The three Robert Hossein films in ‘Wicked Games’ exhibit gender-based power struggles and existentialist tendencies with a touch of absurdism. They could have easily been written by Harold Pinter.

Bill Callahan’s “The Man I’m Supposed to Be” is a call to action, a carpe diem for the advanced middle-age malaise that will eventually come to us all. tinyurl.com/BCallahan25

Alt-country's Boy Golden duets with newcomer Cat Clyde in the search for the meaning of love in "Cowboy Dreams". 'Best of Our Possible Lives' releases on 2/13/26 via @sixshooterrecords.bsky.social WATCH: tinyurl.com/BoyGold25

This year shall go down as the year when #Kpop was made for people who don't like it. The approach that once defined its innovation now repels its purists. READ: tinyurl.com/K-pop2025

Brandi Carlile has returned to herself, but it doesn’t mean isolation; she is her own awareness, embracing community, knowing what to treasure, and making sure to speak it. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Brandi25

One of Emmylou Harris's most unusual releases, SPYBOY expands her catalog, offering many revelatory glimpses into a unique facet of her artistry. READ: www.popmatters.com/emmylou-harr...

For listeners drawn to the art of hip-hop, the music meant to stand the test of time, Armand Hammer and the Alchemist's MERCY is a feast. MERCY is a #PMPick out now via @backwoodzstudioz.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Armand25

GWAR have always existed on the edge of chaos, a grotesque blend of satire, violence, and spectacle, but now, it's predictable and choreographed. READ: tinyurl.com/GWAR25

GWAR have always existed on the edge of chaos, a grotesque blend of satire, violence, and spectacle, but now, it's predictable and choreographed. READ: tinyurl.com/GWAR25

Whitney's new album, 'Small Talk', is less about drifting through melancholy and more about staying still long enough to understand it. #PMPick out now via @awalofficial.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/WhitneyLP25

SPRINTS remain emotive but more polished and reflective, questioning rather than acting—though often admitting defeat as the songs grow louder. 'All That Is Over' is a #PMPick out now via @subpop.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/SPRINTS25

Derived from a dream, the Mountain Goats' new musical tells the intimate and vivid tale of the lone survivors from a shipwrecked crew. 'Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan' is out now. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MtnGoats25

'Tremor' feels like the start of a brand new chapter for Daniel Avery. While he paints with a lot of familiar colors, there are also many new shades. 'Tremor' is a #PMPick out now via @dominorecordco.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DAvery25

Shudder to Think pick up where they left off with two new singles, “Thirst Walk” and “Playback”. tinyurl.com/k2etreuh

NEW SONG: Gorillaz Innovate on "The God of Dying" This is the sound of Gorillaz at their most innovative yet reassuringly familiar.

The Lemonheads' Evan Dando's long-awaited memoir is an engaging, sometimes harrowing, trip through the 1990s alternative rock boom.

Like Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Wrembel and his group are crowd-pleasers, taking music that is technically complex and making it instantly enjoyable. 'Django New Orleans II – Hors-Série' is a #PMPick out Friday. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Wrembel25

'Gate of Horn' highlights a set of new recordings of blues pianist Memphis Slim's best tunes, mostly credited to LC. Frazier, one of Slim's several pseudonyms. 'At the Gate of Horn (Remastered 2025)' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @craftrecordings.bsky.social. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Memphis1959

Rosalía's 'Lux' may seem, at first, hard to read as pop, but it’s as pop as religion, one of its inspirations. The very act of calling it pop is an act of faith in the power of music. 'Lux' is a #PMPick [9/10] REVIEW: tinyurl.com/RosaliaLP

The experimental duo of Jamie Lidell and Luke Schneider have delivered an otherworldly soundtrack to dreams—and the spaces between them. 'A Companion for the Spaces Between Dreams' is a #PMPick out now. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/JamieLuke

Joe McGinniss, Jr.’s memoir, ‘Damaged People’, takes on intergenerational trauma, familial curses, and true crime’s tenacious hold on art. READ: tinyurl.com/DmgdPpl

At turns a twisty whodunit, historical drama, tender family comedy, and farcical urban safari, 'The Lowdown' overwhelms, but never wears you down. #FILM

Mavis Staples wraps her vast musical experience in honeyed tones. A sweetness comes across even as she sings about war and injustice, as well as joy and happiness. 'Sad and Beautiful World' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @antirecords.bsky.social.

Pavement's new best-of compilation offers a more concise and moderately updated, although non-essential, retrospective of the beloved band. Out Friday via @matadorrecords.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/HecklersCh

Listening to Paul St. Hilaire's new LP makes you feel like you're submerged 10,000 feet underwater, yet you don't mind—all you want to do is dive deeper into the murk. #PMPick [9/10] REVIEW: tinyurl.com/St-Hilaire25

10 David Gray Songs You Need to Hear (That Aren't "Babylon") David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion' is out in a new anniversary deluxe edition. We delve into his rich archive to recommend tunes that showcase his songwriting brilliance. READ: tinyurl.com/DavidGray10

Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.

‘Die My Love’ is about destruction and the tearing down of things, including, sadly, the film itself. READ: tinyurl.com/DMLRamsay

Tortoise's TOUCH is a cinematic record that is profoundly human and entirely spectral. It’s a world unto itself, filled with beautiful landmarks and perplexing questions. TOUCH is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @intlanthem.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Tortoise25

The music is beautiful in jazz pianist Aaron Parks' new album, but the truth of 'By All Means' is more wonderful and complicated than that. #PMPick out now via @bluenoterecords.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AaronParks25

Laufey is a prodigious talent, but also immensely relatable: she's a nerd, and everyone was at the concert because, well, we're all nerds too. – @adrienbegrand.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/LaufeyLive25

Working with the acclaimed JACK Quartet, the multitalented Travis Laplante unleashes compositions of intensity and beauty on 'String Quartets'. 'String Quartets' is a #PMPick [9/10] out now via @newamrecords.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Laplante25

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of November 2025 Yellow Eyes are in their finest moment, Barren Path rise from the ashes of Gridlink, Blut Aus Nord navigate dreamscapes, and more. READ: tinyurl.com/BestMetal1125

Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.

‘Chequered!’ is an obscure, long-out-of-print “psychedelic” album from 1971 by the most unlikely musician: Chubby Checker, the man behind the 1960 hit “The Twist”.

The Beach Boys’ biography ‘Surf’s Up’ makes sense of a clan of brothers who created some of the most dazzling pop of the 20th century. READ: tinyurl.com/BeachBoysPD

David Garland's 'The Spark' may be an expression of loss, but it also overflows with kindness, positivity, and the endless curiosity of a truly original artist. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/DGarland25

With their new album, the Dears add some complex sounds to expand their universe, even if their consistency was never in question. @thedears.bsky.social's Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! is out on 7 Nov. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TheDears25

Naked Eyes' 1983 debut, 'Burning Bridges', is a good album for reflecting on our ironic modern world, as it can't help but wax nostalgic for the sincerity of the past. READ: tinyurl.com/NakedEyes83

Sessa makes magic. Refreshing musical subtleties and emotional complexities make 'Peqeuna Vertigem de Amor' worth repeat listens. #PMPick out 7 Nov via @mexicansummer.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Sessa2025

Whether intentionally or not, Babymetal's "Elevator Girl" feels like an unspoken pop culture echo of one of the most chilling and inexplicable deaths of the digital era. READ: tinyurl.com/ElevGirl

How Vampires Became Rock Stars The mythical creature of ancient folklore relentlessly feeds on our creative works, and through generations, we willingly succumb to the #vampire made rock star. #Halloween READ: tinyurl.com/VmpRckStrs

Can the #NoKings protest humor shrivel away authoritarianism?

In Hollywood’s eternal battle between the puritan and the prurient, Arthur Hiller's ‘Promise Her Anything’ shows the puritan still holds the whip. Oh, baby. READ: tinyurl.com/PrmsAnthng

Music theorist Steven Rings helps readers understand Bob Dylan the performer, not the lyricist or songwriter, in a welcome and indispensable addition to Dylan scholarship. READ: tinyurl.com/DylanRings

If there’s an undercurrent throughout the Japanese horror in 'Daiei Gothic Vol. 2', it’s how women's suffering is so embedded in Japanese folklore. READ: tinyurl.com/HorrorDaiei

Wolf Parade's 2005 Debut Is Still a Revelation 20 Years Later The group's haphazard formation and instant momentum yielded their most captivating work, including what would become their defining anthem. READ: tinyurl.com/WolfParade05

These are the last songs of a dying man, #SouthernRock's Tommy Talton, joined by his peers. He's just doing what he loves one more time with his friends. #Americana REVIEW: tinyurl.com/TommyTalton

Argentine singer Milo J's 'La Vida Era Más Corta' is a display of youth inserting itself into an ancient landscape with more pride in its history than anxiety about modernizing it. #PMPick REVIEW: tinyurl.com/MiloJ2025

This music fascinates and scintillates. '2' is an exciting new step for Yalla Miku as the group harness their collective chemistry and finds ways to elevate it. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/YallaMiku