Will Hermes
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On the 2010 album Scratch My Back, Gabriel covered songs by the musicians he loves. For the follow-up, he invited those artists — who include Arcade Fire, Randy Newman, David Byrne, Regina Spektor, Lou Reed, Bon Iver and more — to cover his own material.
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As the androgynous vocal half of Rhye, Michael Milosh keeps himself enshrouded in mystery. But his new solo album is more revealing, forthcoming, sexy and domestic.
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With a new record, the band Arcade Fire is trying to top their 2011 release, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year. Critic Will Hermes says that on Reflektor, they turn to dance music to try to reinvigorate their sound.
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The duo incorporates many genre influences to fit its hard-edged pop sound. Critic Will Hermes says the formula still works on Bitter Rivals, which finds the two musicians trying to expand their boundaries even further.
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Producer and singer-songwriter Abel Tesfaye became an Internet phenomenon in 2010, when he began self-releasing free mixtapes of woozy, haunted R&B songs. His proper major-label debut, Kiss Land, marks his official step into the limelight.
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Staged spectacularly between a beach and a rainforest mountain peak in Malaysian Borneo, the festival grows its local music scene and tourism industry, while also raising consciousness — along with, in this case, some uncomfortable questions — about its environmental stewardship.
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With tracks like "Southern Comfort Zone" and "Accidental Racist," the superstar's new album performs a balancing act of cultural examinations. But there are still enough twangy guitar solos and all-purpose love songs to engage country-music tradition.
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The duo, which sounds like Tom Petty after some Red Bull-and-vodkas, hones the scream to an art.
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Van Etten's new album, Tramp, is titled after the touring artist's time of essential homelessness. It's full of unresolved restlessness, infinite-loop longing and expansive vocals.
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The Brazilian artist's new album, Sem Nostalgia, is a tribute to the spirit of the traditional bossa nova movement in Brazil.