KING WOMAN  Celestial Blues  (Relapse Records) King Woman fans who have been waiting for a new record since the 2017 debut, Created in the Image of Suffering, will have their patience rewarded with Celestial Blues. These nine doom-metal/ shoegaze tracks bring us what we’ve come to expect from vocalist and band mastermind Kristina Esfandiari (who also performs as Dalmatian, Miserable, and NGHTCRWLR) and then some. From the striking album imagery to lyrics that reckon with a religious upbringing and struggles with trauma and mental illness,...

After a five-year hiatus, Adele has finally returned her voice to our radios with new song “Easy on Me," and fans couldn’t be more excited. Since watching the song teaser that Adele released on October 5th, we’ve been anticipating its release. Since dropping at midnight  last night, the song has become the fourth most-played song on Apple Music in the US, and the music video has received more than 23 million views within the first twelve hours which surpasses that of her 2015 hit “Hello”,...

  After nearly five years of radio silence, Grammy-award-winning artist Adele recently announced that she is releasing her fourth studio album, 30. On October 5th, Adele dropped the teaser for her latest single, “Easy On Me.” Before confirming, many fans were speculating her return after seeing billboards plastered with the number “30” all across the globe. Adele’s previous three albums are all named after her age; from 19 in 2008, 21 in 2011, and 25 in 2015, and many of us began connecting the dots with...

TKAY MAIDZA  Last Year Was Weird Vol. 3 (4AD/Dew Process)  Tkay Maidza exemplifies what happens when you pair creative ambition and raw talent with Last Year Was Weird Vol. 3, the final installment of her acclaimed trilogy (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 came out in 2018 and 2020 respectively). With longtime collaborator/producer Dan Farber, the Zimbabwe-born, Australian-raised, genre-blending rapper and singer takes us on an eight-song trip as vivid and commanding as her visual presence, like in the psychedelic daydream video for single “Cashmere.” From easy summer singalong...

Like many people stuck at home during the pandemic, Neko Case had to find a new way to occupy herself. Unable to tour and still dealing with the aftermath of the 2017 fire that burned down her Vermont home, the singer/songwriter turned to a friend who’s never let her down: nature. “I write about it all the time in my journal,” she explains. “I think a lot about nature when I’m sitting around for hours outside a club and there are plants growing through the...

Directed and produced by Bobbi Jo Hart Fanny was one of the first all-women rock bands to release an LP on a major record label (Warner/Reprise, 1970). The nucleus of the band was Jean and June Millington, two sisters who moved from the Philippines with their family in 1961, landing in Sacramento, CA. They were influenced by the Beatles and 1960s youth culture at large, but they didn’t want to date the band, they wanted to be them. Self-taught on bass and guitar, the sisters formed their first band, the...

R. Kelly, multiplatnium R&B singer and producer, was found guilty on Monday of all counts of racketeering and sex trafficking. For decades, the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer has been accused of masterminding a scheme to recruit underage girls and boys for sex. He was charged with one count of racketeering - which includes charges of sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, and sex trafficking - as well as eight violations of the Mann Act, a federal sex trafficking law. The verdict was reached...

Lil Nas X has transcended to new levels of queer cowboy greatness with his latest performance, a soulful rendition of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic song, “Jolene.” In celebration of his debut album, Montero, Lil Nas took over BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge with a small band and a flower-adorned mic stand to work some country magic. His cover of “Jolene” invokes the same Western profundity of his first hit, “Old Town Road,” but with a newfound sense of depth and self-awareness. As he sings “Jolene”’s lyrical tale...

    Becoming a mother has been long identified as a woman’s main “role” amongst patriarchs, but motherhood is certainly not for everyone, nor does it come easy to many. In a video for Vogue, Musician Grimes, 33, challenged the expected role of the “mother” when she revealed that her 16-month-old son X Æ A-Xii, X for short, with Elon Musk, calls her by her first name.    Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, told the camera: Being a mother feels weird to say. For some reason I don’t Identify...

After a year of cancelled music festivals and travel, musicians and attendees of the Bottlerock Napa Valley Music Festival were thrilled to drink wine together, dance together and enjoy a little bit of normalcy for three days from Sept 3-5.  This was the first music festival/live music event I personally attended since before the pandemic and I was not the only one.  I am one of those people who covers live music regularly. For the past couple of years I have had the privilege of covering...