The Quiet Return of Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens

Introducing The Pitchfork Review: This is the trailer for The Pitchfork Review. Subscribe to get new episodes every Friday at midnight, starting July 10th. by The Pitchfork Review

1 min listen

Request Line: How to Deal With 2020: A few months ago, we launched the Pitchfork Request Line, asking listeners to call in with requests for music to soundtrack whatever is going on in their lives. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is answering your requests along with Contributing Editors Rawiya Kameir and Philip Sherburne. They take calls from a midwestern transplant who’s nostalgic for her suburban D.C. hometown, a Mancunian looking to recapture the feeling of his city’s famously vibrant live music scene, and a father who’s teaching his kids music history by way of Willie Nelson. They also discuss the music they’ve been turning to for comfort during a difficult year. by The Pitchfork Review

40 min listen

The Revolution Will Be TikTok'd: In this week's episode of The Pitchfork Review, Editor-in-Chief Puja Patel discusses TikTok's effect on the music industry, with Pitchfork staffer Cat Zhang. by The Pitchfork Review

22 min listen

Teaser: “The Revolution Will Be TikTok’d”: This is a clip from upcoming episode "The Revolution Will Be TikTok'd" by The Pitchfork Review

3 min listen

The National’s Matt Berninger on the Music That Made Him: Next month, Matt Berninger of The National will release Serpentine Prison, his first solo album, produced by the legendary Memphis multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones. On this episode, Berninger chats with Pitchfork Staff Writer Sam Sodomsky about the songs that shaped him as a musician and informed the new album, touching on his childhood infatuation with Olivia Newton-John, The Smiths and U2 records he blasted while getting pelted with golf balls at his first job, and The National’s early aspirations to emulate the Silver Jews. by The Pitchfork Review

22 min listen

It’s Time to Take Enya Seriously: For years, Enya’s music was treated as a cultural punchline, the eerily soothing soundtrack to countless crystal shops and Pure Moods commercials. But lately, a new generation of artists—from Weyes Blood to Nicki Minaj—is proudly claiming the misunderstood Irish auteur as an influence. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Contributing Editor Jenn Pelly, a recently converted Enya fanatic, for a discussion about the depth and complexity of Enya’s artistry and the ways she maintained creative control of her music and image in a male-dominated industry. Next week, Pitchfork will publish Pelly’s longform written feature on Enya's blooming influence in 2020, featuring interviews with many of the artists who look to her as a guiding light. by The Pitchfork Review

28 min listen

Why Do We Even Listen to New Music?: Why Should You Listen to New Music? In this week's episode of The Pitchfork Review, Editor-in-Chief Puja Patel discusses this question with Reviews Editor Jeremy Larson. by The Pitchfork Review

17 min listen

The Endurance of Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways: Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Staff Writer Sam Sodomsky and Contributing Editor Andy Cush as they break down Dylan’s comeback albums and discuss his most recent album. by The Pitchfork Review

21 min listen

Will We Ever See Live Music Again?: It’s been six months since the live music industry operated under any semblance of normalcy in the U.S., thanks to COVID-19. Which means most of us haven’t seen a proper show in at least that long. When will concerts come back, and what needs to happen before they do? Are outdoor events and reduced-capacity venues safe and financially viable options? Can a livestream really match the energy of an in-person performance? On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by two veterans of putting on shows—Kristen Kaza, co-founder of Chicago’s beloved Slo ‘Mo series of queer dance parties, and Adam Krefman, Pitchfork’s own Executive Director of Festivals—to discuss those questions, as well as their own experiences with navigating the pandemic’s challenges by The Pitchfork Review

30 min listen

Pitchfork Request Line: Road Trips & Campfires: After its launch a few weeks ago, the Pitchfork Request Line is still ringing off the hook with listeners calling in for recommendations of music to soundtrack their lives. This week, we’re taking requests from an aspiring metalhead, a road tripper making a move from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and someone who just wants to get the hell out of 2020, if only for the length of a song. If you want to get a recommendation of your own, give us a call at (917) 524-7371 and tell us a story about what’s going on in your life right now. by The Pitchfork Review

25 min listen

Pitchfork Request Line: New Love & Major Heartbreak: A few weeks ago we launched the Pitchfork Review hotline, asking our listeners to call in if they want help finding music to soundtrack their lives. Thank you to everyone who’s called in. It’s been pretty great going through all the voicemails that we’ve gotten in from all over the country and hearing a little bit about what’s going on with you. In this episode, we answer requests for music to get over an ex and music for falling in love, and we also share our personal love and heartbreak stories. If you want to leave us a message to get a recommendation of your own, give us a call at (917) 524-7371. by The Pitchfork Review

25 min listen

Pop Smoke’s Legacy and the Sound of Brooklyn Drill: In this week's episode of The Pitchfork Review, Editor-in-Chief Puja Patel sits down with Pitchfork Staff Writer Alphonse Pierre and Contributing Writer Sheldon Pearce to discuss Pop Smoke’s come up and legacy, Brooklyn drill and its intersections with policing and protests, and the new album. by The Pitchfork Review

23 min listen

Songs of the Summer of Our Discontent: By this time of year, there’s usually consensus around what the “Song of the Summer” is. But 2020 isn’t like any other summer in so many ways, including the pop charts. The Billboard Hot 100 has been all over the place for the past several months, with a new artist rising to the top most weeks, including Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, the Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and DaBaby. In this episode, we’re going to break down what makes a song of the summer and take a look at our favorites from 2020. by The Pitchfork Review

27 min listen

Taylor Swift Loves Indie, Too by The Pitchfork Review

22 min listen

The Pitchfork Review: New Season Preview by The Pitchfork Review

2 min listen

Bjork: Fossora by The Pitchfork Review

35 min listen

Staff Picks: The Year in Rock and Rap: In the latest installment of our year-end podcast coverage, we’re talking about 2020’s best rock and rap albums. Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by News Editor Evan Minsker, Contributing Editor Jayson Greene, and Staff Writers Alphonse Pierre and Madison Bloom, who argue in favor of their personal favorites, from Yves Tumor and U.S. Girls to Westside Gunn and Jay Electronica. They also get into some broader discussions about the state of the genres more generally, including: Which old heads or new kids ruled rap in 2020? And what does “rock” even mean these days? by The Pitchfork Review

59 min listen

Lianne La Havas's Bittersweet Memories: British singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas opens up about the nostalgia of breakup songs, staying true to yourself, her cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes,” and the advice she took from Prince. by The Pitchfork Review

18 min listen

The Quiet Return of Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens: This week brought new albums from a pair of beloved artists who emerged a little over a decade ago as purveyors of artful indie folk: Fleet Foxes, who announced their fourth full-length Shore on Monday and released it 24 hours later, and Sufjan Stevens, whose eighth solo album The Ascension arrives today, September 25. Each has navigated listeners’ weighty expectations in their own way: Fleet Foxes by eschewing promotion and embracing the vibrant simplicity of their early songwriting, and Stevens by avoiding the character sketches and personal narratives of his past albums in favor of broader questions about the state of the world. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Features Editor Ryan Dombal and News Editor Matthew Strauss for a discussion of both albums and the artists who made them. by The Pitchfork Review

30 min listen

Adrianne Lenker Digs Deep: A global pandemic hasn’t slowed the prolific output of Adrianne Lenker, who released her gorgeous solo collections songs and instrumentals this week, not long after making two of 2019’s most celebrated albums with her band Big Thief. On this episode, Lenker chats with Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel about the music that accompanied her occasionally turbulent journey from childhood as a musical prodigy to adulthood as one of her generation’s greatest songwriters. She touches on an early fascination with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, a teenage encounter with the songs of Elliott Smith, and the story behind her Leonard Cohen tattoo. by The Pitchfork Review

42 min listen

Taylor Swift: Midnights by The Pitchfork Review

33 min listen

The Great Year-End Songs Debate: Building Pitchfork’s year-end lists of the best albums and songs is a lengthy and painstaking process, involving careful consideration of the 1,000-plus releases we review each year, and others we may have missed. We include innumerable factors in our decision-making, but sometimes it’s a matter of following instincts: with a gun to your head, which would you choose? On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Reviews Editor Jeremy Larson and Contributing Editor Andy Cush for some good-natured arguments about which songs by some of our favorite artists—like Waxahatchee, Phoebe Bridgers, Destroyer, and Moses Sumney—should make the cut this year. by The Pitchfork Review

51 min listen

100 gecs and the Mystery of Hyperpop: What is hyperpop? A movement? A meaningless label? A Spotify playlist? Whatever the answer, it surely has something to do with 100 gecs, the duo of Laura Les and Dylan Brady, whose songs sometimes sound like the last three decades of popular music happening all at once. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel interviews Les and Brady about their conflicted relationship to the genre they’ve come to embody, as well as their influences—ranging from PC Music to Lil Wayne to John Zorn to Britney Spears—and a new wave of artists who are taking their cues from gecs themselves. by The Pitchfork Review

38 min listen

The Best and Worst of Everything Else: Everything else aside, 2020 was a banner year for music. In addition to some truly stellar albums and songs, there was also plenty of sillier stuff to dig into: misguided anthems about the pandemic, casual covers and collaborations, good and bad tweets galore, and of course, Bernie Sanders introducing the Strokes and Soccer Mommy. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Associate Editor Anna Gaca and News Editor Matthew Strauss for a senior superlatives-style rundown of the best and worst in these categories and more. Thanks for listening to the Pitchfork Review this year! We’ll be back with new episodes in 2021. by The Pitchfork Review

57 min listen

Hopes, Dreams, and Predictions for 2023 by The Pitchfork Review

26 min listen

Afrobeats’ Global Takeover: Over the last several years, American listeners have grown more and more attuned to the sounds of West African pop music—also known as Afrobeats–whether it’s the swaggering Nigerian Afro-fusion of Burna Boy, the playfully genre-bending anthems of Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, or the enthusiastic dabbling of stateside superstars like Drake and Diplo. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Nigerian journalist Joey Akan, publisher of the Afrobeats Intelligence newsletter, and Mankaprr Conteh, Pitchfork Editorial Operations Associate, for a discussion about the music’s global rise and the West’s complicated rush to embrace it, as well as the fraught nature of the term “Afrobeats” itself. by The Pitchfork Review

47 min listen

Best New Music: Alvvays and Special Interest by The Pitchfork Review

32 min listen

When Music Becomes Political Protest: In a year of historic protests, on the eve of a critical election, we’ve been thinking a lot about the place of music in movements for social and political change. In this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel speaks with Jason King, professor at NYU and founding faculty member of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and Allison Hussey, Pitchfork Associate Staff Writer, about the changing role of protest music across American history, from 19th-century Black spirituals to Public Enemy, Lady Gaga, and Janelle Monáe. They also touch on the secret history of a Bob Dylan classic, and the new ways pop stars have engaged with activism in the social media era. by The Pitchfork Review

48 min listen

Fiona Apple’s Perfect 10: Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters isn’t just the best album of 2020, it’s the sort of masterpiece that defines an entire era. On this episode, Pitchfork Editor Puja Patel is joined by Contributing Editor Jenn Pelly, who wrote Pitchfork’s 10 Fetch the Bolt Cutters review and spent the year in communication with Apple for a series of follow-up pieces, and Features Editor Ryan Dombal, who wrote Pitchfork’s previous 10 review a decade ago—for Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy—and worked closely with Pelly on her Apple coverage. The three discuss the brilliance of Fetch the Bolt Cutters, and Apple’s unorthodox approach to making it; as well as the process of deciding that an album should receive a perfect score, and what a 10 really means. by The Pitchfork Review

46 min listen

Boygenius Interview by The Pitchfork Review

32 min listen

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The Quiet Return of Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens

The Quiet Return of Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens

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