On his eleventh studio album, Tim McGraw recaptures his own freedom as he experiments with a variety of sounds after switching to new record label Big Machine Records. For a man who’s been active in...

4/5 Stars Over the past decade, Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara have been making indie rock with a unique, memorable and personal twist. They began by writing folk-rock music, but with the release...

5/5 Stars Many fans of music do not realize it, but folk music was popular before bands such as Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers came into existence. Folk group’s fiddle-strumming and powerful...

3/5 Stars It is a fairly common occurrence in the music world for a band to change its sound. Whether prompted by boredom, innovation, aging or necessity, musicians must constantly strive to be culturally...

When you hear a band name like Yo La Tengo, you may jump to a number of conclusions about its musical style. You might guess it produces contrived Spanish pop music or bombastic mariachi madness....

4/5 stars Ever since Adele’s phenomenal success began, music producers have been attempting to reproduce her style. American singer-songwriter ZZ Ward may seem like another Adele-soundalike but...

5/5 stars You’ve probably heard their hit song “Thrift Shop,” but there’s more to this duo than a retro fur coat. Seattle-based rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis have worked together...

“SECRET SOCIETY” | TITLE FIGHT 3/5 stars Title Fight returns this month with its second studio album, Floral Green, and the album’s first single, “Secret Society.” Carried by guitarist...

4/5 stars When Kanye West burst onto the rap scene in 2004 with the hit single “Jesus Walks,” his record label, G.O.O.D. Music (which stands for “getting out our dreams”), was already...

3/5 stars Ben Folds and I have a pretty personal relationship. His kids went to my school in Nashville, and he used to wave to me when our cars were next to each other in the carpool line. We’re...

2/5 stars You may not have realized it, but you’ve probably heard Stars before. The Toronto-based five-piece band, who released their sixth full-length album Tuesday, is a fixture on soundtracks...

4/5 stars A little bit of banjo punk-rock sensibility, a tendency toward infectious beats, impressive songwriting abilities and a rapidly growing, devoted fan base:  Put it all into a Mason jar,...