Last Saturday evening, the overwhelmingly beautiful, Audrey Hepburn-esque Annie Clark, a.k.a St. Vincent, performed a stellar set of songs from her latest Beggars Banquet release Marry Me. I've watched her play solo via the internet before, but her independent renditions just don't do her record justice. For the first time, Clark nearly duplicated the orchestral vibe strewn throughout her debut album, incorporating sampling and the backing of a three-piece band. I'm beginning to believe... more ›

Boxer, out May 22 on Beggars Banquet, is the kind of record that makes you want to do nothing with your life. More specifically, The National’s fourth, full-length album is an offering of unfussy rock that is neither sentimental nor whiny, rather, a perfectly romanticized malaise that could convince even the most upwardly mobile type-A to consider a path of murky, scotch-fueled depression. Matt Berninger’s confident and dreamy bass-baritone opens the record by quietly guiding... more ›