Review: Björk – Homogenic
The singer throws up lyrics about pursuit and desertion. A snare drum lightly skips across a series of bass pinpoints, an organic foundation unthinkable before…
Review: U2 – Pop
This review first ran in the April 1997 issue of Spin. To mark the 20th anniversary of U2's Pop—originally released March 3, 1997—we're republishing it here.
The B-52’s, ‘Funplex’ (Astralwerks)
Sixteen years have passed since these Athens, Georgia natives last pondered love, sex, and outer space over untamed dance beats. Here, they refresh all their…
Booka Shade, ‘DJ-Kicks’ (!K7)
The Berlin-based duo of Arno Kammermeier and Walter Merziger up the sonic intrigue on tracks by Heaven 17, Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, the Tubes (!),…
Gliss, ‘Love the Virgins’ (Cordless)
These Los Angelenos approach their hometown's timeless decadence with a bummed-out but exhilarating rigor: Digitized romantic obsession ("I Want You"), swaggering degradation ("Innocent Eyes"), country-rock…
The National, ‘Boxer’ (Beggars Banquet)
Since 1999, this Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati quintet has been trying to fuse poetic lyrics, cinematic pull, and nervy, restless rock in a singular way. And on their…
Emilie Simon, ‘The Flower Book’ (Milan)
Simon is a Parisian songwriter with a demure, crackly voice whose music is rooted in Björk-esque notions of how technology and nature stream together. And…
Damien Rice, ‘9’ (Heffa/Vector/Warner)
Introspection and noise are infrequent bedfellows, but they get fully tangled up in the work of singer/songwriter Damien Rice. Following his lauded 2003 debut O…
