New Reviews for April 26, 2024
St. Vincent / Virgin
Drawing on industrial, grunge, ska, and more, Annie Clark expresses the terror and exhilaration of being alive with ferocious, candid songs.
Reprise
2023 concert recording that captures loose, comfortable performances of the proto-grunge rock songs of the artist's 1990 album Ragged Glory.
Sub Pop
Nimble and lush arrangements frame a batch of Sam Beam's lightest, most playful songs that pack the usual, very deep emotional punch.
![Pyromania [40th Anniversary] [Deluxe 2 CD]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=MkrAYKg4lkF9zsAK6sweUASijaXJlYnq0St31qpAJWo=&f=3)
Mercury / UMR
A 40th anniversary edition containing previously-unheard demos, outtakes, mixes, and live shows from the era.
![Rebel Yell [Deluxe Expanded Edition]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=mTg46b6OFBD_4nfk75qYJJhUoDg0hsvx4F4sL4oO-nA=&f=3)
Capitol / UMR
Upon its 40th anniversary, Billy Idol's best album was expanded to a double-disc set.
Regime Music Group
On her ambitious fourth album, the L.A.-based singer/songwriter directly addresses difficulty, pain, empathy and transformation in funk, blues, and soul.
![Tanx [50th Anniversary Edition]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=_fDfTkSqsiM6Lmq7BFKWYD6KsMttLlyBmmVTZ6_CLs0=&f=3)
Edsel
This 50th anniversary of the release contains a bonus disc of 23 fascinating 'work-in-progress' versions, and demos.
Smoke Sessions
The alto saxophonist leads his quintet at New York's Smoke night club on this ebullient homage to pianist Barry Harris.
In Memoriam
Editors' Choice for March, 2024
AllMusic Staff Pick
- April 27, 2024
April 27, 1999
The follow-up to the popular Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five's third LP, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner (released 25 years ago today), continues the eclectic and clever songwriting that has become the group's trademark. Like other piano-based rock composers such as Randy Newman and Todd Rundgren, principal songwriter and de facto leader Ben Folds combines an off-beat world view with equally off-kilter musical arrangements to create a thoroughly original sound.
