A couple of weeks ago, we ran down our list of the year’s best albums so far, already a lineup that makes for a solid year in music. But there’s still a whole six months’ worth of releases coming our way. In addition to the records we were anticipating at the beginning of the year that still haven’t come to pass—like…

Radiohead has been so good for so long that it is almost obnoxious to make this argument in public. (I’m sorry.) Depending on how you define its peak—say, from 1995’s The Bends to 2007’s In Rainbows—Radiohead remained the consensus pick for largest and best band on the planet longer than any other claimants to the…

1. Wings, “Silly Love Songs”
2. Elton John & Kiki Dee, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”
3. Johnnie Taylor, “Disco Lady”
4. The Four Seasons, “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)”
5. Wild Cherry, “Play That Funky Music”
6. The Manhattans, “Kiss And Say Goodbye”
7. The Miracles, “Love Machine”
8. Paul Simon, “50 Ways To Leave Your…

At this point, it’s safe to say the report of disco’s death was an exaggeration. The backlash against it, culminating in 1979’s infamous Disco Demolition Night by an attention-hungry rock DJ, only accomplished sending disco back underground, back to all the othered communities to which it originally belonged. From…

In this week’s notable releases, Byen finds nü-disco fixture Bjørn Torske blending more ambient textures into his playful sound, while Chicago footwork pioneer RP Boo gets melancholy, and NYC art-rockers Bodega debut with the lyrically stellar but musically weak Endless Scroll.

What Are You Listening To? is a weekly rundown of what A.V. Club staffers are streaming. Listen to these songs and more on our Spotify playlist, updated weekly with new stuff.

Relative to June’s torrent of music, July is a light month, at least until the surprise releases start dropping. But there’s still plenty of good stuff to get excited about: In addition to new albums from Dirty Projectors, The Internet, and Deafheaven, we’re looking forward to Liars’ final project together, a mini-LP…

The worst thing that ever happened to Drake was becoming a great rapper. He was always good—funny, direct, emotive—but on his first few releases anytime the bars weren’t coming he’d skip his voice up into some melancholy melody, shape-shifting Boi-1da’s airy, ambient beat into an R&B track. But as he became an…

Florence + The Machine open up old wounds (and stick to old sounds) on High As Hope, while both Gorillaz’s The Now Now and what should be Teyana Taylor’s breakout moment, K.T.S.E., feel unfocused and undercooked. These, plus Panic At The Disco, Jim James, and Dirty Beaches’ Alex Zhang Hungtai in this week’s notable…

Note: This article discusses depression and suicidality.

What Are You Listening To? is a weekly run-down of what A.V. Club staffers are streaming. Listen to these songs and more on our Spotify playlist, updated weekly with new stuff.

Reggie Watts is a performer that defies categorization. He’s an actor, comedian, game-show host, late-night band leader, improvisational musician, and now, electro-pop star. Earlier this year, Watts dropped Casual High Technology, the debut album from his collaborative side project Wajatta with DJ and producer John…

As arbitrary as the demarcation of New Year’s Day is, it’s always thrilling to watch a new year in music take shape. While it’s often slow going in the earliest weeks, our first serious best-of contender arrived in the earliest hours of 2018 via Jeff Rosenstock’s vital, politically charged POST-. By the spring, we had…

Earlier this year, Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack released their sixth studio album as Wye Oak, the introspective, beautifully dense The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs. Just before its release, the duo cut an alternate take of standout “It Was Not Natural,” surrounded by a glut of analog gear in the Sound Lab at Moog’s…

The year: 1986

It’d be hyperbolic to say this has been the biggest month in hip-hop history, but the sheer wattage of Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Kanye West, Nas, Kid Cudi, Drake, Future, and Pusha T all releasing major new efforts within the span of a month has to be something of a record. This is not even taking into account the regular…

Bad Witch is a thin, if rewarding, listen from Nine Inch Nails; while Kamasi Washington’s cinematic soul-jazz is more ambitious than ever on the awe-inspiring Heaven And Earth; and Gang Gang Dance turn in a somewhat too-impeccable sixth LP with Kazuashita. These, plus Martyn and The Orb in this week’s notable new…

Rachel Haden, Tony Maxwell, and Anna Waronker, better known as L.A.-based band That Dog, are presumably still hard at work on a new album, their first in 19 years. At one of the band’s reunion shows in Chicago, The A.V. Club asked That Dog to play Punk Or Not Punk, in which bands rate random things on an arbitrary,…

What Are You Listening To? is a weekly rundown of what A.V. Club staffers are streaming. Listen to these songs and more on our Spotify playlist, updated weekly with new stuff.

It’s tempting to view Everything Is Love as the conclusion of a trilogy begun with Lemonade, Beyoncé’s revelatory 2016 exploration of JAY-Z’s infidelity. But that narrative didn’t need a sequel, let alone a trilogy; it was self-contained, resolution and all. Jay told his side of the story on last year’s sober, soulful …