Ilana Kaplan

Painted Ruins, Grizzly Bear’s first record in five years, oscillates between the political and the personal. Created in the midst of the 2016 election, the album touches on darkness but tries to find joy in the mundane and the everyday: chores, quiet walks and small daily epiphanies. The band brings that reflective but resilient mind-set to its three-night residency at Brooklyn Steel this week. We talked with the band’s two lead vocalists, Daniel Rossen and Ed Droste, in advance of the shows. Tell me about the title Painted Ruins.Daniel Rossen: Titles are always funny. It’s something I thought of at the end of making the record. It felt like it summed up a lot of what was going on around the record, like it could be a personal statement or a way of thinking about a life, growing old or growing apart. How did the political climate affect the record?DR: We never set out to make topical songs. When we were working on all this, it was a good while ago, so if anything there was simmering anxiety around us. We’re always trying to make music that’s personal and intuitive. This time around there was more of an attempt to speak slightly outside our perspective.Ed Droste: I was deeply involved in the Bernie Sanders campaign. One would think that I’d have an overtly political tone, but I kept it to our tour and rallies. We set up voter registration at our shows, but it [appeared] more in Dan’s lyrics. Inner turmoil is also outer turmoil. I think it’s really hard to make a political song

In 2016, Khalid’s indie-soul earworm “Location” began surfacing across the internet. The song was catchy, vulnerable and instantly alluring. That track, which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, helped Khalid break out in the past year. The singer comes from a musical family—his mother aspired to be a singer before joining the military—but as a child, moving between Germany and upstate New York, he didn’t consider the profession for himself until he ended up in El Paso, Texas, in 2015. “If I didn’t live in all of these places, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in today,” says Khalid. Fast-forward to 2017: Khalid not only released his debut, American Teen, but also sang on explosive collaborations with Calvin Harris, Future and Alina Baraz. This month, Khalid tours the U.S.—including three NYC shows this week—before heading overseas to open for Lorde. It’s a promising start, especially considering the singer is still only 19 years old. As a teenager, how have you been balancing this new world of fame and the music industry?I keep my long-term goals [in mind] with everything I do. If I wasn’t doing this, I would have branched into music education, so I keep that a part of my life as well. I want to go back into music education and start schools in towns where I’ve lived in New York, El Paso or even overseas. If I were to create a foundation for teachers, that would be super fun. How did you set out to capture the teenage experience in your debut album?For me, the teenage

Fans eagerly awaiting a follow-up to Fleet Foxes’ stellar 2011 record, Helplessness Blues, may feel as if the half-decade of studio silence passed slowly. But frontman Robin Pecknold doesn’t hold the same sentiment. “It felt like those six years flew right by,” he explains a week prior to the band’s two BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! benefit shows. The tour touches down in support of Crack-Up, Fleet Foxes’ long-awaited third album, released in June. Between records, the (now) five-piece went through its fair share of changes. Josh Tillman (a.k.a. Father John Misty) left the band to pursue his solo endeavors, and Pecknold shifted his career: He traveled the world and went back to school at Columbia University. The singer-songwriter transformed into a student, focusing on having a regular routine instead of the vagabond tour lifestyle he had been immersed in since his teens. “I was isolated [during my time at Columbia], but I did it on purpose,” says Pecknold. Simply put, he needed a change. But once the group entered the studio, the album came together quickly. “We began making the record in July [2016] and finished in January,” he says. When Helplessness Blues was released, the record spurred the indie-folk wave, which also included acts like Bon Iver and First Aid Kit. Today, Fleet Foxes still remain stalwarts of the genre but have found a more cohesive sound thanks to their time apart. Fusing pastoral, slowly building ballads like “If You Need to, Keep Time on Me” with jauntier t

Last year Charli XCX surprised fans by debuting her own imprint, Vroom Vroom Recordings, and releasing an EP with a new sound. Then she struck again in March with a surprise mixtape, Number 1 Angel. For the singer, best known for bubblegummy heart-warmers like “Boom Clap” and Icona Pop's shout-along anthem “I Love It” (which she cowrote), the new music adds raucous electronic elements and an aggressive dance-club edge to her pop hooks. This spring Charli takes her newest project on the road for a series of small-club shows, leading up to her summer festival appearances that include June’s Governors Ball. We talked to her about her recent output and what to expect next. One thing you’ve spoken out about is that you didn’t like your last album, Sucker.I’ve been told not to say a lot about it, so I’m not trying to talk about that. If I was young, it would be like hearing the Spice Girls say, “I hate Spice World,” which I loved. Even though Sucker is still not really my favorite piece of work, I think I’m at peace with it. There are songs on there I love, like “Doing It” and “Need Ur Luv,” but there are other songs I don’t really connect to. You have your favorites and you have your least favorites. Why did you start your own label?I had been speaking to my record label [Atlantic] about it, and they were like “We have the budget, do you want to do it?” I was already managing this girl CuckooLander, so it was a big deal for her to release an album and for me to work with my friend