By Annie Zaleski, eMusic ContributorWhen MS MR surfaced in 2012, they were shrouded in mystery. At least initially, the New York duo of Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow hid their identities, and instead let their music — a percussive-heavy… more »
By Jayson Greene, Managing EditorYou will discern the primary influence behind Rhye roughly 0.00002 seconds after singer/producer Mike Milosh opens his mouth: In his creamy, untroubled contralto, edged with lingering hurt, you will hear Sade materialize in front of… more »
By Michael Tedder, eMusic ContributorLos Angeles punks FIDLAR kick off their debut album with "Cheap Beer," an out-of-control drunk driver of a song, all agitated shouts and irresponsible tempo. It's about cheap beer. You know this because the chorus… more »
By Matthew Fritch, eMusic ContributorMelody's Echo Chamber has delivered the most literal dream-pop album of the year on face value alone: The band's name came to Paris-based singer and songwriter Melody Prochet in a dream, and the album itself… more »
By eMusic Editorial Staff, eMusic ContributorYou know what they say about first impressions: a second to make, a lifetime to shake. That's doubly true in music, where an endless barrage of hungry young upstarts constantly compete for increasingly limited attention… more »
By Sharon O'Connell, eMusic ContributorIn the increasingly crowded post-dubstep scene, there are still strikingly few female beats builders, but one name that stands out is Merissa Campbell. As Cooly G, the self-taught Brixton producer, singer, DJ and label boss… more »
By Ian Cohen, eMusic ContributorSharon Funchess's voice is a bionic force. Even without the band's doomsaying, electro-goth production, there's enough fire in her bellow to raze small cities. Imagine Grace Jones as a monster truck rally announcer, and you… more »
By Annie Zaleski, eMusic ContributorDuring "Hold On," the first track from Alabama Shakes' debut album, Boys & Girls. vocalist Brittany Howard asserts, "I got so much to do, I ain't got much time." Those words perfectly summarize the ascent… more »
By Marc Hogan, eMusic Contributor"This is a declaration of independence," Duncan Barrett whoops, with audible glee, near the start of this U.K. guitar-pop group's superbly crafted debut album. It's a mission statement for Isle of Dogs, which plays like… more »
By Mikael Wood, eMusic Contributor"All day I stay by her side," Mirel Wagner sings of her beloved in "No Death," the undeniable buzz cut from this Ethiopian-Finnish singer-songwriter's self-titled debut. "But death has a claim and a right to… more »
By David Greenwald, eMusic ContributorAfter an EP that was enveloped in the soft fuzz of samples and melting guitars, Memoryhouse let the songs take center stage on The Slideshow Effect. Their crisp, mature debut full-length doesn't completely shake off… more »
By Lindsay Zoladz, eMusic ContributorWhen the three members of Young Magic chant "All the kids on the road never come back," over the shimmering rhythms of "Jam Karet," it's pretty clear they're talking about themselves. A self-described "sonic collage,"… more »
By Dan Hyman, eMusic ContributorLana Del Rey. If ever there were a more divisive music-industry entity, then surely he or she was swept under the rug far too quickly for recollection. What was it then, following this 25-year-old's viral… more »
By Dan Hyman, eMusic ContributorLana Del Rey. If ever there were a more divisive music-industry entity, then surely he or she was swept under the rug far too quickly for recollection. What was it then, following this 25-year-old's viral… more »
By Evan Minsker, eMusic ContributorRhyton's self-titled debut, like any psychedelic jam record worth its salt, pushes its guitar solos to the front. The album hangs on the guitar proficiency of Dave Shuford, who spends the better part of 30… more »
By Lindsay Zoladz, eMusic ContributorIf the Ramones had grown up under the influence of hardcore — and also if they'd all had impenetrable Danish accents — the result would have sounded a lot like Iceage. In a year that… more »
By Phil Freeman, eMusic ContributorThis doomy, female-led Salt Lake City art-metal outfit made one of the most unique and powerful albums of 2011. Featuring violin as the lead instrument, with guitar secondary and a thundering, Sabbath-unto-Swans (male) rhythm section,… more »
By Lindsay Zoladz, eMusic ContributorFrom the first moments of "Found Love in a Graveyard" — the creeping ivy riff, the vacant harmonies, and Roxanne Clifford's positively Bronte-esque refrain of "Clinging to a dream so true/ Falling for a ghost… more »
By Stacey Anderson, eMusic ContributorAfter a year of manic online grandstanding, the enigmatic cult of World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation turned out to be just a bunch of bros from Manchester, England. As luck would have it, the bizarre,… more »
By Nick Marino, eMusic ContributorWhat did we expect? Not this. Not a compulsively re-playable rock album with a lovesick streak — the kind of record the Libertines might've delivered if they'd pulled themselves together, or that the Strokes might've… more »
By Andrew Mueller, eMusic ContributorCondale doesn't exist, at least outside the heads of London duo Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Walmsley. It's a make-believe subdivision of what the title track calls "slow-mo lines of leafy suburban streets" and, "a great… more »
By Phil Freeman, eMusic ContributorJoni Haastrup has one of the most fascinating stories in Nigerian music history. The scion of royalty (he's literally credited on some records as Prince Joni Haastrup, and it's not a self-selected title), he first… more »
By Peter Blackstock, eMusic ContributorJay Farrar's decision to leave Uncle Tupelo in 1994 thrust Jeff Tweedy into a new role, though it helped that the rest of the band chose to stick with him under the rechristened name Wilco.… more »
By Mike McGonigal, eMusic ContributorBy the time you get to the dueling flute solo during the hardcore coda in the lazy, harmony-saturated three-and-a-half minute "Is It Alright," you'll not be faulted if you don't notice how weird it is… more »