New Albums
BIG RED MACHINE
How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?
JAGJAGUWAR
9/10
Collective’s immersive 15-track epic
BRM’s second is a dazzling stylistic display on which Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon are joined by talented friends whose pristine singing rubs against Vernon’s treated vocals and glitchy grooves to consistently throw off sparks. Go-to co-writer/singer Anaïs Mitchell frames the LP in burnished hues with “Latter Days” and “New Vernon”, Robin Pecknold soars on “Phoenix” and Dessner’s production client Taylor Swift deftly channels Joni on “Renegades”, while Ben Howard and This Is The Kit bring their refracted Celtic folk stateside on “June’s A River”. Dessner envisioned the LP as “some version of The Last Waltz”, and that’s a fair assessment of what he and Vernon have pulled off.