Consumer Guide: April, 2026
Reviews of Sky Smeed, Willie Nelson, Robyn, Allo Darlin', De La Soul, The Delines, Dorisburg, Gurf Morlix, Van Morrison, Bill Orcutt, Jefferson Ross, Twisted Teens, and Vaiano’s Paisanos.
Allo Darlin’: Bright Nights (Slumberland) Elizabeth Morris’s overall thematics—plus, admittedly, her casual praise for Leonard Cohen—always made her and her guys seem like a hookup group, let’s call that aesthetic strategy. But some combination of the fond calm and sustained kindness of her singing got me thinking. Did she just have a kid? Does all that “sweetness of music is mine” and “I will love you till the end of time” signify not midlife eros, just enduring parental affection? The answer would seem to be yes—she has two young daughters it’s hard to not figure will follow in their mother’s path, though exactly when, how, or whether she becomes a grandma remains to be determined. A MINUS
De La Soul: Cabin in the Sky (Mass Appeal) In which the Long Island alt-rappers essay their first album in a decade aware that they’ve lost original Native Tongue Trugoy the Dove, who having spritzed things up while spelling yogurt backwards died three years ago after suffering with congestive heart failure.