Softjaw – Love Can’t Kill You
If you love power pop in all its forms, Softjaw’s all-encompassing debut will be a feast for the senses.
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Weekly music puzzle
The Magic Number
New puzzle live · 19 August · #007
Three clues, three guesses, one answer. Play this week’s edition.
Features
The 2026 No Ripcord Annual Report
No Ripcord relaunched on 10 October 2025. How did the first 12 months of our supporter-funded model go, and what are our hopes for 2027 and beyond?
The 2026 No Ripcord Reader Survey
10 Albums to Look Forward to in October 2026
Were 2009’s Defining Indie Landmarks Ultimately a Dead End?
10 Albums to Look Forward to in September 2026
Explore No Ripcord
Independent music criticism since 1999
No advertising. No agenda. No recycled press releases. Just honest reviews, thoughtful features and a deep archive of music writing.
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The reviews and features readers are spending time with at the moment.
Guides & Resources
Start here for No Ripcord’s regularly updated guides, schedules and archive hubs.
From The Archive
Death Cab For Cutie Interview (2002)
Death Cab For Cutie’s eleventh studio album, I Built You a Tower, is out now. To celebrate the landmark, we are revisiting a classic early interview with the band from the No Ripcord archive.
Big Star Interview (2009)
Black Tambourine Interview (2010)
M83 Interview (2004)
MF DOOM Interview (2004)
Insider Monthly
Lists
The Worst Albums of 2025
Enough of the positivity. It's time to get critical. What were 2025's worst reviewed records? And what do they say about the state of music criticism?
The Best Albums of 2025
The Best Albums of 2025: Bubbling Under
The Best Swervedriver Songs, Ranked
The Best Idlewild Songs, Ranked
Believe The Hype
Greg Freeman – All Set the Bone
Greg Freeman’s last effort, Burnover, was our #8 album of 2025. His third album All Set the Bone, is bolder, messier, and arguably even better.
Protomartyr – Hotel Usona
Lily Seabird – Lightspheres on Their Way
This Is Lorelei – The Singer in My Band
Westside Cowboy – It Goes On
Records Revisited
Albums To Look Forward To
10 Albums to Look Forward to in October 2026
Our monthly preview looks ahead to new records from Greg Freeman, Dawn Richard, DIIV, Queens of the Stone Age, Wishy, and more.
10 Albums to Look Forward to in September 2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in August 2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in July 2026
