Lars Gotrich
Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist, subscribe to the newsletter.
-
The Seattle band and the late rapper both received nods in their first year of eligibility. Chic received its 11th nomination. -
Just like that, the emo band returns 17 years after its debut album — a bit older and a bit more introspective, yet still holding on to that teenage feeling.
-
American Band, the long-running rock band's 11th album, lives up to its name in how it digests, understands and challenges the notions of what it means to be American.
-
The Richmond metal band's new album both expands and contracts the realms of extreme music; it's huge in scope and sound, with instrumental passages that take their time even as they destroy.
-
!["I like really spooky songs and I like real major [key] songs, so I don't know how that fits in — that's just Starflyer," Jason Martin says. "I like interweaving them both."](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6457326/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2276x1268+0+6/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2016%2F06%2F07%2Ffullsizerender_wide-c84a687ea21c9fb3ce9f8cb3e18bbfa375b22437.jpeg)
Slow is the first time Martin has allowed himself to look back on a long career. Martin shares his characteristically dry wit on album No. 14: "I'm like a minor-league ball player, man." -
The Toronto punk band sounds anthemic and unhinged on its second album, with shout-along pop songs that are at once communal and cathartic.
-
In 2015, Iron Maiden reigned, a once-mysterious sacred music collective returned after 20 years away, and some Olympia punks smashed the patriarchy with a boot to the head. -
A look at the 2016 campaign — or rather, the un-campaigns. The history of the Seattle music scene — but not that Seattle music scene. And the refugee crisis through the lens of a sinking water table.
-
Will Toledo makes smart guitar-pop music for loners and weirdos. Teens Of Style reworks 11 songs from the self-aware 22-year-old's already-vast catalog.
-
After the crossover success of 2013's Sunbather, New Bermuda is a resounding rebuttal to complacency. Entrenched in dark and decidedly classic metal moves, it's got a seeking spirit that rages.
!["I like really spooky songs and I like real major [key] songs, so I don't know how that fits in — that's just Starflyer," Jason Martin says. "I like interweaving them both."](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1c5e934/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2276x1268+0+6/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2016%2F06%2F07%2Ffullsizerender_wide-c84a687ea21c9fb3ce9f8cb3e18bbfa375b22437.jpeg)
