Spencer Kornhaber
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Stufish Madonna at War
Her 17-date Brooklyn residency forgoes many of the greatest hits and fleshes out her Madame X secret-agent character to spectacular effect.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters Blink-182’s Secret Seriousness
The brattiness has dimmed. Their influence is wide. Their new album is very, very catchy.
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UMG Recordings What Makes Mandy Moore’s Return to Music So Poignant
After alleging that her ex-husband, Ryan Adams, derailed her career, the singer released her first single in a decade to address the feeling of losing control.
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Michele Eve Sandberg / Invision / AP How The Cars Upgraded Rock and Roll
The late singer Ric Ocasek conquered the mainstream with oddball energy and an understanding of how machines can amp emotions.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Plot Against Persona
It’s preposterous for Lana Del Rey and other musicians to deny that they’re playing characters. But in this pop landscape, that denial might be necessary.
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Marcus Cooper / Atlantic Records Charli XCX Is Probably Not the Future of Pop, and That’s Okay
The songwriter’s cybernetic new album, Charli, is a complement to the mainstream, not an invasion of it.
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Bernadett Szabo / Reuters Post Malone Is the Voice of Modern Brain Fog
The ubiquitous singer/rapper’s third album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, goes darker but not deeper.
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Alysse Gafkjen The Highwomen’s Joyful Country-Music Rewrites
The supergroup puts a feminist spin on familiar traditions while still maintaining a classic feel.
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Ritzau Scanpix Denmark The Real Message Behind Justin Bieber’s Drug Confession
The onetime child star is telling himself that he’s not alone in his struggles—and that his fans aren’t either.
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UMG / Polydor Lana Del Rey’s Obituary for America
Heavy and beautiful, the singer’s new album, Norman Fucking Rockwell, tells of women holding on in desperate times.
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Matt Sayles / Invision / AP Why Taylor Swift Wants to Be ‘The Man’
Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy” trick gets repeated on Swift’s Lover, but to illustrate sexist double standards with regard to reputations rather than relationships.
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Lucas Jackson / Reuters The VMAs Were the End of Reality
Missy Elliott’s brain-bending aesthetic coursed through standout, surreal performances from Lizzo and Miley Cyrus.
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Valentin Flauraud / Reuters Missy Elliott Is Reclaiming Her Legacy
The first collection of new music from the rapper since 2005, Iconography doesn’t quite do what Elliott is known for: pushing boundaries.
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Peter Kramer/HBO Succession Invents a Terrifying New Game
The latest episode lays bare how Logan Roy always wins.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters Taylor Swift Finds Her Faith on Lover
The pop star pushes herself in surprising ways on her new album, to mixed but often moving results.
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Travis Shinn / RCA Records Why Tool Could Be More Relevant Today Than Ever Before
The legendary metal band is returning after a 13-year absence, and while its sound isn’t in, its disaffected embrace of spirituality is.
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Indian Space Research Organisation Handout/Reuters Five Stories We’re Watching
Atlantic writers look ahead at India’s moon landing, WeWork’s giant IPO filing, Taylor Swift’s Lover, and more.
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Nikko LaMere / Mom + Pop Records Sleater-Kinney Lost Its Chaos Before It Lost Its Drummer
Angry though a bit too orderly, The Center Won’t Hold can’t help but be heard in the context of the beloved punk trio becoming a duo.
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Eric Timothy Carlson and Graham Tolbert / Jagjaguwar Bon Iver’s Inexplicable Power
The band’s folk-pop experiments sound like gorgeous, nonsensical conversations on the state of the world.
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Drag City / David Berman David Berman Saw the Source of American Sadness
The singer for Silver Jews and Purple Mountains brilliantly described how restlessness can curdle into isolation.
