Lanterns

Based in Newcastle, England since their formation, Lanterns on the Lake have historically kept their recording practices in-house, opting to track songs in their homes and other improvised studio spaces, even after signing with a label that would provide funds to do otherwise. For their fourth album, Spook the Herd, they finally did venture outside of their comfort zone to work with engineer Joss Worthington (the Membranes, Pete Coe) at a studio in Yorkshire.

After nearly a quarter century as a band, 36 Crazyfists have a tried-and-true recipe for metalcore success: airtight songwriting, infectious metallic hooks, and singer Brock Lindow’s melodic, emotional delivery. On their seventh album, the Alaska natives lay bare their personal struggles on thrashy pit stomper “Wars to Walk Away From,” the Harry Potter-inspired riff ride “Death Eater,” and aggro bass bomber “Damaged Under Sun.” Meanwhile, soaring centerpiece “Sea and Smoke” and melancholy ballad “Dark Corners” offer poignant glimpses of the band’s sensitive side.

There are more than 320 million Chinese between the ages of 16 and 30. Children of the one-child policy, born after Mao, with no memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre, they are the first net native generation to come of age in a market-driven, more international China. Their experiences and aspirations were formed in a radically different country from the one that shaped their elders, and their lives will decide the future of their nation and its place in the world.