As time has gone on, music has splintered further into sub-genres. Technology has allowed anyone with the inclination to make and release an album, and it’s also easier for music fans to focus their attention on a single obscure sub-genre. It’s possible that someone’s making great music in their room, and the rest of the world won’t find out until fifty years later.
As well as the cultural dominance of hip hop, the 2010s has seen mainstream pop music be taken seriously and flourish. It’s not surprising people have gravitated towards escapism in this decade of environmental concerns and Donald Trump as President of the United States.
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Julien Baker grew up in Tennessee, attending Church and learning on her father’s guitar. She played in bands named Star…
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Indie folk and Americana band Big Thief are based in Brooklyn, but their sound recalls the rustic feel of The…
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Nigeria’s Burna Boy was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu. He’s connected with Nigerian musical royalty – his grandfather once managed Afrobeat…
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Siblings Eva and Sam Hendricks grew up in Westport, Connecticut. Eva Hendricks dabbled in musical theatre and sang jingles for…
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Brandy Clark was born in Morton, Washington, a small logging town. She grew up enamoured with country music, naming the…
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From Richmond, Virginia, Lucy Dacus is the daughter of a music teacher. She was raised in a Christian family, and…
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Newcastle Upon Tyne’s errant folkie Richard Dawson is prolific, releasing a deluge of material as a solo artist, in collaborations…
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When Lana Del Rey emerged with the viral single ‘Video Games’ in 2011, she wasn’t someone who I expected to…
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Jenn Wassner is talented and prolific. She’s a member of Wye Oak and Bon Iver, and she’s collaborated with Titus…
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In the heady days of the 1990s, it felt like Beck was the apex of post-modern innovation, blurring the lines…
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Gob Nation are a South London-based group of musicians who live in a former care home and play in different…
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Ariana Grande-Butera was born in Boca Raton, Florida to an Italian-American heritage. She started her career in musicals and as…
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A trio of sisters from California, HAIM take their name from Este, Danielle, and Alana’s surname. The group grew up…
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Julia Holter was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was young. She studied music at…
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Jason Isbell joined Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley as a guitarist and vocalist in acclaimed Southern Rock band, The Drive-By…
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Michelle Zauner was born in South Korea and started her music career with Philadelphia emo band Little Big League. She…
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Introduction Amber Bain’s big break came in 2012 when she was introduced to The 1975’s Matt Healy. Still a teenager,…
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Carly Rae Jepsen placed third on Canadian Idol in 2007, performing songs by Janis Ian and Rickie Lee Jones. She…
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Little Simz is a London-based rapper, singer, and actor with Nigerian heritage. She became a public figure in her mid-teens; in…
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Brooklyn’s Taja Cheek comes from a family entwined in the music business – her grandfather ran a jazz club and…
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Mitski Miyawaki was born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother. She studied at Purchase College’s Conservatory of…
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Born in a nomad camp, Niger’s Mdou Moctar first came to prominence after the release of his debut album, 2008’s Anar.…
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Janelle Monáe Robinson is an intimidatingly talented auteur. As a musician, she’s a capable singer, rapper, songwriter, producer, and dancer,…
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Rachel Ann Morris took the stage name Rae Morris, a strange choice given that she shares her handle with a…
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Born in Texas, a year before fellow country star Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves has followed a markedly different musical path.…
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Moscow-based artist Kate NV was born Eaterina Shilonosova in Kazan, Russia’s fifth largest city. She’s a woman of many talents…
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Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen hails from St. Louis Missouri, where she was raised by a foster family. Because of the age…
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Natalie Prass was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. She went to Berklee College of Music…
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The sophisticated monologues of London electronic duo Real Lies have an obvious precedent. It’s hard not to compare them with…
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Dawn Richard was born in New Orleans, of Louisiana Creole and Haitian descent. Her family moved to Baltimore after they…
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Porter Weston Robinson grew up in Chapel Hill, a town in North Carolina that also produced James Taylor, George Hamilton IV,…
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Rosalía Vila Tobella was raised in a small town in northern Barcelona, Spain. She was singing with her father at…
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When I started this site, I wouldn’t have considered reviewing a country-pop teenage starlet, but Taylor Swift has enjoyed a…
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Solána Imani Rowe was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up with a Christian mother and a Muslim father.…
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As a teenager, Tirzah Mastin was on the path to becoming a classically trained harpist. Attending music school, she found…
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Math-rock band tricot formed in Kyoto in 2010, releasing their debut album in 2013. Tricot spent time as an all-female…
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Tyler Gregory Okonma, better known as Tyler, the Creator, has enjoyed a rapid career evolution over the last decade. He’s…
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Ezra Koenig and drummer Chris Tomson started playing together in a rap collaboration named “L’Homme Run” while attending Columbia University.…
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Jessie Ware is the UK’s most likeable mainstream pop star. I struggle with mega-sellers like Adele and Ed Sheeran, but…
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Katie Crutchfield started playing music in high school with her twin sister Alison. Inspired by DIY punk and Rilo Kiley,…
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Tamara Lindeman, also known as Tamara Hope, was a notable actor before she became a musician. She grew up in…
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Wolf Alice started in 2010 as an acoustic duo when singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie met on an…
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Chicago’s Jamila Woods is a recording artist and writer. She graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Africana Studies…
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Charlotte Emma Aitchison took her stage name from her teenage MSN Messenger handle. Of part Indian heritage, Aitchison experiences sound-to-colour synaesthesia,…
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The 1975 formed as a high school band in Wilmslow, Cheshire, where a council worker organised frequent gigs for teenagers.…
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This page collects album reviews for 2010s artists for whom I’ve only reviewed one or two albums. In 2018 I…
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
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