Ryan Reed

Moon Taxi keyboardist Wes Bailey frequently mentions his idea of “synthesis,” of merging various moods and textures and genres into something slightly unexpected. That open-minded approach defines the band’s latest album, last year’s Cabaret, a thrilling set that blends eclecticism ...

It’s tempting to roll your eyes when a band bursts out of the gate boasting their own invented genre label. On their weirdly intoxicating debut album, Wormfood, Detroit duo Jamaican Queens have branded their particular style “Detroit trap pop,” but ...

Asheville’s Jahman Brahman are a “jam band,” whatever that means. Ever since the quintet’s formation in 2005, in their original home base of Columbus, Ohio, they’ve been faced with that love-it-or-loathe-it genre label—with all of its Phish references and jokes ...

The trilogy’s first installment, An Unexpected Journey, lives up to the visual splendor of the original Rings films, laced with rich humor and a sweetly innate innocence. But unlike those earlier epics, Journey also feels bloated and a tad strained—a ...

If you’re the kind of person who actually has a favorite president, there’s a good chance it’s Abraham Lincoln. Few historical figures are as enigmatic as America’s 16th commander-in-chief, who led the nation through periods of both extreme crisis (the ...

If you know his heavily publicized story—and his fans certainly do—you wouldn’t expect David Bazan to do a lot of backward-glancing. Over the past decade, the indie-rock mainstay (and former Christian-rock outcast, as leader of Pedro the Lion) has undergone ...

Ever since his earliest years, adding his spacey synth treatments to Roxy Music’s polarizing art rock, Eno’s been a musical provocateur, pushing listeners to question traditions and extend the boundaries of what constitutes pop music. But in 2012, Eno’s influence ...

If you don’t go into The Perks of Being a Wallflower at least a bit skeptical, you’re probably delusional. After all, most film dramas aimed at a teenage audience are either embarrassingly precious or totally wrapped up in their own ...

On her third album as Bat for Lashes, The Haunted Man, Natasha Khan takes her Kate Bush obsession to new extremes with diminishing returns, channeling her fairy godmother’s brooding soundscapes and ’80s-style production but little of her sensual melodic catharsis.

Band of Horses’ fourth album, Mirage Rock, is the quietest collection of songs this Seattle/South Carolina quintet has ever recorded, beaming with starry-eyed folk ballads and hazy soft-rock ruminations, harkening back to ’70s legends like Crosby, Stills, and Nash and ...