Alex's Staff Picks

Born at Midnite's "*69" Is Nice
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Nov 15, 2023
Is star 69 still a thing? At a time when calling someone on the phone feels inherently retro, Born at Midnite release "*69," a yearning pop...
Mac DeMarco's 'Some Other Ones' Is a Peaceful Little World All Its Own
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Nov 13, 2023
Mac DeMarco is one of the best singers in the biz, so his recent focus on instrumental music has been a little frustrating. Just listen to...
Cloud Nothings Try to Live in the Here and Now on "Final Summer"
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Nov 1, 2023
Longtime Cloud Nothings fans are bound to raise their eyebrows at the opening seconds of "Final Summer," as the song begin with the whooshi...
Ducks Ltd.'s "The Main Thing" Is Effortless Pop Perfection
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Oct 19, 2023
Ducks Ltd. make indie pop perfection sound practically effortless, and a couple years after the one-two punch of their Get Bleak EP and Mod...
Caroline Polachek's "Dang" Is Both a Continuation and Counterpoint
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Oct 18, 2023
This past February's Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is a glorious, life-affirming masterpiece, its unpredictable stylistic turns (trip-hop...
'the rest' Confirms boygenius as One of 2023's Defining Bands
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Oct 13, 2023
I have no clue how many concerts I've been to over the past 20-odd years of show-going, but I know exactly how many I've cried at: one. Tha...
Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist Stretch Out (Just a Little) on 'VOIR DIRE'
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Oct 10, 2023
The other day, my colleague Calum Slingerland asked me what's the first thing that grabs me when I listen to a new hip-hop album; I respond...
John Carpenter's 'Anthology II: Movie Themes 1976–1988' Will Genuinely Scare Trick-or-Treaters
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Oct 5, 2023
Horror Master John Carpenter already reworked his best-known film scores for 2017's Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998, on which Carpenter,...