Profile
Life and Death on Manhattan Island: Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold Returns
In search of dreams and dirt in New York City
Jlin: Woman of Steel
At this point, Gary, Indiana is a steel town best known for its merciless decay. But it’s also the home of Jerrilynn Patton, a producer at the vanguard of electronic music who makes tracks that pulse with a quick and steady heartbeat.
Death Is Real: Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum Copes With Unspeakable Tragedy
A day in the life of the singer-songwriter following the death of his wife, Geneviève.
Going Solo: Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth Steps Outside the Frame
Following a breakup, a guy goes west, sifting through life for his art.
Signal to Noise: One Wild Week With Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon in Berlin
With his symbol-strewn new album and a recent freewheeling music festival in the German capital, Justin Vernon is trying to radically reconfigure how people create—and appreciate—music today.
Meet the Queer Female MC Who’s Writing Your Favorite Rappers’ Songs
After spending years toiling in studios and liner notes, Gizzle is aiming for marquee status. Is hip-hop ready for her?
This Woman’s Work: The Many Lives of Angel Olsen
After being pigeonholed as a lonely folk singer, Angel Olsen is reinventing herself as a rock’n’roller in a tinsel wig. It’s not her first transformation. Or her last.
M83: Nostalgia at the End of the World
Even with a name like Junk, M83’s new album finds Anthony Gonzalez struggling not to care so much about his own wistful fantasies. By Devon Maloney.
All Apologies: DIIV’s Zachary Cole Smith Returns From the Brink
When DIIV first broke out four years ago, frontman Zachary Cole Smith was a champion of dreamy guitar rock. Then everything cracked apart. Written in the wake of a very public heroin bust, DIIV’s new album tells a cautionary tale. By Jeremy Gordon.
Hate It or Love It: The Return of Deafheaven—Metal’s Most Divisive Band
Since their 2013 album Sunbather brought black metal close to mainstream acceptance, purists have derided Deafheaven as frauds. With their follow-up due out soon, the California band would like to set the record straight. By Ian Cohen.
Punk Paradox: The Improbable Legacy of Fucked Up
For Fucked Up, the concept of legacy isn’t just about creating a body of work for future generations to discover—it’s also about nurturing artists and scenes in their native Toronto. By Stuart Berman.
All the Feels: Beach House’s Intangible Truth
After playing together for more than a decade, Beach House have built up a subconscious connection that can be as mysterious to them as it is to the rest of us. Jillian Mapes travels to Baltimore to investigate their unspoken bond.
Cosmic Neurotic: The Heady Perfectionism of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker
Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker is on a crusade to stretch listeners’ minds with his stealthy psychedelic rock—but the frontman is often so deep into his own music that he can hardly even enjoy it. Corban Goble heads to the California desert to get the full story behind Parker’s latest exercise in trippy meticulousness, Currents.
Jamie xx: Taking Shelter in Loud Places
The xx producer's debut solo album, In Colour, lies somewhere between shadow and spectrum as it pays tribute to memories of UK dance music. Philip Sherburne travels to the 26-year-old's London headquarters to see how he created his radiantly melancholy sound—and where he’s taking it next.
Love Is Strange: The Multitudes of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson
While making his third album as Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Multi-Love, Ruban Nielson took an unexpected leap of faith—with his music, his family, and his own emotional well-being. By David Bevan.