Music
A Decade Into Playing Together, Mipso Finds Fresh Ground With “Book of Fools”
The harsh realities of touring had worn the North Carolina quartet down. An experimental new album has helped turn a fresh page.
On His Most Boisterous Record in Years, M.C. Taylor Finds a New Rhythm As Hiss Golden Messenger
The songs on “Jump for Joy” were shaped by Taylor actively considering whether it made sense to continue with Hiss in the time leading up to the album.
No One Mind’s “Secondary Gain” Is As Tense and Groovy as a Blacklight Poster
Revisiting the brief but pungent catalog of No One Mind is like hearing a dream-pop band cutting the safety net and swan-diving deep into the dream.
On Its 30th-Anniversary Reissue, “Ring” by the Connells Sounds Better Than Ever
Remastered for vinyl and digital, “Ring” sounds tender and tawny, even when it rocks, dripping with bonus tracks and new liner notes by David Menconi.
On “Night Blooms in the Apocalypse,” Multi-Instrumentalist Sam Logan Tiptoes Up to the Edge of Extinction
Hard times call for honest art: Logan has done us a favor by examining our sad state of affairs with precision.
At This Year’s Hopscotch Musical Festival, the Small Clubs Are Back
And the chance for small local bands to play music—or tennis—shoulder-to-shoulder with legendary bands is back, too.
Hopscotch 2023: A Guide to the Small Club Shows
Each year, Hopscotch Music Festival offers a choose-your-own adventure. Here’s the adventure we picked.
As Hip-Hop Turns 50, Icons From Across the State Reflect on How the Genre Took Shape in North Carolina—And Changed Everything
North Carolina’s landmark contributions to hip-hop are often overlooked. But the Tar Heel state’s producers, rappers, DJs, and curators have a different story to tell.
“Goner,” Jenny Besetzt’s First Album in Seven Years, Injects a Sharp Tug From the Passage of Time
It’s 2023, but, in one way or several, we’re all picking up where we left off at the close of the previous decade. So perhaps it’s the perfect time for Jenny Besetzt to show back up—sounding largely the same, yes, but also better than they ever have.
Entrez Vous’s Debut Album Deftly Threads Pop Immediacy With Experimental Breadth
Even on a quick impression, the band’s concept and styling are striking, and quick impressions are what Entrez Vous is all about. Most of the songs are just a minute or two long; they state an atmospheric vision, lodge an earworm, and duck out.
“Charlietape” Is a Time Machine to Hip-Hop’s Golden Era
Out from Kooley High’s Charlie Smarts and DJ Ill Digitz, the album is a fitting tribute to this year’s 50th anniversary of hip hop.
Pipe Returns With a Scorching New Album and a Lament for Affordable Living
Twenty-six years and several zip codes away from where they left off, local rock heroes Pipe come home with a scorching new album and a lament for affordable living.
The Living Legacy of Piedmont Blues
The music that grew out of Durham’s tobacco manufacturing plants influenced some of the most widely recorded musicians of the last 65 years—and still does today.
On Compilation Album “Every Day Like the Last,” Wye Oak Leaves Rock Music Behind
But the question remains (at least for those of us whose 20th-century music brains will never fully heal), is Every Day Like the Last the seventh Wye Oak record or not?
Phil Venable’s “Bringing the Light” Follows the Star of Protean Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders
The three-track EP of spiritual jazz released on June 16.
On Django Haskin’s “Lost World,” Earnest Exercises Tug at Thoughts That Haunt Life’s Quiet Moments
The first piano-led collection from the Old Ceremony songwriter draws on the roughly 120 songs (and counting) he has penned since May 2020.
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