Daily Newsletter, June 13, 2025

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD PHANTOM ISLAND P(DOOM) RECORDS So, where have the Australian mavericks gone so far in their explorations? From all things heavy to the outskirts of microtonal and spiritual jazz, while cramming as many albums as it is humanly possible into a single year (5 in a year and twice at […]

YAWN WISH I COULD’VE KILLBEAT MUSIC If you think that crafting close to perfect pop music is easy, then you’ve got things all wrong. Pop has a set of formulas you have to respect, and being inventive and doing it right within those formulas requires both tons of talent and knowledge. Judging by her debut […]

XOL MEISSNER EXCESS OF LOSS INDEPENDENT If you stick only to the face value of some information, it just might take you to a wrong track, and there is quite a bit of that here. First of all, Xol Meissner is an alias for a Swiss-born, NYC-based artist Mauro Hertig. Secondly, Excess Of Loss is […]

The Beach Boys co-founder was his own world-builder—a universalist whose visions will never be attempted, let alone replicated.

Brian Wilson spent most of his life revered as one of the great songwriters of the rock’n’roll era, a reputation built primarily on the songs he wrote and recorded with the Beach Boys in the 1960s. Wilson emerged during the glory days of the record business, a time when the composition was inseparable from the recording. He played a crucial role in developing the distinction between a record and song. As the sonic architect for the Beach Boys, he composed the melodies, arranged the vocal harmonies, directed the session musicians, and sought the limits of what could be accomplished in a studio. Some of his greatest achievements, like the mini-suite “Good Vibrations,” found him harnessing all of these skills, but even his simpler material was indelible; pop music rarely is as lovely as “Surfer Girl.”

How Brian Wilson hooked up with an LA advertising executive to pen one of the most majestic and moving pop songs ever created

Following Sly Stone's passing, we explore how one of the funk icon's most enduring grooves turns minimal harmony into maximum impact

Rabbit Holed is Kieran Press-Reynolds’ weekly column exploring songs and scenes at the intersection of music and digital culture, separating shitpost genius from shitpassé lameness. This week: a mid-year report from our intrepid internet explorer.

JR Moores casts a weary eye over a treble album of remixes, that can't quite make us forget how harrowing the source material is.

Digitalization of Prince’s archive is yet to get into full swing, but just wait.

Blues is the root of all rock and roll music, but the 1970s saw artists like Joe Strummer and The Clash establish a bold, abrasive new sound known as punk rock.

As though playing the saxophone isn't already impressive enough, Rahsaan Roland Kirk knew no bounds for how far he could stretch his jazz madness.