Craig Finn
Always Been
Always Been is a collection of character-driven vignettes and occasional one-off detours that’s for the most part set to Springsteen-influenced heartland rock that’s lent verisimilitude and gravity by weaving in both Finn’s real life and his deeply familiar hang-ups surrounding faith and love into the proceedings
Spectrum Culture
Black Country, New Road
Forever Howlong
While technically impressive, Forever Howlong most often comes off like music school playtime, effortful and failing to take root in the mind like the band’s earlier work
Spectrum Culture
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
Indie singer-songwriters write their own stories into the genre on the excellent Send a Prayer My Way
Rolling Stone
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
A gentle, spartan album overflowing with straight-forward songs and harmony vocals, which evoke Emmylou Harris as much as Margo. Print edition only
Mojo
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
"Dirt" and gentle gut-wrencher "Showdown", on which Baker takes vocal lead, boast the same sparse, clear-eyed lyricism of her 2021 album Little Oblivions, while Scott's earthy alto is the perfect foil, whether campfire storyteller or wisecracking sidekick. Print edition only
Uncut
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
In general, the album lacks defiant stories with cultural counter-punches. And aside from a few exceptions, Prayer lacks the riffs and big choruses needed for dependable airplay
Northern Transmissions
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
The result is as brilliant a record you could hope for from two of the current generation’s finest songwriters
The Line Of Best Fit
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
Confidently playing to the strengths of its creators, this collaborative work is built on undeniable chemistry
musicOMH
Julien Baker & Torres
Send A Prayer My Way
On their first album as a duo, the singers reclaim the honky-tonk music they grew up on
Slant Magazine
Bon Iver
SABLE, fABLE
Bon Iver’s fifth studio LP SABLE, fABLE shifts from the stark beauty of the original EP to include uplifting sounds that are as enjoyable as they are personal
PopMatters
Momma
Welcome To My Blue Sky
The Brooklyn alt-rock band rides a wave of guitar fuzz through songs about love, longing, and surviving your early 20s. It’s intimate without ever revealing too much
Pitchfork
Will Smith
Based On A True Story
The star’s first album in two decades is a pointless apology tour for the dumbest Oscar gaffe in history, treating his Chris Rock slap as a grand teachable moment. It’s as corny as it is calculating
Pitchfork