Across eleven tracks that traverse and defy easy genre classifications and burst at the seams with creativity, originality, and heart, the debut album from Bartees Strange signals the arrival of a visionary songwriter.

Read my review of Live Forever, out this Friday, on The Alternative:

Album Review: Bartees Strange — “Live Forever”

Sufjan Stevens is without a doubt one of our most talented and creative songwriters, but his latest doesn’t quite live up to his high standards. I wrote about why for Slant:

Review: Sufjan Stevens’s The Ascension Aims for Great Heights but Often Gets Lost

I wrote about the new Barely Civil album and the ways in which we talk about and engage with emo music. You can read that over at The Alternative:

Album Review: Barely Civil — “I’ll Figure This Out”

I wrote about Philadelphia musician Greg Mendez and his new music video for The Alternative. Check it out:

Video Premiere: Greg Mendez — “Long Division”

Laura Stevenson is one of my favorite songwriters. To celebrate the recent reissue of her 2011 album Sit Resist, I wrote about her ten best songs for The Alternative.

This Playlist Hurts: The 10 Best Laura Stevenson Songs

I wrote about Young Jesus, who continue to expand their breadth and interrogate the universe on their new Welcome to Conceptual Beach. Here it is, for The Alternative:

Album Review: Young Jesus — Welcome to Conceptual Beach