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ALBUM REVIEW: Jah9 – Note To Self
BEST TRACKS: Highly (Get To Me), Heaven (Ready Fi Di Feeling), Love Has Found I, Ready To Play
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Jah9 is a singer born in the Jamaican countryside, who, at the age of nine, moved to Kingston, the heart of Jamaica. Through her strong, regal voice and unique jazz-steeped dub sound, her music has crossed international borders. She is also very spiritually intune, heavily learned in Rastafarian teachings and trained in multiple disciples of yoga. When I came across this album, I was elated to see such confident, talented female representation within Rastafari as well as reggae music. Highly socially conscious, Jah9 intentionally rebels against outdated traditions and mindselts while simultaneously embracing the rich and warm Jamaican culture.
This album is a contemporary take on Jamaican music. The classic reggae beat is the core to this alluring music, underlaying a soulful, jazzy, afrobeat funk sound. The incredible rhythm and sway of this album momentarily soothed my soul. The smoothness and slow of this album cannot but be appreciated. Most impressive element of this immaculate album is Jah9’s lyrical capability. Her syllables never miss a beat, and are dense and complementary to the music, without feeling rushed or squished into the bars. I would describe Note To Self as roots reggae, dealing with social issues faced by the African Diaspora, black and female liberation, and the honoring of Jah.
This Jah9 certainly draws inspiration from mystic and ancient sources. Jamaican or not, this album provides clarity and power to all who listen openly. If anything, this music will awaken the energy in your blood and make you want to move. Not to hate on indie (I love indie), but I recommend this album if you’re burnt out on listening to the same old oppressed white indie boys and want something more spiritual and rhythmic. I also recommend Note To Selfif you like similar artists like Popcaan, Hollie Cook, and Chronixx.
-Safia
ALBUM REVIEW: Other Worlds by Módl
BEST TRACKS: Hate to Turn, Daydreams, Fallen
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Módl is a 23 year-old producer, songwriter, and vocalist from Virginia who infused his future bass roots with the likes of Indie, R&B, and Hip Hop. Módl’s first EP, Other Worlds, was released in 2016 with the idea of energetic songs in mind.
Módl’s Other Worlds EP is, in fact, otherworldly. To me, this almost dance but also downtempo EP sounds similar to artists such as Illenium or ODESZA. All of Módl’s songs in Other Worlds consist of deep, future bass-esque bass and bubbly synths to contrast. The thing I love most about Módl’s songs are the vocal chops. The vocal chops are well done and add an extra element of rhythm.
Daydreams and Hate to Turn are instrumental tracks, while Before I Leave, Questions, and Fallen contain lyrics. Particularly, Before I Leave has the most different sound with the inclusion of an acoustic guitar mixed with the same synths and deep bass. Also, the entire EP has an atmospheric sound that makes you feel like the sound is all around you. After listening to the album, I had the sudden urge to create a travel video since the songs felt so atmospheric. It is a great EP to listen to in the car, especially Hate to Turn, that one is my personal favorite.
I recommend Other Worlds for fans of ODESZA, Illenium, or other future bass artists who are looking for a similar style but with a focus on vocal chops and a balance of deep bass and synths. I found this EP after I was exposed to another song by Módl named Coastline and I explored the rest of his discography.
-Tegan
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Releases of April 2020
I might be a bit biased when I say that April is the best month of the year, since it’s the month in which I was born, but I also have another reason to appreciate this April. I’ve already made two other blog posts about my favorite songs and music videos from the month, but now that the month is officially over I have even more exciting music news to share.
It’s truly has been a crazy good month for new music, at least in my taste/ from some of my favorite artists, but I’m sure there’s plenty of good music and news I will miss in this, so make sure to let me know if I missed something you really loved or were excited for this month!
As far as artists, like I said a lot of my favorites released new material this month, including but not limited to: Twenty One Pilots, Hayley Williams, Rina Sawayama, Declan McKenna, and The Front Bottoms. I name these artists because I already covered their new material in my previous blog posts so I won’t go into any more detail here, but I am still super excited about these releases and think they’ve held up really well over the month.
As far as music I haven’t talked about yet, there’s new material from: Smallpools, Mindchatter, Gorillaz, J.P. Plains, Still Woozy, Bad Suns, Arson Daily, youngbuk, Beachtape, and chloe moriondo. There’s even more than that, but I won’t be able to cover them all in this one post without making it ridiculously long, so instead I put them all in a playlist which is linked below.
Local Band Arson Daily released their first full length LP on April 3rd titled Late Reflections. Pipe Dream is my favorite track at the moment, but the whole album is impressive and worth a listen. Their rock and indie infused sound is unique and soothing. Refreshing and original, this one of my favorite plays of the month. The band has done a few live stream concerts for the record already, so if you’re interested you should check them out online, they seem to be staying very active during this time.
‘Window’ by Still Woozy is a soothing pop track with an R&B vibe. It also fits in perfectly with a lot of the indie music on my playlist, since the artist’s sound is a very unique blend of genres, which has made it really stick with me through this month. This artist definitely stands out with his unique choice of instrumentation and hypnotizingly soothing vocals. Making this track short, sweet and kept on repeat.
Last, but as I said before not really the last, is Smallpools. They released the track ‘Play Pretend’ earlier in the month, and the track ‘slowdown’ about a week ago. The first song was used for ‘The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show’, a netflix original. The song is incredibly upbeat, fun, and with it’s catchy chorus and playful guitar riff, it definitely screams Smallpools. I find the chorus gets stuck in my head pretty fast and makes me want to dance. It contrasts nicely with the track ‘slowdown’, a lighter sounding track, though not completely mellow. It has a soothing midline beat that picks up in the chorus. The track was made as a collaboration with morgxn, and considering the netflix partnership they also had this month, it all makes me wonder what the band has in store for us next.
Those were just some of my favorite Music Moments from April. Like I said the month was overwhelmingly full of great new releases and news. You can check out more of my recommendations from the playlist below.
As always I have a question for you, what have been some of your favorite tracks and music news from this year?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CHgt25jDtqy9eyIHKKP3n?si=vA8QIJBkTmaBUaPfcM_HpQ
– DJ Psyched
Categories
Let’s Talk Health: The Series Intro
ALBUM REVIEW: Lila Blue – Leave Me Be
BEST TRACKS: Grown Bones, Somber Silence, Indigo
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Recommended if you like: Angel Olsen, Fiona Apple, Mitski
Lila Blue is not your average hippy dippy folk singer. Leave Me Be is by far the darkest, eeriest, most macabre folk album that I’ve ever heard. Music is Lila Blue’s entire life, and she has even traded her childhood for this, writing music since the age of 8. Now, at the young age of 20, she has released her third album, containing a power and intensity that would have made you think it was written by someone much older.
Blue’s voice changes styles astonishingly quickly, multiple times within the same song. In the first track, Grown Bones, Blue sings the line “hurricanes and lukewarm soup” with a sweet and beautiful intonation, but the way she growls the lyrics two lines down, “mama pushed you down the river in her favorite basket” sounds downright insidious. Adding to the frightening mood of this album are the suspenseful, discordant strings and deep, booming, rhythmic drums. This music makes me think of acres of burning cornfields and demonic symbols written in blood on the walls.
In this album, I feel the sweetness of youth and the pains that come with growing up and having to take on different roles in life. I especially felt this in the 5th track, Somber Silence, in which you’ll hear Lila Blue helplessly wailing “I can’t stop and I can’t go, I can’t go on, I can’t go on…” over and over again in the chorus. I appreciate that this song ends on a strong note: in the last chorus, the lyrics are changed to “I will go on”. The 8th track, Indigo, is about the apprehensions of growing old with someone, and then falling out of love and losing touch with your children, and forgetting what it was like to be young.
This album will bring out your deepest anger and fear.
-Safia
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Final Exam Hype Songs
Happy finals season everyone! I totally believe in you all, but, as I suspect most people feel, I just can’t wait for this time to be over. I’ve tried countless methods in an attempt to make this time better: study breaks at the bistro, going to those end of year events, and procrastinating with people who are also procrastinating so I feel less bad about it… Anyhow, I know finals are a bit different this year, but there is one tradition I have that I’ve been able to continue. I’s pretty reliable and always makes me feel good so I figured I’d share: hype music.
We all have those songs that make us feel like total hype beasts, so I made a short, but sweet, playlist of my favorite hype songs. I always listen to at least two or three of them before I go into an exam. I believe we’re self-fulfilling prophecies, so I think if we go into an exam feeling confident and strong we’re setting ourselves up for success.
I’m going to share my hype tracks with you, but I’m curious, what are your hype songs? What would you listen to to get yourself in the ‘I’m totally going to pass this thing’ mood?
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Freaking Out by The Wrecks – Don’t let the title fool you, this track is definitely more uplifting to me then nerve wrecking. It makes me feel way better when I am freaking out, like the chorus says ‘I’m freaking out, but I feel fineeeee’.
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What You’re Made Of by Arrested Youth – ‘Show me what you’re made of’ being shouted at me before an exam always makes me feel oddly empowered, makes me want to point out that mama ain’t raise no… coward. If you think that would work for you too, I highly recommend this track.
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Ballin by Logic – This song is where this tradition came from. One year during finals the track came on and I just felt my mood go up about 100% and well after that, for like two weeks straight, it was all I listened too. Favorite line ‘I made a promise to my mama Ima turn these zeros into tens and commas’. If you can’t tell I’m very motivated to make my mother proud.
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Baby You Got This by Cecil Frena – My absolute favorite hype song right now. The title says it all really, it’s a big part of the chorus, and hearing Cecil yell it at me, sounding like my hype man in the corner, really lifts my mood up every time.
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Nothing Personal by Night Riots – This one’s kind of aggressive, but sometimes I find getting a little angry and arrogant before an exam is nice, it really forces all the nervous energy away. How can someone be nervous while also claiming their the best thing? It’s not energy I carry all the time, but we must do what we need to get through these exams.
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You’re The Best by Joe ‘Bean’ Espositio – This track doesn’t need an introduction, if you’ve ever seen a Rocky movie you know that this is like the most hype song of all time, and a total must for any hype playlist (in my opinion of course).
I call this playlist ‘Exam time bb (Let’s get this A). Do you have a hype song playlist? If so, what’s it called and what’s on it? If not you should definitely give it a try and let me know!
– DJ Psyched
ALBUM REVIEW: Elvis Depressedly – Depressedelica
BEST TRACKS: Who Can Be Loved In This World?, Let’s Break Up The Band, New Love In The Summertime
FCC violations: Who Can Be Loved In This World?, Let’s Break Up The Band
This experimental pop band hails from Asheville, North Carolina! You might have heard of Elvis Depressedly from their most popular song ‘Weird Honey’, from the album Holo Pleasures / California Dreamin’. This band is characterized by their soft, cloudy, sad boy hours aura.
Depressedelica sounds fuzzy, muted, and autotuned. It sounds like grittier, anxious dreampop. Like shoegaze if shoegaze was pushed down a flight of 20 stairs and then told that its dog was being held hostage. That’s okay because I always like my music burnt with a side of dinge. I prefer the less-autotuned, more acoustic-sounding tracks on the album such as ‘Who Can Be Loved In This World’ and ‘Let’s Break Up The Band’ because Mathew Lee Cothran ’s unfettred voice feels so genuine and vulnerable. These non-autotuned songs feel more heartfelt and personal to me than the more autotune-clounded songs on this album such as ‘Jane, Don’t You Know Me?’
I was drawn to this album because I’ve been feeling pretty low lately and wanted some music to wallow with. Depressedelica is perfect because even though I can’t make out the lyrics for half the songs unless I concentrate really hard, the music itself and Cothran’s quavering voice make this album effortlessly heartbreaking. I can, however, understand the lyrics of my favorite track on the album, Let’s Break Up The Band. This song is, obviously, about breaking up the band and moving onto life’s next adventure, but the underlying theme here is how lost you feel after trying so desperately hard to make something important work out and having it crumble apart in your hands anyway. It resonates so deeply with me.
I reccomended this album to you if you like teen suicide, dandelion hands, Starry Cat, or any other bleak-mood band that sounds like the singer put a sock over the microphone.