Alex's Staff Picks

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  'Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory' Proves Itself

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Feb 11, 2025

  When a longtime solo songwriter suddenly starts gives their backing band co-billing, it doesn't usually fill me with confidence about their...

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  The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's 'Perfect Right Now' Is a Wistful Postcard from the Past

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Feb 7, 2025

  Of all the different eras of music I've been around to witness, the lo-fi blog pop era of 2008–2012 was the time when it felt like music was...

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  This Mashup of "Hollaback Girl" and Kendrick Lamar's "Squabble Up" Is B-A-N-A-N-A-S

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Jan 31, 2025

  'GNX' has been out for a little more than two months, and it's probably already my most-listened-to Kendrick Lamar album. It's not that I...

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  MIKE Makes an Effortless Opus with 'Showbiz!'

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Jan 31, 2025

  The album is called 'Showbiz!,' but there's nothing glitzy about MIKE — an underground NYC rapper whose workmanlike pace of excellent...

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  FKA twigs Brings Her Alien Electro Down to Earth on Ravey 'EUSEXUA'

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Jan 24, 2025

  I've historically been a bit on the fence about FKA twigs, whose alien art&B is vibey but tends to wash over me without leaving me much...

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  Neil Young's "big change" Has a New Band but a Vintage Sound

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Jan 17, 2025

  Neil Young has a new band and a new single. The all-lowercase group neil young and the chrome hearts have just rolled out their debut song...

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  "Bologna" Already Sounds Like Classic Destroyer

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Jan 16, 2025

  Destroyer's latest single, "Bologna," just autoplayed on Spotify, and even though the song is barely a week old, I was instantly struck by...

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  'Music from the Merch Desk (2016 - 2023)' Has Perfect Playlist Fodder for All Types of Aphex Twin Fan

  Exclaim! Staff Picks

  PUBLISHED Jan 6, 2025

  I tend to prefer fairly nice-sounding electronic music over punishing beats, so even though Aphex Twin's recent two-and-a-half-hour...