Will Hermes | Rolling Stone

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R.E.D. | ALBUM REVIEW

On "Cracks in Mr. Perfect," the confessional opener on his fifth LP, Ne-Yo is the sort of beautiful smoothie who fucks you without a condom, then shrugs sheepishly and says, "It's our imperfections that truly make us...
November 9, 2012 10:50 AM ET
Quatro | ALBUM REVIEW

Rather than plumb an uneven catalog that's miles deep, this five-disc compilation of the drummer, bandleader and late Latin-music icon prudently gathers four golden-era LPs circa 1955-1960, plus a batch of outtakes and earlier tracks. On...
November 9, 2012 10:45 AM ET
Rework: Philip Glass Remixed | ALBUM REVIEW

Co-curated by Beck, this two-CD set gathers genre outliers (Tyondai Braxton, Dan Deacon, Amon Tobin) to mutate music by Philip Glass, the composer who has probably impacted rock and pop more than Bach. The highlight is...
November 9, 2012 10:35 AM ET
Rhythms Del Mundo: Africa | ALBUM REVIEW

The latest in a series of albums remixing A-list pop with regional styles (see Rhythms Del Mundo: Cuba), this has a Mali-centric house band, and the effect is sweetly disorienting: Chris Martin's "Viva La Vida" vocals meet...
November 9, 2012 10:25 AM ET
The Return of the Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of | ALBUM REVIEW

The roots of the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons fill this connoisseur's anthology by America's foremost 78-rpm crate-digger label. It's 1920s folk music full of pop flash and drama; see "Sail Away Ladies," by Uncle...
November 9, 2012 10:10 AM ET
Luxury Problems | ALBUM REVIEW

One good thing to come of the Auto-Tune pandemic has been a surge in fresher, weirder sorts of cyber-vocals. Here, Manchester's Andy Stott – whose EP doubleheader Passed Me By/We Stay Together was perhaps last year's most hallucinatory...
November 6, 2012 12:00 AM ET
Will Hermes: My 2012 Playlist | ARTICLE

Hear songs from Carly Rae Jepsen, Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar and more:
November 1, 2012 3:20 PM ET
"I Love You Because" | SONG REVIEW

The soundtrack to a video commemorating the 35th anniversary of Elvis' death, this is essentially a reissue of the sweetly sentimental country ballad from his self-titled 1956 debut – until just past the halfway point,...
October 28, 2012 10:25 AM ET
"We Found Love" | SONG REVIEW

In the wake of Coldplay's piano-rock version, Natasha Khan turns Rihanna's R&B rave anthem into a slow-motion ballad, stripping it to little more than a funereal drumbeat and bass. Bleak, and beautiful.
October 28, 2012 10:00 AM ET
The Haunted Man | ALBUM REVIEW

Natasha Khan's sexiest, spookiest LP starts with its cover: the naked singer shouldering a crumpled, naked man. The emotional metaphor seems familiar to her. "From inside his mouth, I lick the scars," she murmurs on "A Wall,"...
October 23, 2012 12:10 AM ET
Band to Watch: Lord Huron | VIDEO

Hometown: Los Angeles Backstory: Schneider grew up in Michigan and moved to L.A. to start a career as a visual artist. But when he found himself on the shores of Lake Huron, in his home state, he was...
October 22, 2012 7:35 AM ET
Ultraista | ALBUM REVIEW

You'd expect an album involving Nigel Godrich, the Radiohead collaborator-superproducer, and Joey Waronker, drummer for Beck, R.E.M. and many others, to be full of dazzling arrangements and killer beats. And so it is....
October 19, 2012 4:50 PM ET
Sing The Delta | ALBUM REVIEW

Iris DeMent's voice has mellowed in the 20 years since her gorgeous debut, Infamous Angel, but it remains a wonder of genuine country music, with a vibrato-infused twang that purrs and bucks. Centered mainly on piano...
October 19, 2012 4:45 PM ET
Sunken Condos | ALBUM REVIEW

On "Memorabilia," a polished-up nugget of jazzy, Sanford & Son funk, Donald Fagen calls the title trappings "souvenirs of perfect doom." And if this Steely Dan-style set is proudly retro in sound, nostalgia remains suspect at...
October 16, 2012 12:15 AM ET
Traveler | ALBUM REVIEW

The jam-band swami tries atmospheric pop with members of the National and Mates of State on this solo joint. The arrangements, full of spacious production and abstract beats, can be gorgeous, and the cover of Gorillaz's...
October 16, 2012 12:00 AM ET
Halcyon | ALBUM REVIEW

Ellie Goulding emerged in 2010 with a one-two punch: first, her (still-rising) helium-voiced hit "Lights," then, an elegant read of Elton John's "Your Song" that led to a gig at Prince William's wedding. As Cinderella stories go,...
October 9, 2012 12:10 AM ET
Lonesome Dreams | ALBUM REVIEW

"Oh, there's a river that winds on forever/I'm gonna see where it leads," begins Lord Huron's debut LP, campfire strumming and robust vocal harmonies ghosted by tuneful howls somewhere between cowboy yodels and coyote bays. Ben Schneider's...
October 9, 2012 12:05 AM ET
YOKOKIMTHURSTON | ALBUM REVIEW

Near the start of this abstract collaboration, Yoko Ono seems to cackle "mwah-ha-ha!" amid groans, chants, improvised poetry and impressionistic sex noises. Humor was part of the pioneering sound art she explored with John Lennon...
October 5, 2012 10:15 AM ET
Until the Quiet Comes | ALBUM REVIEW

Making music for those post-bong-hit moments where even the dust balls in your bedroom seem wholly resplendent, Steven "Flying Lotus" Ellison has a taste for 21st-century soul jazz with swarming high-end displays – a whirl of high-hats,...
October 5, 2012 10:00 AM ET
Fanatic | ALBUM REVIEW

When Ann Wilson shouts, "Eat it raw!" on "59 Crunch" in that same hood-rat, kiss-my-ass-Robert Plant holler that marked 30 years of classic rock burners, you suspect she isn't referring to a vegan lunch. Back with producer...
October 2, 2012 12:15 AM ET