Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Historically, pop artists have launched new albums with a “statement single.” As Slate pointed out last year, these songs might introduce sonic U-turns (see Taylor Swift’s electroclash revenge fantasy “Look What You Made Me Do”) or underline trenchant points of view (Dixie Chicks’ self-explanatory, non-mea culpa “Not…

Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d…

In a year as full of outstanding music as 2017, best-of voting can be a difficult task, and the wide variety of nominees across this year’s ballots reflects just how many great albums there were to choose from. After giving our Best Albums Of 2017 a read, dig into the individual lists our writers submitted of their…

There was too much to listen to in 2017—not just albums, of which there were once again thousands, a barrage of releases from major-label veterans and SoundCloud up-and-comers alike, all vying for your attention. There was just too much of everything: a persistent, buzzing storm of push notifications and free-floating…

Charlotte Gainsbourg takes full creative control on Rest; the late Sharon Jones takes one final encore on Soul Of A Woman; and OCS reverts to its lush, reflective roots on Memory Of A Cut Off Head. These, plus The Body & Full Of Hell, Mavis Staples, and Kamaiyah in this week’s notable releases.

Destroyer comes back strange, Bully channels ’90s fuzz, Jessie Ware evokes Whitney and Mariah, and doom duo Bell Witch turns in a moving eulogy to its late drummer. These plus Lindstrøm, Margo Price, and Makthaverskan in this week’s notable releases.

In a recent Q&A for Billboard, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark talked about why, despite her recent foray into filmmaking, she’s not all that interested in acting in front of the camera. “I don’t mind the performance aspect of it, because that’s kind of interesting,” she explains. “But I really don’t like the lack of…

The Kid marks a new career high for Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, while Kelela’s first proper album feels watered down. These plus Wolf Parade, Liam Gallagher, and more in the week’s notable releases.

Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d…

Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor has always been a prolific songwriter. But even for him, releasing Hallelujah Anyhow less than a year after 2016's Heart Like A Levee (which itself was packaged with a bonus eight-song record, Vestapol) is rather impressive. By way of explanation, Taylor told Uncut’s John Mulvey,…

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) has always embraced the future. Formed in 1978 by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, the duo hobnobbed with post-punk innovators, opening for Joy Division and Gary Numan in its early days, while distinguishing itself through its use of then-cutting-edge technology. As the ’80s…

There are difficult follow-up records, and then there’s Rainbow. Since the release of Kesha’s second album, 2012’s Warrior, the pop shapeshifter’s music has taken a backseat to her contentious, complicated legal battle with producer—and accused abuser—Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. Even today, the case is far from…

Oneohtrix Point Never, Good Time OST
Grade: B+

Tyler, The Creator, Flower Boy
Grade: A-