Discologist

After finally finding their "voice" on The Real Thing , there was nowhere to go but up for Faith No More, which makes it all that more remarkable that an album like Angel Dust exists. Considered by many to be the weirdest album ever released on a major label,  Angel Dust  fused rap-ish, metal, grindcore, juvenilia, psychedelia, The Commodores - basically everything but the kitchen sink -...

Sparkle Hard,  Stephen Malkmus' seventh album with his band The Jicks, finds the indie-rock icon/god experimenting with a more "mainstream" palate, slinging some prerequisite Pavement vibes, and even recording one of the most political songs of his career. On our latest podcast, Kevin, Drew, and (Malkmus-superfan) Eduardo are dissecting the new LP to find out if Malkmus has still got "magic,"...

Synth-rock provocateurs Stronger Sex have gone through several lineup changes over the past few years, but on their debut LP There Is No Stronger Sex  the (now) duo of Johnny Fantastic and Leah Gage (both veterans of the DC DIY scene) have found their "final form," and the result is an electric and aggressively danceable album that is one of the most exciting releases of 2018. On our lat...

Over the past fifty years and more than thirty-five albums and soundtracks, guitarist Ry Cooder has pushed boundaries, made history, and proved time and time again why many consider him to be one of the greatest musicians of all time. On The Prodigal Son  - his first album in five years - Cooder is going back to the crossroads to deliver a scathing (and often hilarious) indictment the times w...

On his 15th album, Damien Jurado is coming back down to earth and leaving the cosmic vibes of Maraqopa for more familiar territory. The self-produced  The Horizon Just Laughed  finds the singer/songwriter coupling the more straightforward folk influences that could be found in his prior work with a 60's/70's pop sensibility to produce one of the most engaging and heartfelt albums of...

Even in the darkest of timelines, Janelle Monáe has always been the most triumphant of superstars, and five long years, Janelle Monáe is finally returning to music to claim her throne.. Featuring the likes of Grimes, Brian Wilson, and everyone in between,  Dirty Computer lets its freak flag fly higher than fuck, and the results represent a landmark achievement in pop, hip-hop, funk, and...

Over the past few decades Country has dominated the music industry by embracing pop and hip-hop sensibilities, which makes Joshua Hedley's debut album Mr. Jukebox  all that more refreshing. Forget "saving" country music, Hedley is merely laying down some great storytelling with a little twang, a time-tested recipe for feeling good, even if you're feeling bad. Kevin, Marcus, and Eduardo are ta...

Known to most of the world as a political playground, Washington, D.C. is a city where decisions that shape the course of, not just American, but HUMAN history, are made every day. More than that though, D.C. is a city where cultures collide resulting in a creative class that produces some of the most compelling and diverse art in the world. Built on the legacy of jazz and go-go, D.C. is on the cu...

Stoner metal legends Sleep are back with a surprise new album - their first in almost twenty years - that dropped on that highest of holidaze, 4/20. Are the heady trio's new jams worth the wait, or are they skunked like so many lost bags of dirtweed? Kevin and Paul have got the hookup and aim to find out. PLUS! Joachim Cooder's new album  Fuchsia Machu Picchu confirms that genius runs in the...

On their sophomore LP Port Saint Joe, Brothers Osborne has pulled off the rare feat of being EXACTLY as good as the hype makes them out to be. Good times, sick jams, with copious amounts of whiskey, weed, and Willie all make this "country" album one of the years best releases whether you believe in Nashville or not.  PLUS! We've got some thoughts on the current state of Country Music journali...

The best art happens when like-minded creatives get together with the simple goal of sharing and exploring a moment or feeling. For their debut album, Loma - the band made up of Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg and Cross Record's Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski - headed to the Texas countryside to craft their shared vision and returned with one of the best albums of 2018 to date. Intimate, but son...

Living Colour is one of the most important bands in music history. On their third release Stain , the black rock innovators dug deep into the history of their culture, the dysfunction of America, and the sounds of underground rock and roll and came back with violent, high-volume exploration of love, hate, identity, and deep humanity that resonates maybe even stronger in 2018 then it did twenty-fiv...

Over twelve years and six albums, Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have proven time and again that their talents know no boundaries. Their new LP  The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs,  finds the experimentation that the duo has been pursuing over the past few years - both within the constraints of Wye Oak and through various solo projects ( Flock of Dimes, El Vey, Dungeonesse)&nbsp...

Creation doesn't happen in a vacuum, and in Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968,  author (and Hallelujah The Hills frontman) Ryan Walsh explores every weird, fantastical nook and cranny of Boston that surrounded and seeped into Van Morrison's soul-bending masterpiece. We're sitting down with Walsh to discuss how he brought this story to life, the eternal value of having your mind blown, an...

On Golden Hour,  Kacey Musgraves is dialing back the humor and turning up the heart to deliver what many are saying is her best work to date. Is this latest collection of genre-defying, lane-shifting "country" songs the future of Musgraves, or just a stepping stone on the way to something better? We've assembled a panel of Musgraves superfans to find out. PLUS! Jazz Bassist songwriter Nicole...

Jean Grae and Qeulle Chris are both musical forces to be reckoned with in their own rights. Put em together, and you get what is sure to be one of the best albums of 2018. A heady shot of high-concept outrage, hip-hop, and heart,  Everything's Fine is an unmitigated masterpiece that will serve as a lightning rod for anyone who rages against the insanity of modern existence for years to c...

Known to most of the world as a political playground, Washington, D.C. is a city where decisions that shape the course of, not just American, but HUMAN history, are made every day. More than that though, D.C. is a city where cultures collide resulting in a creative class that produces some of the most compelling and diverse art in the world. Built on the legacy of jazz and go-go, D.C. is on the cu...

After a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, legendary singer/songwriter Neil Diamond announced that after Fifty Years of sold-out crowds all over the world he was retiring from the road. But NEVER from creating music. Andrew Wright ( Blankus Larry ) and Marcus K. Dowling ( Iconoclasm ) are joining Kevin in the basement to celebrate the career of this living legend, how his music shattered bou...

On our latest podcast, we're turning over our mics to Marcus K. Dowling as he explores the intersection of hip-hop and country with R-Son and Rench of Gangstagrass. It's a (mostly) Kevin-free conversation that you're not gonna want to miss. Show Notes Incidental music courtesy of Aquatic Gardener. Hear more/buy it HERE . Support us on Patreon! [ LINK ] Support/find out more about Washington, DC's...

What happens when one of the most revered indie-rock bands of all time gets fed up with the state of the world around them? On What A Time To Be Alive,  Superchunk answers that question the only way they know how: with shrieking guitars, wit, and fury. On our latest episode, musician/photog/cat dad PJ Sykes is joining Kevin via teh interwebs to dive into this minor masterpiece of righteo...

On her latest LP ,  Brandi Carlile isn't so much returning to her roots as she is challenging the idea of what folk and Americana can be, and maybe should become. Sonically and stylistically diverse, the Dave Cobb produced By The Way, I Forgive You  is a seemingly unconnected collection of songs that, taken together, packs an emotional wallop unlike anything in Carlile's career.  PL...

In 1993 Lenny Kravitz was a star to some, and a point of confusion to many more. But none of that kept him from creating his future-forward masterpiece that plays as hot today as it did twenty-five years ago. Timothy Anne Burnside (NMAAHC) and Marcus K. Dowling (Medium) join Kevin  in the basement to dig into this timeless LP, and get to the heart of why Kravitz was - and probably still is -...

Lucy Dacus's debut album No Burden  announced the Richmond, Virginia native to the world as a musical force to be reckoned with. On her sophomore effort,  Historian,  Lucy and her band haven't just lived up to that expectation, they've created a modern classic.  That's it. That's the pitch. Go listen to the album NOW, then come back to hear Kevin and Eduardo gush. PS. We're bum...

R. Kelly. Michael Jackson. Woody Allen. Kanye West. Roman Polanski. Chris Brown. Harvey Weinstein. These and many more artists and entertainment luminaries have all reached the peak of and continue to enjoy great success despite being, in some cases, general a-holes, and in many, guilty of acting on, the worst impulses humanity has to offer. On a very special episode, we're talking about the separ...

Known to most of the world as a political playground, Washington, D.C. is a city where decisions that shape the course of, not just American, but HUMAN history, are made every day. More than that though, D.C. is a city where cultures collide resulting in a creative class that produces some of the most compelling and diverse art in the world. Built on the legacy of jazz and go-go, D.C. is on the cu...