Listening Booth
Charli XCX Toys with Stardom on “BRAT”
The artist has often treated pop music as a game—something to play with so she doesn’t get bored, and something that reliably creates winners and losers.
By Kelefa Sanneh
Ariana Grande Takes Romantic Inventory on “Eternal Sunshine”
The pop star’s latest album charts the longing that accompanies the end of a relationship, but she also can’t resist playing the role of plucky provocateur.
By Hanif Abdurraqib
Chelsea Wolfe’s Eclectic Hauntings
Through seven studio albums, including her latest, “She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She,” Wolfe has stretched gothic sounds and themes beyond the boundaries of genre.
By Hanif Abdurraqib
Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday” Sequel Is Pure Spectacle
The rapper’s new album harkens back to her début, but it mostly serves as a reminder that times have drastically changed.
By Hanif Abdurraqib
André 3000 Disrupts Our Sense of Time
André Benjamin’s début solo album of deeply soothing instrumental music asks for little beyond our attention.
By Hua Hsu
PinkPantheress Is a Hopeless Romantic
On her new album, “Heaven Knows,” the Gen Z songstress displays a yearning quality that’s surprisingly difficult to locate in today’s splintered, chaotic pop world.
By Carrie Battan
Nanci Griffith’s Lone Star State of Mind
The late singer-songwriter rarely felt at home either in her native Texas or in the music industry, but her nostalgic ditties of girlhood captured a potent sense of place.
By Rachel Syme
Drake’s Era of Masculine Frustration
On his new album, “For All the Dogs,” the star rapper wallows in his discontent.
By Carrie Battan
The Replacements Are Still a Puzzle
The reissue of “Tim” shows both the prescience and the unrealized promise of the beloved band.
By Elizabeth Nelson
Olivia Rodrigo’s Star-Making “Guts”
The singer’s new album comes loaded with expectations about her talent and the future of the music industry.
By Carrie Battan