Clairo’s ‘Sling’ Is a Vintage Pop Triumph: Album Review

Ethan Shanfeld Late last year, in the video for “Chinatown,” Jack Antonoff drove from New York to New Jersey, cruising down the turnpike with Bruce Springsteen riding shotgun. Last month, in an “Into the Shadow” live performance, the Bleachers frontman and pop producing titan crossed state lines again, this time in a bus with his touring bandmates.

Chris Willman Music WriterIf you’re an aficionado of the confessional school of pop songwriting, then waking up to the release of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” should feel like Christmas morning. Not that anything about it feels too neatly tied up with a bow.

Kourtney Kardashian has taken on a new role — stepmom! Alabama Barker, the 15-year-old daughter of Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, dropped the title in reference to the 42-year-old reality star during a recent Instagram Live. Playing a game of «Never Have I Ever» with some friends, Alabama put down a finger when someone said they'd never «met a Kardashian.» The social media star smiled and said, «It's my stepmom.» A post shared by Kardashian News (@kardashianvideo)Kourtney is already mom to

Kourtney Kardashian has taken on a new role — stepmom! Alabama Barker, the 15-year-old daughter of Travis Barker and his ex Shanna Moakler, dropped the title in reference to the 42-year-old reality star during a recent Instagram Live. Playing a game of «Never Have I Ever» with some friends, Alabama put down a finger when someone said they'd never «met a Kardashian.» The social media star smiled and said, «It's my stepmom.» A post shared by Kardashian News (@kardashianvideo)Kourtney is already

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter days of unconfirmed reports that Kanye West’s new album “Donda” — which was first announced in 2019, then shelved, then suddenly revived last week, then bumped again — will be released on August 6 th, although as with all things Kanye, that date is a moving target.West held a listening session for the album in Las Vegas on July 17, then announced another, larger one at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Arena for Thursday, to be followed by the album’s release that

A.D. Amorosi At 79-going-on-80 and 72, respectively, David Crosby and Jackson Browne — two lyrical lions of the ’60s-into-’70s singer-songwriter movement — have faced more than their share of demons and angels battling on their shoulders.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKanye West premiered his long-delayed studio album “Donda” at a listening event at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium on Thursday that was broadcast live on Apple Music.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-winning singer and electronic musician James Blake has announced his fifth studio full-length, “Friends That Break Your Heart” — which he describes as “a concept album” — will be out on September 10. He’s leading with the single “Say What You Will,” a highlight of his solo tour late in 2019.

Shiny’s Democracy (★★★☆☆) features the Irish-born, Australian psychedelic rocker reenacting an iconic photo from the ’70s, with a trace of irony — the original photo of the Australian Prime Minister being dismissed from parliament represents for Shiny Joe “a failure of democracy.” But the artist’s first solo album in seven years is anything but a failure, with a catchy, accessible sound that is still very much his own.As a founding member of Pond and sometime collaborator with their Western

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorColdplay have announced the release of their ninth studio album, “Music of the Spheres,” arriving on October 15.The band announced the Max Martin-produced album on Instagram via a handwritten note alongside an album trailer, which combines an animated cosmic journey through the album’s planetary artwork with short clips of the album’s 12 tracks.The band’s note also seemed to hint at further sci-fi themes with the phrase ‘Everyone is an alien somewhere’.In May, the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe War on Drugs will release “I Don’t Live Here Anymore,” their first studio album since 2017’s “A Deeper Understanding,” on October 29 on Atlantic Records.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records as promoted Kevin Lipson to executive vice president of global commerce and digital strategy, the company’s executive VP/general manager Jim Roppo announced. He is based in Republic’s New York headquarters.In this role, Lipson, a seven-year veteran of the Universal Music Group company, will oversee commerce and streaming for the label’s acts worldwide.

Chris Willman Music WriterJohn Mayer’s new album seems like the material of which Grammy nominations are made — but the question is, should it be up in a pop or comedy category? Not that “Sob Rock” is outrightly comic at its earnest songwriting core, but everything else about it provides at least a gentle nudge to the ribs, starting with the very overt slap to the knee that is the cover art and the funniest marketing campaign in recent music history.

Home Video (★★★★☆) thoughtfully teases out what it means to leave a version of ourselves behind, and what we might find when we revisit that self years later.Since her 2016 debut, Dacus has made an art of astute self-observation. With this record, she sharpens her focus beyond general patterns and feelings, preferring to get specific.

Reese Witherspoon and Dakota Fanning are giving us more hope for a Sweet Home Alabama sequel!

You can’t take the honky tonk out of the girl! Reese Witherspoon and Dakota Fanning reminisced over their 2002 movie, Sweet Home Alabama, amid renewed discussion about a potential sequel.

Clare Crawley and Dale Moss moved fast when they fell in love on The Bachelorette — but they’re not married just yet. A source confirms to Us Weekly that the duo, who got engaged two weeks after meeting each other on season 16 of the reality show, have not tied the knot.