Posts by Ryan Dillon

At this point in contemporary music, mentioning Janet Jackson is a no-brainer. A product of a dominant and historically overbearing musical family, by the time she was a teenage actor, her name had already been attached to worldwide phenomena and wildly successful records. Inevitably, Jackson should step into the blinding spotlight of this legacy, pass […]

Puscifer, at this point in their storied discography, are more defined by the spaces they’ve left open than the ones they’ve occupied. The amorphous brainchild of Maynard James Keenan has been one of the most imaginative bands of its time, stretching its songwriting and open-mindedness to rock’s most experimental corners, employing loose definitions to set […]

It is hard to believe we have reached the final New Music Friday of the first month of 2026, and what a start it has been. So far this year, music fans have been hit with an overabundance of terrific releases from across the genre spectrum, and the month isn’t going out without one last […]

How does a musician become someone’s favorite? With the treasure trove of incredibly talented people releasing music at a dizzying pace, how do some rise within our souls to the point of obsession? Is it an innate prowess in the music itself, a more complex emotional connection, or an amalgamation of collected data, analyzed by […]

When most people think of samples in Hip-hop, they think of classic soul and funk records. A beautifully haunting vocal sample from a singer lost in the shuffle, a recognizable James Brown drum break, or even a floating horn sample from jazz’s Golden Age. Sometimes, an obscure moment in a record can catch the right […]

Animal Collective, one of the more innovative and enduring acts to emerge from alt-pop in recent memory, is slowly becoming the centerpiece of a finely tuned machine. While members like Panda Bear and Avey Tare have been shaping solo discographies of their own for years now, other members of the forward-thinking collective are stepping into […]

Life has a funny way of placing you right where you need to be. The journey could be a long and confusing one, but it ultimately lands you in your own corner of the universe, a customizable reality all of your own. For Jen Keenan, head honcho at the soon-to-be iconic Queen B Vinyl Cafe, […]

A large majority of the States are preparing for snow-in conditions this weekend. While impending inclement weather is a scary sight, the universe has an odd way of giving you exactly what you need when you need it. As we prepare for a few days indoors, a busy New Music Friday arrives right on time, […]

The internet is a tool, and one that has been essential in the art of music discovery. If you steer clear of the dark online corners where no light dares to shine, the power of this pocket-sized access to the world can introduce us to new ideas and ways of life. The pinnacle of music […]

The Growlers are one of the more beloved yet underappreciated acts to emerge from California in the past twenty years, and that timeframe becomes even more significant in 2026. This year marks twenty years since The Growlers formed in the early aughts, and officially makes it six years since the Brooks Nielsen-led project performed live […]

Some samples breathe new life into forgotten classics, while others recontextualize a song’s place in contemporary music more than anything else. Not every iconic sample in Hip-hop had to be dug up from the depths of basements lined with damaged sleeves and vinyl; some have been sitting in our souls long before they were flipped […]

The last time we heard from The Format, the pop duo of Nate Ruess and Sam Means, the world was a much different place. The band’s previous LP arrived twenty years ago in the summer of 2006, and if anyone ever asks what that summer sounded like, The Format’s Dog Problems is a good place […]

As the sun sets later in the day, the world seems to come back to life. As we finally shake off any leftover holiday residue, we are heading into 2026 with a full head of steam and a revamped playlist thanks to this stacked New Music Friday. From innovative jazz giants returning to the solo […]

For all the millions upon millions of songs that have found their way to streaming services, a large number of records are still missing. While this does not mean it is impossible to find these records online, thanks to fellow music enthusiasts with the wherewithal to take vinyl and upload it to YouTube, it requires […]

The term “instant classic” has been disputed by some great minds throughout music history, but one could argue that they’re missing the point of this phrase. When terms like this begin to pop up around recently released LPs from young artists, most are immediately dismissive. How could something that has only been in the world […]

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, two of the more celebrated and beloved experimental composers in contemporary music, were put into a unique situation for Tragic Magic. The duo’s 7-song collaborative LP was created in just 9 days with producer Trevor Spencer at the Philharmonie de Paris, where rare instruments are collected. The duo was given […]

It is hard to believe that Oxis, the marine-based electronic singer/songwriter/producer, only started her series of self-titled releases three years ago. Her music reaches a level of intimacy and vulnerable storytelling that makes listening to it feel like a chat with an old, prophetic friend, someone you never forget but can never pin down for […]

Glide is happy to welcome everyone to 2026. We hope you all had a fun, safe, and relaxing holiday, and that the slow transition back into reality isn’t overwhelming. With the holiday break and 2025 in our rearview mirror, we spent our break revamping our machines at the Old Caustic factory to bring you the […]

There has been a lot of talk about Hip-hop since it dropped from the top of the charts over the past few years. Country music with a pop edge has become the new norm for TikTok trends and the Billboard charts, removing the genre from the monotonous top it had occupied for years. This occurrence […]

2025 was a hectic year in many regards. While it is easy to get caught up in our newsfeed and consume whatever is put in front of us, some of life’s magic always seems to be just past people’s perception. Falling victim to the news cycle is no one’s fault; it’s almost an inevitability in […]