Ryan Reed is a freelance music/culture writer/editor. He also contributes to Rolling Stone, Relix Magazine, Revolver, Pitchfork, and other publications.
Ryan Reed
Fall Out Boy, ‘Save Rock and Roll’ – Album Review
For us Fall Out Boy freaks, the past decade has been a disorienting whirlwind. What once began as a pop-smart, heart-on-sleeve emo outfit has gradually swelled -- album by album -- into an overblown arena-pop caricature. But even if diehard fans have found this transition perplexing, FOB have worked wonders with their ironic musical absurdity.
James Blake, ‘Overgrown’ – Album Review
Dubstep, in principle, is about dissolving into the ether. It's music with very specific parameters: drowsy BPMs, wobbly sub-bass, the click-clack patter of digital percussion -- repetitive soundscapes for the dance floors in our lonely brains. But as with any genre, those parameters have become tiring; artists like James Blake have used dubstep as a jumping-off point, blending the genre's icy ele
The Besnard Lakes, ‘Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO’ – Album Review
If you had to pick one track that best represents the Besnard Lakes sound, it'd be 'The Spectre,' a gushing waterfall of sonic mysticism from the band's fourth studio album, 'Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO.' The track -- like the Canadian quartet itself -- is a throwback to the heady spectrum of late-'70s psych-rock, the golden age in which prog and pop were briefly aligned. In its expansive s
Tyler, the Creator, ‘Wolf’ – Album Review
Tyler, the Creator doesn't rap a single line on 'Wolf,' the eponymous intro of his third studio album. But, in its two minutes of overblown absurdity, that track defines this 22-year-old provocateur's overall musical identity: swirling psych-jazz keys, bombastic trap-kit blasts, pointless button-pushing and profanity-laced showboating. "I think you're a f---ing fag," Tyler sings -- in a
Night Beds, ‘Country Sleep’ – Album Review
Winston Yellen's jaw-dropping debut album opens with 'Fateful Heights,' an a capella lullaby sung with simmering passion -- one lonely tenor voice engulfed in eerie silence. In our flashy indie era of Pro-Tools and pitch-correcting, where louder is better and "more" is more, it's an arresting statement of purpose from a songwriter who seems gloriously oblivious to the outside world echoi
Esben and the Witch, ‘Wash the Sins Not Only the Face,’ – Album Review
On their muddled sophomore album, Brighton's Esben and the Witch churn out gothic-tinged art-rock that unfolds in an obscure fog, washing over without truly penetrating.
The trio's heavily hyped debut, 2011's 'Violet Cries,' used the same basic formula: glistening electric guitars, booming tom-toms, and the haunting aphrodisiac croon of vocalist Rachel Davies. But that album also had a sense of dy