New Reviews for November 1, 2024

Songs of a Lost WorldEditor's choice
Capitol / Polydor
On their first album in 16 years, these goth rock superpowers stir up echoes of the slow, sad beauty of their best-loved work.
- Fred Thomas
King of America & Other Realms [Super Deluxe Edition]Editor's choice
UMe
An epic-scale exploration of one of Costello's finest albums, and the creative doors it opened for him.
- Mark Deming
Last Leaf on the Tree
Sony Music
A poignant, masterfully delivered covers album from the country legend and his son.
- Matt Collar
CHROMAKOPIA
Columbia
Rap
Tyler's seventh LP proves candid and spontaneous as he reckons with age, sexuality, and fatherhood.
- David Crone
Weezer [Blue Album] [30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]
Geffen / Polydor / UMC
This swag-filled reissue of the band's landmark debut album includes almost 40 previously unissued recordings.
- Tim Sendra
Night PalaceEditor's choice
Phil Elverum's sprawling, noisy document of the peace he found while reassembling his life offers a deeply rewarding listening experience.
- Heather Phares
The CleansingEditor's choice
Domino
Tales of a dangerous past and uplifting survival told in classic punk troubadour style by the former Only Ones' leader.
- Tim Sendra
4 Hits & a Miss: The Essential Richard Swift
Secretly Canadian
A 14-track collection, including one previously unreleased song, spanning the late indie maverick's 15-year solo catalog.
- Marcy Donelson
I Need to Start a Garden
AllMusic Staff Pick - November 6, 2024
March 9, 2018
Counting folk musicians such as John Fahey, Leo Kottke, and Townes Van Zandt among her influences, this Portland-based singer/songwriter fashions idiosyncratic indie folk that combines familiar elements like warm melodies, deft fingerpicking, and mostly acoustic instrumentation with more unusual aspects. Those include sophisticated chords, alternate tunings, a trembly singing style, and a backing band that features a dedicated trombonist. Quirky lyrics that combine the playful and the heartfelt are another trait, exemplified here on "The Bug Collector," a love song about the member of a couple who deals with unwanted critters.
- Marcy Donelson