Spin of the Day
Will Champlin
S/T
With youthful and energetic vocals that could make any girl swoon, fun and amiable instrumentals, and sing-along-ready lyrics, Will Champlin’s debut album is a rare pop music gem. Read story.
Wilco
Wilco (The Album)
Chicago’s favorite folk rockers have been called a lot of things throughout the years—“meditative,” “uncommercial,” “experimental”—but few have ever dared call them comfortable. Read story.
Tall Tales and the Silver Lining
The Understanding
Whether alone on an acoustic or accompanied by a collective of bandmates, Trevor Beld-Jimenez is a folk force to be reckoned with. Read story.
Har-You Percussion Group
Sounds of the Ghetto Youth
This outstanding reissue has one of the great stories in modern music behind it. Read story.
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Eating Us
We’re not quite sure what the members of Pittsburgh’s Black Moth Super Rainbow are on, but by the end of their latest, Eating Us, we’re pretty sure you’ll want some. Read story.
Zee Avi
Zee Avi
Word came out last year that Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records had signed their first female artist and, when the label’s Christmas album arrived, her song was the superb standout of the collection Read story.
Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
In the land of avant-garde indie pop, the battle for the crown wages on between Baltimore’s Animal Collective and Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear—and to argue your point one way or the other usually means sending hordes of hipsters into fits. Read story.
El Michels Affair
Enter the 37th Chamber
Only the best hip-hop acts employ live bands to back them, and luckily for these soul and funksters out of New York City (led by sax-man Leon Michels and producer Jeff Silverman) the Wu Tang Clan’s Raekwon is on that short list. Read story.
Death Cab for Cutie
The Open Door EP
Most Death Cab fans will tell you that 2008’s Narrow Stairs was a welcomed return to the band’s indie roots, especially after 2005’s slick and shiny Plans. Read story.
Green Day
21st Century Breakdown
From the sexually frank “Basket Case” to the ubiquitous graduation anthem “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” to the politically charged “American Idiot,” there’s no denying Green Day’s proved their worth. Read story.
Iron & Wine
Around the Well
In the fast-moving 21st century, rarely does soft and slow music find a strong fanbase, but somehow Austin’s Sam Beam continues to grip audiences with his subtle style and strong songwriting. Read story.
Viva Voce
Rose City
Viva Voce’s fifth album, Rose City, was recorded in just under a month, and it sounds that way. Read story.
Dan Zanes
The Welcome Table: Songs of Inspiration, Mystery, and Good Times
Sold-out all-ages shows have always been a good indicator of an artist’s success—perhaps even more so than a chart-topping album. Read story.
Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career
Glasgow, Scotland’s, Camera Obscura have always sounded, in a word, maudlin. Read story.
The Western States Motel
Painted Birds Flying in the Orange Mirror Sun
There seems to be a troubling pattern with indie-rock bands these days; the longer and more obscure their names are, the worse their music is. Read story.
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