Days after revealing the happy news that she's back on set for her latest Hallmark movie, actress Taylor Cole switched gears on social media to vulnerably share how hard it's been trying to start a family. Her post drew a flood of support from fans, friends, and family. On April 26, 2025 — the last day of National Infertility Awareness Week — Cole, 40, told her Instagram followers she'd “been going back and forth about sharing my fertility journey on social media for a long time.” But two loving, creative endeavors from friends — a touching song written by one and an inspiring new book written by the other — prompted her to share. “But if sharing my journey can bring even one person a little bit of comfort, or help someone feel seen in their own struggle, then it's more than worth it.” “It's such a deeply personal experience,” she wrote, “and I promised myself I would know when the time felt right — even if our story doesn't have the ending we've been dreaming of… yet.” He dreams of growing gardenias—his favorite flower—but no matter how carefully they plant, water, and wait, the blooms never come. This story is a quiet echo of the love, grace, and hope you plant in the lives of others — especially when you don't even know it.” Cole alluded to her struggles with infertility in December, when she shared what a difficult year 2024 had been via an Instagram post, noting that it had been marked by “unbearable losses and heartbreaking failures.” Coupled with too many failed attempts trying to get pregnant made it a tough year. That hashtag referenced the song Cole chose to serve as a soundtrack to her Instagram video — “It Won't Be Long,” a newly-released tune by country singer George Birge. It was co-written with top Nashville songwriter Trannie Anderson, who's a friend of Cole's. The “Aloha Heart” star wrote in her post, “A huge thank you @trannieanderson for being brave enough to write a song that inspired me to share my journey.” Anderson was one of many friends who shared words of comfort and support in Cole's comment section, writing, “Love you friend ❤️❤️ praying alongside you for a sweet baby for y'all!” Actor Shawn Christian, Cole's stepdad and a Hallmark alum, chimed in, “❤️ There is an infinite amount of love within you Tay and knowing you….there is an infinite amount of love that you share daily. Many fans also left comments of support, inspired by Cole's honesty and outlook, including someone who wrote, “Thank you for sharing your story with us. Please know that we send our love and prayers to you.

We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. Bryce Dallas Howard may still not have gotten a chance to direct her dad, Ron, but she's at least been able to see someone else do so. Speaking at a recent Q&A for a live version of Josh Horowitz's “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Bryce revealed that she was on hand for her father's recent cameo on Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's hit Hollywood satire “The Studio.” The Apple TV+ comedy sees Howard play a much more aggressive version of himself caught up in the middle of a difficult editing process with executives. Related Stories Bowen Yang Says More Profanity Would Make ‘SNL' Better: ‘Let Us Say S**t and F**k' 2025 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Animated Program Bryce also joked about making sure “he was hydrated.” In truth though, Ron proved a pro, being “so on point” during a rehearsal that “everyone was sort of baffled by it, frankly.” To be fair, Howard has played himself before, but Bryce felt this was a different level entirely. Not only did he have multiple scenes to learn, but the style of the show required him to know his lines backwards and forwards. “He's done some stuff in ‘Arrested Development,'” she said, “he's done some cameos here and there, but [this was] a real part — with, like, dialogue — and they are shooting it all with ‘oners', you cannot mess up!” After watching her dad in action, Bryce was convinced he must have picked up a few tricks from one of his stalwart collaborators. “I guess you have learned a bit from Tom Hanks over the years,” Bryce said to her father on stage during the live Q&A. Howard and Hanks have worked on five films together including “Apollo 13” and “The Da Vinci Code.” Though she hasn't directed her father, Bryce was recently produced by him, as his company Imagine Entertainment worked with her on the new Disney+ documentary “Pets.” Watch her full Q&A with “Happy Sad Confused” below. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.

Former The Voice Kids‘ contestant Karen Silva has passed away, less than a week after being admitted to the hospital. We ask for respect, empathy and prayers as she recovers peacefully. Any updates will be made by our official channels We thank everyone for the love.” Silva passed away at 5 am on April 24 at the São João Batista Hospital in Volta Redonda, according to The Daily Mail. Doctors say she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, due to bleeding into her brain caused by a blood vessel rupturing. “To know my daughter passed like this, it hurts so much,” he continued. Silva was only 12 when she appeared on The Voice Kids in Brazil. Silva's final Instagram post, made on March 6, featured a carousel of photos and videos from February's Carnival. After her death was announced, a tribute to the rising star was posted to her Instagram page with the caption, *Note of sorrow* “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the young singer Karen Silva, aged 17, occurred after days of hospitalization at São João Batista Hospital, in Volta Redonda, as a result of a hemorrhagic stroke. Since then, he has followed a luminous path, uniting talent, charisma and representation at every step. More than an up-and-coming artist, Karen was a symbol of empowerment, especially for Black girls who found in her inspiration and strength to dream. In this moment of great pain, we send our solidarity to their parents, Manoella and Fernando, with friends, family and fans. May the memory of your light continue to guide us.”

Although Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal reunite for some an action-packed bromance in The Accountant 2, one familiar face is missing from the sequel. Franchise director Gavin O'Connor recently teased that he plans to have Anna Kendrick reprise her role as accountant Dana Cummings for a future third installment, as Affleck said he's “just waiting for another great script.” O'Connor told The New York Times that he and screenwriter Bill Dubuque “have had some preliminary conversations. I am personally running from another puzzle movie, which we've done twice now. One thing weve talked about is the idea of bringing Anna Kendrick [who plays Christian's love interest in the first movie] back. Maybe Christian can finally get the love that he deserves.” “We're hoping she still likes us,” said Affleck, to which O'Connor updated him, “Actually, Ben, she and I have been texting. Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks Send us a tip using our annonymous form. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.

We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. An enigmatic aura was a key ingredient to what made Don Draper one of the most compelling TV characters of all time, but this might not have been possible had “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner not fought to cast a relatively unknown entity. Speaking in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter for its “Awards Chatter” podcast, current “Your Friends and Neighbors” star Jon Hamm reminisced about the casting process for the show and the lengths executives went through to prove he had what it took to be a leading man. Ultimately, Hamm shared it came down to Weiner communicating the need to embrace the actor's anonymity as a feature, not a flaw. Related Stories The Secret Weapon Behind the VFX of ‘A Minecraft Movie' Will Forte Is Willing to Climb Mount Everest to Promote ‘Coyote vs. Acme' After Looney Tunes Film Was Saved “The whole point of this show is that nobody knows who this guy is,” Hamm said of what Weiner told executives. “You can't put — for one of the better examples — Rob Lowe into this show. You would go, ‘Oh, it's the Rob Lowe show. So that actually worked to my benefit rather than against me.” He ended up having to audition “six or seven” times before being flown out to New York for a final meeting with the executives at AMC. “I think that there were some high-level discussions about, ‘Are we really going to make this kid that nobody knows the lead of our show? This is the first show on our network that's ever existed,'” said Hamm of AMC's concerns. “The conventional wisdom was, you hire somebody that has credits or a thing.” Beyond the fact that no one really knew who he was, Hamm also used personal experience and history to build his understanding of the role. “There was a resting kind of melancholy that I think my dad had as well as Don had, which is a little bit like, you have all of this stuff,” he told THR. “Your Friends and Neighbors” streams on Apple TV+ with new episodes dropping Fridays. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has amassed 386 million subscribers for his YouTube channel, more than any other person on Earth. He's expanding into television with the Prime Video series Beast Games, a reality competition show where contestants vie for $5 million, “the largest cash prize in TV history!” MrBeast is among the major names set to take part in today's virtual Deadline's Contenders Television: Documentary, Unscripted & Variety award-season event, which kicks off at 9 a.m. PT. It's your guide to a different kind of competition — one where the ultimate prize is Emmy gold. Along with MrBeast, we've got Grammy-winning country music superstar Kelsea Ballerini, representing The Voice from Warner Bros Television Group. Four of the queenly contestants from RuPaul's Drag Race will stop by — Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, Jewels Sparkles, and Sam Star. Love Island USA host Ariana Madix will share secrets from the steamy Peacock series. We've got comedy covered with Seth Meyers, host of Late Night with Seth Meyers; Saturday Night Live cast members Mikey Day and Ego Nwodim; and The Daily Show's Desi Lydic. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Joseph Patel, who won Academy Awards for their 2021 documentary Summer of Soul, will tell us about their follow-up: Sly Lives! It explores the brilliant and groundbreaking musician Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone whose limitless talent ran up against a streak of self-sabotage. Director Thom Zimny, who first worked with Springsteen a quarter of a century ago, will share insights on his latest collaboration with the Boss. Music made Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip hop producer-performer who launched a record label before branching out into fashion, media and more. But it's been a sharp decline for the mogul, who awaits trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Directors-executive producers Emma Schwartz and Yoruba Richen will join Contenders to discuss Diddy's fate. We'll explore a climactic chapter from World War II with a panel on The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to V-E Day. Stay with Deadline all day for coverage of all the panels both on the site and on our social channels via #DeadlineContenders. Audrey Morrissey (Executive Producer)Kelsea Ballerini (Coach)NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson (Co-Creator/ Executive Producer/Host)Jeffrey Allen (Player 831/Winner of Beast Games)Sean Klitzner (Co-Creator/Executive Producer) Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band John Monsky (Creator/Writer/Narrator/Historian)Meredith Wagner (Executive Producer/President American History Unbound Inc.)Patrick Hemingway Adams (Historical Consultant/Special Guest) Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.

From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here's what happened in the Latin music world this week. The tejano superstar was honored with an RIAA Lifetime Achievement plaque in recognition of 17 million certified units across her career, including 62x Platino Dreaming of You — marking the highest certified Latin album. The honor was presented at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on April 21, “paying tribute to the enduring impact of her music and cultural legacy,” according to a press release. “The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) believes music can change lives, connecting generations and unifying those who speak different languages through shared emotion,” RIAA svp, state public policy & Latin music Rafael Fernandez Jr. said in a statement. “I didn't go to college, but I totally understand the crucial role that academia fulfills in our society,” Humilde said during his speech, according to a press release. It's critical that more young people in our community access quality education at universities such as Harvard. That not only opens doors on an individual level, but it also makes us stronger as a community.” “Ivy Queen represents a milestone in the world of urban music,” Wendy's chief marketing officer Lizmarie Medina said in a statement. “She's the undisputed ‘Queen' who paved the way for other women and is recognized for her impact and legacy in the genre, for being ‘real,' daring, and authentic, similar to what we do at Wendy's. We break molds and make bold decisions in the face of industry challenges.” As of May 2, Noel Schajris' recordings will be available exclusively at Barnes & Noble throughout the U.S., including vinyl and collector's CDs. “For me it is an immense honor to be able to present my album work alongside a brand like Barnes & Noble,” Schajris said in a statement. The third annual Billboard Latin Women in Music took place Thursday (April 24) where Anitta, Belinda, Celia Cruz, Chiquis, Ha*Ash, Natti Natasha, Olga Tañón and Selena Gomez were honored for their groundbreaking careers and contributions to Latin music. A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry

That's not to say that Ben Affleck's 'Accountant' sequel and the 'Star Wars: Episode III' rerelease aren't also feeding the box office boom, with overall revenue up more than 100 percent over last year. Either way, Sinners — which opened to $48 million a week ago — could enjoy one of the smallest drops in history for a movie playing outside of the year-end holidays 'The Accountant 2' Director Gavin O'Connor on the Sequel's Real-Time Relevance and His 'Warrior' Series Box Office: 'Sinners' Eyes Astounding $30M-$40M, 'Accountant 2' Gains Edge Over 'Revenge of the Sith' Graced with virtually perfect audience scores and the best reviews of filmmaker Coogler‘s already acclaimed career, Sinners has transformed into the rare title that has become a runaway water-cooler sensation. It's expected to finish Sunday with a 10-day cume hovering around $120 million in a major victory for Warners' movie chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca. The Accountant 2 is hoping for a second-place finish with a promising $23 million-$25 million after scoring strong reviews and exit scores, including an A- CinemaScore. That would be a win as Amazon MGM ramps up its theatrical ambitions (it's now home of the James Bond franchise). The first Accountant, released by Warners, opened to $24.7 million in 2016 on its way to grossing $155.5 million globally and becoming the most-rented digital film in 2017. Reuniting Affleck and director Gavin O'Connor, Accountant 2 currently sports a fresh 76 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a rotten 53 percent for the first film. Consumers are far more entranced, judging by the sequel's current 93 percent audience Rotten Tomatoes score. Affleck produced the sequel via his and Matt Damon's Artists Equity, alongside Lynette Howell Taylor for 51 Entertainment and Mark Williams for Zero Gravity Management. Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson and J.K. Simmons co-star in Accountant 2, which sees Affleck's character compelled to step in and help solve the murder of an old acquaintance with the help of his estranged brother and a U.S. Treasury agent. Together, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. The prequels, while divisive at the time, have only grown more appreciated in recent years, with a generation of kids who grew up with them considering them their preferred Star Wars trilogy. Screen Gem and Sony's new horror offering Until Dawn looks to round out the top five with a forgettable opening in the $7 million to $8 million range. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

Rosa DeLauro represents Connecticut's 3rd District in the House of Representatives. Last December, I wrote about the dangers of Donald Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the unqualified, dangerous individuals appointed to lead key public health agencies. I made the case that these appointments, starting with Kennedy, were a deliberate attempt to break our health system, and would make Americans sicker. I did not expect Kennedy to simply obliterate health agencies that are key to our nation's progress and leadership in public health. Over the past four months, President Trump and RFK Jr., along with unchecked billionaire Elon Musk, have followed through on their threats to destroy the agencies that protect our health. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), which helps us respond to and prepare for public health emergencies — eliminated. And even the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the driving force behind programs like Meals on Wheels that curtail senior hunger and isolation — eliminated. I do not believe the American people want less health research, more infectious disease outbreaks, and cuts to Medicaid. But now, the White House and Republicans are taking resources away from people fighting cancer and diseases of all kinds. The administration has fired or pushed out thousands of experts and experienced staff who help keep Americans safe from infectious diseases, including Measles, HIV, and tuberculosis. This effort helped prevent over three million additional deaths according to a study from the Commonwealth Fund. None of that mattered, because Marks was told to resign or be fired. In his resignation letter, Marks wrote that, quote, “it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.” At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where DOGE has already fired or pushed out 2,400 employees, Kennedy has eviscerated the offices that track the most urgent and alarming threats to public health, from HIV to cancer. Without this data, our public health experts will have a harder time identifying trends and prioritizing resources in our communities. Former FDA Official on RFK's Promise to Identify Autism Cause: 'Giving False Hope Is Wrong' HHS has terminated $11 billion in funding for state and local health departments, and DOGE is demanding CDC slash nearly $3 billion in grant funding, illegally cutting CDC's annual discretionary funding by over 30 percent. Why on Earth are these the places DOGE is searching for so-called waste? The administration has withheld federal funding from universities that do not adopt their preferred policies, cancelled research on topics they do not like, put tight restraints on NIH grants, and illegally impounded funding appropriated by Congress. Dozens of courts have put restraining orders on the Administration's actions. Congress is an institution that responds to external pressure, and we need to bring the pressure from Americans everywhere if we are going to protect ourselves from this lawless and reckless Trump administration. I want to close with an example that hits close to home for me and for millions of American families. One PhD student at Yale, whose passion for science was inspired by their stepmother's melanoma diagnosis, was awarded the NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Grant, which they are using to explore mechanisms of cancer metastasis. Trump Has Now Deported Multiple U.S. Citizen Children With Cancer Wife of Weezer Bassist Seen Holding, 'Firing' Gun in Video Released by LAPD Virginia Giuffre, Who Stood Up for Victims of Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein, Dies by Suicide Musk Allies Made FAA Staff Sign NDAs to Keep New Project Secret I am alive due to the gift of science and biomedical research. One way or another, cancer touches the lives of almost every single American family. Imagine what will happen to those families now, with these agencies obliterated. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation.

After several sun-kissed days, Beijing brought out the stars on Saturday night as Lilja Ingolfsdottir's debut feature, Norwegian marital drama Loveable, won the best feature film honor, plus three additional awards, at a closing ceremony full of Chinese stars and music that wrapped up the 15th edition of the Beijing International Film Festival on a high. With director Ingolfsdottir not in attendance, it was up to her star Helga Guren to collect not only the best actress award but also the other honors. Virginia Giuffre, Who Accused Britain's Prince Andrew in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41 Jessie Mei Li Talks 'Havoc', Tom Hardy and How 'Shadow and Bone' Set Up Her Career: "I've Got a Lot of Characters in Me That Need to Come Out" Chinese actor-director Jiang Wen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Let the Bullets Fly) served as the head of the competition jury, which also included Chinese American director and actor Joan Chen (The Last Emperor), British director David Yates (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Chinese actor Ni Ni, Finnish director Teemu Nikki, Swiss director and actor Vincent Perez, and art director Tim Yip from Hong Kong. A big song and dance number with two singers and dozens of dancers kicked off the grand spectacular in style, living up organizers' promise to put on “a dazzling celebration where cinema meets song.” Meanwhile, singer Liu Yuning performed during Saturday's “In Memoriam” segment that brought tears to many audience members' eyes and also featured Maggie Smith and Alain Delon. The festival screened 15 main competition films, including three from China, with organizers receiving a record 1,794 feature film submissions from 103 countries and regions, marking a 19 percent increase over last year. The Beijing festival's 15th edition also featured masterclasses from French star Isabelle Huppert and Jiang Wen, industry discussions about such topics as film franchise management, as well as an exhibition of 150 posters for animated Chinese box office smash hit Ne Zha 2, hand-painted by director Yang Yu, aka Jiaozi (meaning “dumpling”). Actress Helga Guren needed help with the four trophies won by Loveable. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

The alt-pop star leaned into her Nashville inclinations in her first gig at the California country festival, but mostly just demonstrated how singular she's always sounded. The more you watch of Lana Del Rey supposedly going country, the more apparent how ridiculous any talk of her pivoting to any genre really is. For 15 years now, LDR has essentially been a genre unto herself: a unique and borderline-illogical blending of obviously classic influences with some game-changingly modern sensibilities, one that mostly befuddled critics and radio and the charts early on, even as she was inarguably becoming one of the most important pop stars of her generation. She's been wildly influential without ever being less than unmistakable; no matter what sonic, thematic or characteristic elements other artists may borrow from her, none of them would ever risk being taken for Lana herself. This is all to say: no matter what style of music she's making, Lana Del Rey has one genre and that's “Lana Del Rey.” But of course, Lana did lean into The Stagecoach of It All while making her debut performance at the Indio, Calif. country festival on Friday (Apr. Singing in a white dress in front of a set of an idyllic-looking rural house at dusk, she looked like she walked on stage straight from an old Loretta Lynn album cover. Early on, she brought out George Birge — himself a Saturday performer at the festival — to duet on his current hit “Cowboy Songs,” an extremely country radio-friendly song Del Rey says she can't get enough of. (You can certainly imagine a Lanafied version of the chorus, though it was strange to hear her singing on such a zippy and muscular hook in 2025.) And of course, she invoked two all-time genre classics during the show by covering Tammy Wynette's “Stand by Your Man” (“You can't do this set without it”), and then closing the proceedings with a family singalong to John Denver's “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” a recent entry into the LDR cover canon. Ella Langley Named ACM Awards' New Female Artist of the Year Nothing about the stately balladry and gender-role explorations of songs like set-opening duo “Husband of Mine” and “Henry, Come On” felt without precedent in her catalog; she could have introduced them as deep cuts from Blue Banisters or Chemtrails Over the Country Club and many of her fans probably would've bought it. If there was a pronounced difference with Del Rey in Country Mode on Friday night, it was that she seemed… maybe more polite and unassuming than we're used to her being? If you missed a little of the unpredictability and ostentatiousness that characterized early-years Lana Del Rey– and still informed highlights from her work up until this decade — then you probably loved “57.5,” a shuffling new song referring to her number (in millions) of monthly listeners on Spotify, which also includes a bridge which begins with LDR proclaiming “I kissed Morgan Wallen” and going onto advise listeners against going ATVing with him. It takes a lot of “yes, really” to explain, but it was still probably the best of the new songs that she debuted: some real country s–t, but more importantly, pure Lana through and through, in a way no other artist or genre could ever totally capture.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Thousands of mourners are expected to pay tribute to Pope Francis today as the late pontiff's funeral takes place in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. The Pope's funeral takes place today, Saturday, April 26 beginning at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT and the service is expected to last about 90 minutes. Want to watch Pope Francis‘ funeral on TV? You can livestream Pope Francis' funeral online with a live TV streaming service like DirecTV. The streamer carries a live feed of 90+ channels that you can stream online, including ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, which are all airing the Pope's funeral today. Sign up for a five-day free trial to DirecTV here and get instant access to livestream Pope Francis' funeral online without cable. Another way to livestream the Pope's funeral service is through Fubo, which carries a live feed of ABC, CBS and NBC that you can watch online without cable. Fubo offers a seven-day free trial that you can use to watch Pope Francis' funeral live right now. You can also stream live coverage of the funeral on Disney+ (which is carrying an ABC News feed) or Peacock (broadcasting the NBC feed). Pope Francis died on April 21 after a series of health complications. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation.

Perpetually glazed drone trio Bitchin Bajas and minimalist polyrhythm factory Natural Information Society have once again burbled up from the neon miasma where the cosmos meets your Discogs want list. Totality, an expansive, blissful 43-minute slow boat of nü-kosmische and minimalist rock, comes nearly 10 years after their last full-length collaboration, 2015's Autoimaginary. The two bands are deeply steeped in the Chicago experimental music community, enthralled by 20th-century minimalism and Sun Ra, constantly aiming for ecstatic peaks, and willing to ride a wavelength indefinitely. Naturally, their second album together delivers all their gorgeous hallmarks—warm harmonium drone, weightless synths, and Möbius strips of low end courtesy of Natural Information Society leader Joshua Abrams. If you expect a little more this time around, it's only because the bands have come so incredibly far individually in the last decade. Bajas Fresh, their 2017 career peak, sharpened their synths into diamonds of arpeggiated euphoria; the 2021 Sun Ra tribute Switched On Ra let them explore more amorphous and nocturnal zones; and 2022's excellent Bajacillators updated their sound with the hyperreal blips of Laurie Spiegel's Music Mouse software, sounding like a connection between the Berlin school and Japanese ambient. For their part, Natural Information Society have simply become one of best American rock bands going: a propulsive, celebratory dance act endlessly grooving somewhere on the perimeters of Afrobeat, avant-jazz, Gnawa music, and Steve Reich. Side B sprawler “Always 9 Seconds Away” has a similarly sleepy crawl but plays like a doom-jazz version of the memory game Simon, its disjunctive melody growing like lichen. Closer “Clock No Clock” is a true marvel of jazz-motorik, Avery bustling with percussive raindrops, building to a hectic (yet marvelously mellow) climax. Another sublime slab from two bands seemingly incapable of making a bad record, Totality doesn't really play to either bands' strengths as of late. National Information Society mostly keep cool, instead of firing up a perpetual-motion machine for head-boggling grooves. Bitchin Bajas remain flame-keepers of the sphere where Teutonic poise meets new-age fuzzies, but here they act as patient collaborators instead of scene-stealing spacemen. All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Pitchfork may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.