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Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999. Independent, women/LGBTQ-owned. Made by humans. PM is 26! linktr.ee/popmatters
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INTERVIEW: For his current timeline-centric release, the R&B/pop polymath Cautious Clay navigates from dawn to dusk with sly ease, discussing his creative process.

READ: tinyurl.com/CautiousC25
Southside Johnny was a link to American pop music from the 1940s to the 1980s, when blues, soul, jazz, and garage rock created a new pop culture.

READ: tinyurl.com/SthsdJohnny
November 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Slow Crush's 'Thirst' has scattered interesting musical moments, but much of it is buried under constant guitar noise and not enough melody.
Slow Crush's 'Thirst' Proves They Are Aptly Named » PopMatters
Slow Crush's Thirst has scattered interesting musical moments, but much of it is buried under constant guitar noise and not enough melody.
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November 18, 2025 at 4:25 PM
'Deadbeat' is Tame Impala's electronic dance and house record, and it oddly wants listeners to consider the multi-talented Grammy winner a loser.
Tame Impala Seek Truth Through Imperfection in 'Deadbeat' » PopMatters
Deadbeat is Tame Impala's electronic dance and house record, and it wants listeners to consider the multi-talented Grammy winner a loser.
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November 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Syd dePalma’s PARIS is dreamlike. Echoes abound, sculpting recognizable rock, folk, and pop stylings into imaginative new shapes. – @adrianeontheair.bsky.social
Syd dePalma Leads Us to an Uncanny 'Paris' » PopMatters
Syd dePalma's Paris is dreamlike. Echoes abound, sculpting recognizable rock, folk, and pop stylings into imaginative new shapes.
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November 18, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Fueled by the international hit "Maria", 1999’s 'No Exit' brought Blondie back to life. The album has an admirable sense of adventure.

@blondieband.bsky.social's deluxe edition of 'No Exit' is out now.
Blondie Went Genre Crazy on Their Comeback 'No Exit' » PopMatters
Fueled by the international hit "Maria", 1999's No Exit brought Blondie back to life. The record has an admirable sense of adventure.
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November 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
INTERVIEW: For his current timeline-centric release, the R&B/pop polymath Cautious Clay navigates from dawn to dusk with sly ease, discussing his creative process.

READ: tinyurl.com/CautiousC25
November 18, 2025 at 1:35 PM
The three Robert Hossein films in ‘Wicked Games’ exhibit gender-based power struggles and existentialist tendencies with a touch of absurdism.

They could have easily been written by Harold Pinter.
Ignored French Filmmaker Robert Hossein Finally Gets His Flowers
Radiance collects three early movies by forgotten filmmaker Robert Hossein, whose unique psychological dramas have been overshadowed by the French New Wave.
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November 17, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Bill Callahan’s “The Man I’m Supposed to Be” is a call to action, a carpe diem for the advanced middle-age malaise that will eventually come to us all. tinyurl.com/BCallahan25
November 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Alt-country's Boy Golden duets with newcomer Cat Clyde in the search for the meaning of love in "Cowboy Dreams".

'Best of Our Possible Lives' releases on 2/13/26 via @sixshooterrecords.bsky.social

WATCH: tinyurl.com/BoyGold25
November 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
This year shall go down as the year when #Kpop was made for people who don't like it.

The approach that once defined its innovation now repels its purists.

READ: tinyurl.com/K-pop2025
Why 2025 Is a Crucial Year for Post K-pop  » PopMatters
This year shall go down as the year when K-pop was made for people who don't like it. The approach that once defined its innovation now repels its purists.
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November 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Brandi Carlile has returned to herself, but it doesn’t mean isolation; she is her own awareness, embracing community, knowing what to treasure, and making sure to speak it.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Brandi25
November 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
One of Emmylou Harris's most unusual releases, SPYBOY expands her catalog, offering many revelatory glimpses into a unique facet of her artistry.

READ: www.popmatters.com/emmylou-harr...
November 17, 2025 at 2:42 PM
For listeners drawn to the art of hip-hop, the music meant to stand the test of time, Armand Hammer and the Alchemist's MERCY is a feast.

MERCY is a #PMPick out now via @backwoodzstudioz.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Armand25
November 17, 2025 at 1:44 PM
GWAR have always existed on the edge of chaos, a grotesque blend of satire, violence, and spectacle, but now, it's predictable and choreographed.

READ: tinyurl.com/GWAR25
November 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
GWAR have always existed on the edge of chaos, a grotesque blend of satire, violence, and spectacle, but now, it's predictable and choreographed.

READ: tinyurl.com/GWAR25
November 13, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Whitney's new album, 'Small Talk', is less about drifting through melancholy and more about staying still long enough to understand it.

#PMPick out now via @awalofficial.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/WhitneyLP25
November 13, 2025 at 3:07 PM
SPRINTS remain emotive but more polished and reflective, questioning rather than acting—though often admitting defeat as the songs grow louder.

'All That Is Over' is a #PMPick out now via @subpop.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/SPRINTS25
November 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Derived from a dream, the Mountain Goats' new musical tells the intimate and vivid tale of the lone survivors from a shipwrecked crew.

'Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan' is out now.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MtnGoats25
November 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
'Tremor' feels like the start of a brand new chapter for Daniel Avery. While he paints with a lot of familiar colors, there are also many new shades.

'Tremor' is a #PMPick out now via @dominorecordco.bsky.social

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DAvery25
November 13, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Shudder to Think pick up where they left off with two new singles, “Thirst Walk” and “Playback”. tinyurl.com/k2etreuh
November 12, 2025 at 8:46 PM
NEW SONG: Gorillaz Innovate on "The God of Dying"

This is the sound of Gorillaz at their most innovative yet reassuringly familiar.
Gorillaz Innovate on "The God of Dying" » PopMatters
This is the sound of Gorillaz at their most innovative yet reassuringly familiar.
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November 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
The Lemonheads' Evan Dando's long-awaited memoir is an engaging, sometimes harrowing, trip through the 1990s alternative rock boom.
Lemonheads' Evan Dando Authors His Addictive Hooks » PopMatters
Lemonhead Evan Dando's long-awaited memoir is an engaging, sometimes harrowing, trip through the 1990s alternative rock boom.
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November 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Like Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Wrembel and his group are crowd-pleasers, taking music that is technically complex and making it instantly enjoyable.

'Django New Orleans II – Hors-Série' is a #PMPick out Friday.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Wrembel25
Stéphane Wrembel's Django New Orleans Honors Reinhardt » PopMatters
Like Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Wrembel and the players in this group are crowd-pleasers, taking music that is technically complex and making it instantly enjoyable.
tinyurl.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM
'Gate of Horn' highlights a set of new recordings of blues pianist Memphis Slim's best tunes, mostly credited to LC. Frazier, one of Slim's several pseudonyms.

'At the Gate of Horn (Remastered 2025)' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @craftrecordings.bsky.social.

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Memphis1959
Blues Pianist Memphis Slim Had One Hell of a Debut » PopMatters
'Gate of Horn' highlights a set of new recordings of Memphis Slim's best tunes, mostly credited to LC. Frazier, one of Slim's several pseudonyms.
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November 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Rosalía's 'Lux' may seem, at first, hard to read as pop, but it’s as pop as religion, one of its inspirations. The very act of calling it pop is an act of faith in the power of music.

'Lux' is a #PMPick [9/10]

REVIEW: tinyurl.com/RosaliaLP
Rosalía’s 'Lux' Is a Brilliant Act of Faith  » PopMatters
Rosalía's Lux may seem, at first, hard to read as pop, but it's as pop as religion, one of its inspirations. The very act of calling it pop is an act of faith in the power of music.
tinyurl.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:19 PM