Luke Howley

Leisure

Critical Voices: Tennis, Cape Dory

Escapism is a prevalent theme in today’s music scene (I’m looking at you, Katy Perry enthusiasts). But how many artists actually live out the messages of their songs about the teenage dream? Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, the married couple who make up Tennis, are some of the few who do.

By January 20, 2011

Leisure

Critical Voices: Matt & Kim, Sidewalks

On Sidewalks, Brooklyn drum-‘n-keys duo Matt & Kim stick to the formula of enthusiastic pop tunes with a twinge of youthful nostalgia that they established on their 2009 breakout album, Grand. By singing about concrete, sidewalks, and sleeping on rooftops, these wistful teenagers find joy adrift in an urban landscape.

By November 4, 2010

Leisure

Critical Voices: Sufjan Stevens, Age of Adz

In 2004, Sufjan Stevens announced an audacious plan to write an album for each of the fifty states, beginning with 2003’s Michigan and moving south to Illinois in 2005. Then, in 2009, Stevens announced that the “Fifty State Project” was nothing more than a publicity stunt, and that he was starting anew.

By October 7, 2010