Sessa Finds São Paulo's Rhythm in the Cosmic Ordinary
Three years of sessions in São Paulo yielded 'Pequena Vertigem de Amor,' an album born from the submarine days of early fatherhood and the vertigo between extraordinary love and ordinary routine.
4-Tier
Phil Haynes, Free Country, and the Sound of Political Urgency
Jazz drummer Phil Haynes's string band Free Country reconvened after a decade to record original compositions, but hours before the first session, trumpeter Herb Robertson died, and the 2024 election delivered its verdict—the double album 'Liberty Now!' carries both griefs.
Kirin McElwain and the Beautiful Harshness of 'Youth'
Cellist Kirin McElwain's exploratory album 'Youth' turns toward crystalline feedback, chaotic oscillators, and intentionally harsh tones to express the feelings of desire and shame occupying the same cognitive space.
Beyond Fairy Doom — Faetooth Emerges from the Labyrinth
Faetooth's Ari May, Jenna Garcia, and Rah Kanan reflect on the three-year writing process behind 'Labyrinthine', a bold album that pushes doom metal toward greater abstraction without sacrificing ethereality.
Achieving Sonic Sympathy — Horse Lords Meet Arnold Dreyblatt
Just intonation brought together two generations of experimental musicians for 'Extended Field,' an album that nimbly negotiates Horse Lords' mathematical expansiveness and Arnold Dreyblatt's tightly controlled harmonic universe.
Set Adrift on a Sea of Strings — Bryan Senti's Immigrant Symphonies
The BAFTA-winning composer traces his parents' displacement from Colombia and Cuba across two albums, 'Manu' and 'La Marea', blending string orchestras with techno's rhythmic complexity and the "magical realism" of Latin American folk traditions.
Paying Attention is Wonderful — Listening Along With Lia Kohl
The cellist and composer discusses her album 'Various Small Whistles and a Song,' a collection of field recordings that transform voting lines, train stations, and strangers' whistles into intimate sonic portraits of daily life.
Against the Flattening — Weston Olencki's Southern Reckonings
The innovative composer discusses 'Broadsides,' an electroacoustic project set in the American South that treats traditional instruments as loaded cultural objects while pushing back against regional homogenization.
The Accidental Psychopomp — Terence McKenna's Hallucinatory Afterlife
Cultural historian Graham St. John's 'Strange Attractor' chronicles McKenna's role as rogue scholar and stand-up philosopher, tracing his journey from a 1966 DMT conversion experience to becoming a disembodied voice whispering into the ears of dancers worldwide.
Prewn Weathers a World Riddled with Systems
On 'System', Izzy Hagerup aka Prewn builds maximalist songs alone in her home studio, using 'self-indulgent' cello and multitracked vocals to process the gravity of being trapped inside something much bigger than herself.
Beyond the Label — What 'DIG!' Reveals About Building Music Communities
Ondi Timoner's rockumentary follows the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols through the '90s music industry, but its most vital lesson has nothing to do with record labels—it's about the communities and collaborations that sustain bands.
Distortion, Disruption, and Dundalk — Just Mustard in 3D
Katie Ball and David Noonan explain how Just Mustard's third album, 'We Were Just Here,' pushes guitars past recognition and why growing up in Ireland's DIY scene infuses their musical ethos with attitude.