Kim Petras : Detour Review
By Shannon Smith
On Dreamer+, Sassy 009 confirms what attentive listeners have been sensing for a while now: this is an artist who no longer treats production as a backdrop, but as the primary narrative force. Across twelve tracks, she builds a unified sonic language where beats, synths, vocal processing, and transitions work together as a story of evolving forms. This album develops moments with intent.
What stands out immediately is cohesion. Dreamer+ flows with a confidence that comes from knowing exactly what sonic world it inhabits. Even as guest artists enter the frame, the album never splinters [...]
by Shannon Smith
“Gut Punch” is Nick Jonas’ single that feels like a wake-up call. Right from the start, his 2026 lead single is motivational, not because it comforts you, but because it makes you stop and think. The song asks a bold question for a New Year’s release: Are you really seeing things as they are, or are you hurting yourself with mistaken feelings and assumptions? That moment of useful doubt is where the song really connects.
Lyrically, “Gut Punch” names a familiar but rarely dramatized antagonist: the inner voice that reframes neutral moments into personal failures. Jonas doesn’t dramatize heartbreak or [...]
By Steven Miller
With Triangulation, the Steve Morse Band delivers an album that prioritizes structural compositional intent and agile playing. While Steve Morse’s virtuosity is never in question, what stands out across these nine tracks is how carefully the material is built. Each selection has a groove-first foundation, interesting flow of articulated sections, and solo spaces that feel like an extension of the composition. This is an album that rewards attentive listening, particularly for musicians interested in how form, texture, and interaction shape high-level instrumental rock music.
From [...]
by Steven Miller
Sydney Irving’s Unfashioned Creatures is a songwriter’s album through and through. This collection blends Americana rock, pop-rock punch, and folk-rooted storytelling into a set of tracks that are musically purposeful and catchy. Irving’s greatest strength is her ability to shape each song from the inside out by letting singing, arrangement, and lyrical direction work together to create a clear, satisfying emotional flow. The result is a record that feels tied together by a writer who knows how to build a song that moves.
As an opening statement, “You Can’t Forget About Me” wastes no [...]
by Steven Miller
Brad Mehldau has always walked the borders between musical worlds. On Ride Into the Sun, he threads genres into a single, glowing tapestry. This 16-track cycle arrives as a summation of so many influences that have shaped Mehldau’s pianistic universe. The lyricism of jazz piano, the harmonic intensity of 20th-century classical music, the earthy pulse of 60s folk-rock, the open-hearted warmth of Americana, and his enduring fascination with counterpoint. What makes this album feel different is its sense of architecture. These stylistic excursions are movements in a unified work, each track feeding the next with [...]
Pat Metheny continues to build a catalog that is diverse and focused on making music from a space of creativity and love of sounds that elicit emotions. Metheny’s latest album, From This Place, is no exception and features ten compositions by Metheny that have the Hollywood Studio Symphony supporting a traditional jazz quartet. Metheny is joined by his long-time drummer, Antonio Sanchez, Malaysian / Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh, and British pianist Gwilym Simcock. The Hollywood Studio Symphony is conducted by Joel McNeely. Also, special guest Meshell Ndegeocello (vocals), Gregoire Maret (harmonica), and [...]
Tom Keifer, former front man of the rock band Cinderella, has an instantly recognizable voice. The singer and his #Keiferband are releasing their second album titled, Rise, on Cleopatra Records. The album presents eleven tracks that feature Keifer’s gritty vocals with blues-infused hard rock. The album has a theme of overcoming challenges with the music being written by Tom Keifer, Savannah Keifer and Kendra Chantelle. The band line up is, Keifer vocals, his wife — percussionist, pianist and singer Savannah Keifer — and backing singer/percussionist Kendra Chantelle and the #keiferband, which is lead and rhythm guitarist Tony Higbee, bassist Billy Mercer, [...]
Martin Hayes and Brooklyn Rider are releasing a new album via In a Circle Records titled, The Butterfly. The album contains twelve tracks, ten are traditional melodies and two tracks are original compositions. Recorded in 2016, the album celebrates a decade-long musical friendship between renowned Irish fiddler and New York’s omnivorous string quartet. In addition to featuring the premiere recording of “Maghera Mountain,” (written by Hayes as a teenager), The Butterfly sought to define a common ground through the inclusion of several of the most widely known tunes within the repertoire, such as “O’Neill’s March” and [...]
Hilary Hahn is a three-time Grammy Award-winning violinist with international recognition for her probing interpretations, compelling stage presence, and commitment to new music and the commission process. Hahn fills her days with extensive tours and is very active on social media. Hahn’s dynamic recordings have made her one of the most sought-after artists of this era. She appears regularly with the world’s elite orchestras and on prestigious recital series in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Hailed as one of the greatest violinists in the world today, Hahn’s latest project is a recording of 6 Partitas for Solo Violin by Spanish [...]
