his fourth album. Turnstiles came out in May 1976 and included big songs like “New York State Of Mind” and “Say Goodbye...

Did you ever watch the video of TV On The Radio playing “Wolf Like Me” on David Letterman’s Late Show in 2006? It’s one of the all-time great TV performances. TVOTR were young and hungry, and they’d j...

Maynard James Keenan remains awfully busy with his various bands and side quests. Tool have headlined a few festivals this year, and Puscifer’s album Normal came out in February. Now, Keenan seems to ...

Lime Garden, Brighton-based makers of charismatic danceable indie rock, released their sophomore album Maybe Not Tonight in April. In the months since, it’s become a 2026 favorite of mine — one of tho...

A report from Brooklyn's reborn heavy metal Mecca. Plus: the best metal tracks of the month.

If you’ve never heard Live The Storm, the 2008 album from the great Swedish crust punk band Disfear, I would advise you to change that immediately. Live The Storm is an absolute beast of an album, and...

It’s been too long since we’ve heard from Mia Joy, the Chicago musician whose dreamy debut album Spirit Tamer came out back in 2021. She followed that with the 2023 EP Celestial Mirror, and then nothi...

At this point, it’s an annual tradition: The acclaimed, intense, Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon heads out on tour with his indie rocker buddy Jason Narducy, and they pay tribute to a different ...

We here at Stereogum are big fans of Victoryland, the partnership of singer-songwriter Julian McCamman (ex-Blood) and producer Dan Howard (also of the special new band Billboard Style). Also fans of V...

No culture/ And no more rock ‘n’ roll. Greg Freeman repeats this proclamation during the cacophonous finale of “Culture” from his new album All Set The Bone, his rowdiest record yet. The reclusive yet...

Once upon a time, the Strokes and the White Stripes were the two biggest dogs in the early-’00s rock-revival moment. The White Stripes no longer exist, but Jack White continues to soldier on as a solo...

In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. The column is no...

Over the weekend, Eddie Vedder’s set at California’s Ohana Fest turned into a Pearl Jam performance with Abe Laboriel Jr. behind the drum kit. It was the band’s first gig since Matt Cameron left after...

Last week, U2 announced Carnaval de Luz, the followup to 2017’s Songs Of Experience. There was some confusion when the tracklist included a song called “The Mirror Maker (Rosalía),” and now Bono is of...

Slinky indie-soul adventurer and unlikely hitmaker Steve Lacy released his most recent album Oh yeah? over the summer, and he’ll spend the fall touring across North America. On Sunday night, Lacy kick...

In February, Brooklyn-via-Vancouver group Smush made me understand Norah Jones and Owl City in a whole new way. Their covers EP Standards, which also featured takes on Big Rig, Hotline TNT, and Field ...

Sunday, DIIV performed at Balaclava Fest in São Paulo, Brazil. They played some new songs, off their forthcoming A. G. Cook-produced album ZIRP! coming out next month, and they also covered an entirel...

Next month, VA-based songwriter/producer James Goodson, who releases music as Dazy, is dropping a compilation album titled MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD Vol. 2: 24 Songs From 2023-2026. The album collects sin...

Much like his old Saddle Creek labelmate Conor Oberst, longtime Cursive frontman Tim Kasher is a director now. A couple of years ago, Kasher made his directorial debut with an independent found-footag...

Synthpop wizard Vince Clarke was responsible for some of the most indelible jams of the early ’80s, but he took a while to find a stable artistic partnership. Clarke wrote most of the song’s on Depech...

Argentine duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso never cease to surprise. They’ve gone viral for their NPR Tiny Desk concert, dressed up like babies with Jack Black, and collabed with Robyn. This past week the ex...

Like many aging rock bands, nu-metal veterans Slipknot have a Ship of Theseus quality to them. A decent chunk of the classic lineup has departed, most recently longtime DJ Sid Wilson, who was kicked o...

We’re nearing the release of one last opus from Athens, Georgia’s Olivia Tremor Control, the psych-pop cult favorites and a core fixture of the Elephant 6 collective. Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart, t...