Listen "Out" music reviews for February 2026

 - by Jason Drewry
   Music Critic

Xiu Xiu – Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 

Xiu Xiu’s new covers collection is a jolt of recognition and disorientation, a lucid nightmare where the familiar is torn apart and remade strange. Jamie Stewart, Angela Seo, and David Kendrick take songs across decades—Cherry Bomb, Psycho Killer, Dancing On My Own, Some Things Last a Long Time—and warp them into shadowed, ecstatic rituals. Industrial pulses, smeared vocals, howling organs, and flute spirals twist hits into acidic, otherworldly forms. It’s not about improvement; it’s reverence, obsession, and communion. 

Stewart’s voice stretches, shatters, trembles, laughs, cries, and soars, pulling the listener through haunted pop landscapes. Each track is a séance with the music that shapes them, a collision of memory, admiration, and pure audacity. XMFX is more than a cover album—it’s an altar, a shiver, a lucid dream; a sustained obsession made flesh, offering the past back to the present in a surge of unnerving, thrilling energy. 

Lucinda Williams – World’s Gone Wrong 

World’s Gone Wrong is Lucinda Williams at her most urgent and fearless: a raw, topical reckoning with the world. Across blues, folk, and country, she chronicles political unrest, social divides, and working-class struggle with a voice both world-weary and piercing. The title track, featuring Brittney Spencer, confronts division and hate head-on. At the same time, Mavis Staples’ presence on Bob Marley’s So Much Trouble in the World and Norah Jones’ soulful turn on We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around anchor the album in hope and resilience.  

Williams revisits spiritual reckonings reminiscent of Good Souls Better Angels, with How Much Did You Get for Your Soul questioning conscience and faith. Recorded in spring 2025, the twin guitars of Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford provide a sturdy, blues-rock backbone, though some note a leaner dynamism compared to her past work. Still, the grit, intelligence, and moral clarity of Williams’ storytelling make the album essential, a wake-up call and testament to her enduring power as an American chronicler. 

Cat Power – Redux 

Redux sees Cat Power revisiting her album The Greatest twenty years on with reverence and subtle reinvention. Chan Marshall teams with the Dirty Delta Blues band – Judah Bauer, Gregg Foreman, Erik Paparozzi, and Jim White – reuniting in Austin with producer Stuart Sikes to craft stunning reinterpretations. The lead track, a newly finished take on James Brown’s Try Me, brims with grit and tenderness, capturing the spirit of the original tour while feeling urgent and alive. Her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U ” is a poignant tribute to Teenie Hodges, honoring his soulful imprint with aching delicacy.  

A live-inflected version of Could We recalls the album’s touring energy, grounding the EP in performance authenticity. Across its three tracks, Redux reminds listeners of Marshall’s timeless emotional depth; her voice a vessel of memory, grief, and soulful intensity - proving that even two decades later, her art resonates with enduring power and warmth. 

Richard Marx – After Hours 

After Hours finds Richard Marx stepping into a cinematic, jazz-infused world, reimagining the Great American Songbook with the poise of a seasoned master. Recorded entirely live with a 24-piece orchestra, every track - whether a classic standard or one of Marx’s originals - is captured in full, unbroken takes, recalling the audacity of Sinatra and Martin. Collaborations with Rod Stewart, Kenny G, and Chris Botti lend depth and texture, while Marx’s voice - timeless, warm, and precise - guides each arrangement with understated authority. 

The album blends reverence with innovation, turning familiar melodies into intimate, theatrical experiences and showcasing Marx’s capacity to reinvent his craft after four decades in pop and rock. After Hours is more than nostalgia; it’s a bold, live testament to artistry, elegance, and risk, proving that Marx can traverse eras and genres while maintaining the emotional immediacy and subtle power that define his enduring appeal. 

The Gayly online. 2/10/26 @ 12:23 p.m. CST.