Tag: Music Journalism
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![With album covers back in Grammy spotlight, here are some personal winners [Unscripted column]](https://hour24.news/app/uploads/2026/01/image-e7317059-696439e073a512.27450674.jpeg)
With album covers back in Grammy spotlight, here are some personal winners [Unscripted column]
Introduction: A renewed spotlight on album art Music history has always danced between sound and image. On the verge of the 68th annual Grammy Awards, the industry is reigniting attention to a facet that sometimes sits in the shadows: the Best Album Cover. After a 65-year pause, this category is back, inviting both listeners and…
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Pinkshift Earthkeeper and the Power of Punk Activism
Intro: Punk’s enduring call to action Punk has long stood as a microphone for the margins, a genre that turns the volume up on social issues and refuses to stay quiet. Baltimore-based band Pinkshift embodies this lineage, leveraging their music not just to entertain but to condemn injustice, mobilize fans, and push for real-world change.…
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Punk bands still use music to incite change: Pinkshift and Earthkeeper leading a new wave
Punk as a Call to Action: The ongoing role of activism in modern punk For decades, punk rock has refused to stay quiet in the face of social and political injustice. From the early DIY scenes to today’s streaming era, bands have used aggressive riffs, catchy hooks, and uncompromising lyrics to spotlight inequality and mobilize…
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Grief-Driven Masterpieces: How 2025’s Best Albums Reframed Loss Into Longevity
Intro: Grief as a Creative Engine in 2025 The year’s most acclaimed albums chart a surprising and deeply human map of emotion. Far from following a single trend, 2025’s standout records experiment with genre, form, and texture, using grief as a transformative force rather than a simple mood. From intimate piano meditations to expansive sonic…
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CMAT’s Euro-Country: The Ferocious Third Album That Redefines 2025
Introduction: CMAT’s Bold Leap into Euro-Country In the crowded landscape of 2025’s music, CMAT’s third album, Euro-Country, seizes a distinct space. Emerging from a fraught but fiercely creative process in New York, the record positions itself as a fearless fusion of Irish pop wit and global country-inflected sensibilities. It’s an album that doesn’t just chase…
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CMAT’s Euro-Country: How the Irish Indie Star Rewired Her Sound for 2025’s No. 2 Album
Introduction: A Landmark Year in CMAT’s Career CMAT’s third album, Euro-Country, lands at No. 2 on the 50 best albums of 2025 list, signaling a bold leap forward for the Irish singer-songwriter. After the mercurial success of 2023’s Crazymad, for Me — which earned critical acclaim and a Mercury nomination yet felt unsatisfactory to the…
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Addison Rae: The Guardian’s Artist of the Year and the Price of Fame
Introduction: A Year Unlike Any Other When the music world looks back on the year 2024, one name stands out not just for chart positions but for the cultural conversation it sparked: Addison Rae. The Guardian crowned her Artist of the Year, an honor that captures a performer’s ascent from social-media sensation to a central…
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Everyone Can Dream: Could You Be Haim’s Fourth Sister? A Closer Look at the Fan Power and Pop Culture Hype
Introduction: The Notion of a Fourth Haim Sister In the whirlwind world of pop music, fans often imagine themselves stepping onto stage alongside their favorite artists. A playful, if unlikely, fantasy has taken hold lately: could any regular fan become the fourth Haim sister? The conversation started with a late-night exchange between a sister duo…
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Ireland’s Alt Music Scene: How a Nation Built a World-Class Irish Alternative Sound
Ireland’s alternative music scene didn’t emerge overnight or in a single city; it grew from a culture of DIY energy, intimate clubs, and fearless experimentation that stitched together a nation’s underground into a global force. From Dublin’s gritty basements to Cork’s sunlit street corners, artists, venues, and fans co-created an ecosystem that rewarded risk-taking, collaboration,…
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How Ireland Built the World’s Best Alternative Music Scene
Introduction: A Nation’s Defiant Sound On a sun-drenched Saturday at Glastonbury, a spirited Dublin quartet named Sprints erupts into a jubilant, chaotic pit with the track Descartes. Flags of the Irish tricolor weave through the crowd, a small but potent symbol of a larger, global story: Ireland’s alternative music scene has grown into a powerhouse…