NO RECESS MAGAZINE

Last year, I linked up with a few of my old editors from Crawdaddy! Magazine to help create a brand new site. We want No Recess to be a place where long-form, thoughtful writing is prioritized over quick-hit click-bait. We are only just entering our second year, but it’s been exciting to see how much it has grown already and how positive the response has been.

One thing I love about writing for NR is how much leeway I have to explore the records that I’m excited about. So far, I’ve reviewed R&B, black metal, and ambient records, just to name a few. Also, it is soooo nice to have editors again.

Here are some select pieces:

DAWN RICHARD GOES BACK TO HER ROOTS
A deeper look at the most underrated R&B singer in the world’s exquisite new album and what it says about a city that means a lot to both of us: New Orleans.

GROUPER LEAVES AMBIENT BEHIND FOR ETHERIAL PIANO BALLADS
Liz Harris is one of my all-time favorite artists, and it’s been amazing to track her progress from dense, foggy ambient to clearer, more emotionally direct work.

GABI'S "EMPTY ME" EXPLORES BEING ALIVE IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT
Being alive in 2018 is a lot of things; normal isn’t one of them. I dug into the East Texas multi-instrumentalist’s orchestral new album and wondered what it said about all of us.

MOUNT EERIE EXPLORES GRIEF AND THE EARLY STAGES OF HEALING
Phil Elverum’s last two albums — a pair of eulogies to his late wife — were tough to listen to and even harder to write about. However, both projects gave me a lot of insight into how to process grief in my own life and was an important reminder to appreciate all the people in my life while they’re still here.

DEAFHEAVEN BUILDS ON THEIR SIGNATURE SOUND
Black metal is a dish best served (bitterly) cold. But since I couldn’t make it to any nearby frozen fjords, I had to take in Deafheaven’s new metal maelstrom in the decidedly un-kvlt setting of New York City summer. I think I managed.