Mercury Staff

David Bazan, Advance Base Last month Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan released Dark Sacred Night, a compilation of his down-tempo renditions of traditional Christmas songs. These 10 mournful covers reflect the stormier emotions the holidays can inspire. Bazan coaxes the darkness out of our annual yearning for “tidings of comfort and joy,” and instead […]

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story No, BB-8 isn’t in this one. BUT WAIT! Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has a bunch of other stuff going for it—like the chance to see badass Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) lead a motley crew of insurgent Rebels as they steal the plans to the Death Star! With […]

TYuS, Cassow, Jonny Cool No musician has ever handled the phrase “these bitches, they love me” with the care and tenderness of Portland’s Tyus. The 20-year-old R&B singer released his debut full-length, Never Forget, in October on Warner Brothers. It’s packed with gossamer slow jams, the kind you’ll want to wrap yourself up in and […]

Robert Glasper Experiment Robert Glasper might be better known for his collaborations than his solo output, but that’s not meant as a knock. He’s worked with Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Anderson .Paak, Norah Jones, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, and just about everyone else in contemporary hip-hop, jazz, and R&B. An accomplished piano player, composer, and producer, […]

Big Daddy Kane, Vursatyl, Grand Royale Big Daddy Kane stepped back from the spotlight many years back, but his shadow of influence still looms large over the many scenes of today’s diverse hip-hop culture. And for good reason: Kane is one of the greatest MCs to ever put voice to mic, so the chance to […]

Party Boyz: December to Forget The one good thing about this miserable time of year is: parties galore. And tonight the podcasters/impresarios of Party Boyz celebrate winter cheer with their semi-annual December to Forget (DTF) bash. Enjoy loud punk rock from Seattle’s Wimps and freaky trop-psych from Portland’s Sun Angle. Dance. Wear an ugly sweater. […]

Young Thug Young Thug dropped Jeffery in August, a fantastic preview to his forthcoming and oddly named debut studio album, Hy!£UN35. Though the Atlanta rapper (whose full name is Jeffery Lamar Williams) used his own name to title the hook-heavy mixtape, its tracks are named after his “idols”: “Floyd Mayweather,” “Kanye West,” and “Harambe,” among […]