songwriting

Rod Stewart has traded in his footloose and fancy free ways of yore for cozy scenes from the September of his years. And, well, it's kind of boring.

Is Majical Cloudz' album bold? Yes. Is it boring? Yes, but ultimately, it reminds us of something very important: that we are alive.

Chvrches opened this writer’s eyes to the sham that is the cult of Musical Authenticity.

A great performer plays with the audience's idea of who the human being behind the character is. Lana Del Rey is a great performer.

Our writer reflects on location and sobriety while listening to a country superstar's unfiltered, evocative and hilarious record.

Many Eagles hits had a country twang. Henley's new album builds from those roots, creating equally pleasing if more pared-down songs.

This might be the only piece about Luke Bryan that compares him to Keith Sweat or to Pharrell Williams wielding an axe while doing a two-step.

On Sufjan Stevens’ spare, lo-fi and brilliant new album, joy wages epic battle with desperation and mortality. Spoiler alert: joy wins.

Freedy Johnston bows to no one living as a creator of songs of lasting value — intimate, strange, universal. His latest album is no exception.

Filled with songs that are a mysterious amalgam of the personal and the universal, the legendary Rickie Lee Jones' new album is one of her best.

Two great songwriters from two different generations sit down in an Austin hotel room and compare notes and stories.

The Tallest Man On Earth’s Dark Bird Is Home is a lush meditation on movement and emotional pathfinding.