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Shawn Brackbill / Atlantic Records The Classic-Rock Ecstasy of The War on Drugs
The band’s fourth album, A Deeper Understanding, offers a powerful and steady high.
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Tom Hines / RCA Records Grizzly Bear Capture the Beauty of Connection
The rock band’s fifth album, Painted Ruins, balances mysterious complexity with pure loveliness.
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AP / KGC-138 / STAR MAX / IPx Justin Bieber Has Another Question for the Pop World
His shimmery new single “Friends” comes off as a gift to long-suffering fans—and an attempt to further his hot streak.
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AP / Noah Berger Getting Hate Speech Off Music-Streaming Services
Spotify has pulled a number of bands from its platform in yet another example of tech companies grappling with white supremacy.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Dark Matter of America's Foremost Musical Satirist
Randy Newman has done as much as any songwriter to anticipate the tragicomic place where the country finds itself. And his best work may still be ahead.
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Katie Posner The Director Behind Some of the Most Iconic Music Videos of the 2000s
How Dave Meyers has flexed the staying power of his craft to launch several of the biggest hits of the past two decades
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Olivia Bee / Shorefire Media The Very Human Return of Kesha
After a public legal and personal struggle, the pop star is back with “Rainbow,” an album that blends fantasy fun and bummer reality.
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XL Records The Urgent Message of M.I.A.'s Kala at 10
In sound and in message, the rapper’s brilliant second album attacked the concept of borders between peoples.
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Barry Brecheisen / AP What's Wrong With Arcade Fire's Everything Now?
The band’s fifth album hints at hearty social critique—but just provides weak songs.
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Warner Bros Harry Styles and Rihanna Nail the Pop Star as Actor
Dunkirk and Valerian had two highly contrasting kinds of crossovers—and Game of Thrones could have taken a lesson from either.
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AP / Chris Pizzello The Classic Queer Paradox of Tyler, the Creator
On Flower Boy the rapper suggests he’s not straight—and struggles with a stigma he helped propagate.
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The Atlantic How Jon Batiste Made 'Battle Hymn' Bittersweet
The jazz musician talks about putting the “pain and struggle” of American history into the patriotic classic published by The Atlantic in 1862.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters R. Kelly's Alleged Sex 'Cult' and the Shield of Fame
A chilling BuzzFeed report says the R&B star has at least six women living under his near-total control.
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Grant Pollard / AP The Familiar Novelty of Haim's New Album
Something to Tell You cheerfully broadens, but doesn’t deepen, the retro, bustling sound that made the California trio famous.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Story of Jay-Z
Decoding the historical context behind the emcee’s economic nationalism on his new album 4:44
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Kemosabe Records Kesha's Comeback Message: Love Your Enemy
Her new ballad announces she’s moving on after alleging abuse by her producer—but it is also, inevitably, tied to that producer.
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Mario Anzuoni / Reuters The Summer of Cornball Superproducers
New albums from DJ Khaled and Calvin Harris represent the industrial consolidation of hitmaking—and suggest that kitsch is in.
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AP / Gerald Herbert Jay-Z's Pitch for Generational Wealth
His new album 4:44 has a confessional thread, but it pushes a deeper message about commerce and racial progress.
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Wilson Webb / TriStar Pictures Baby Driver Is a Tribute to the Magic of the Earbud
Edgar Wright’s car-chase caper explores the wonders—and the dangers—of everyone having their own soundtrack.
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Amy Harris / AP What Jeff Tweedy Has Been Trying to Say
The acoustic album Together at Last spotlights the Wilco singer’s knack for communicating about communication.
