Author: WKNC Admin

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards – Fishing for Fishies

Fishing for Fishies by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards album cover

BEST TRACKS: Real’s Not Real, This Thing

FCC violations: Plastic Boogie, The Cruel Millennial,

Feeling ants in your pants? Feeling like if you don’t get up and dance immediately that you’ll burst into a million colorful pieces of confetti? Not to worry, there are plenty of boogies to be had throughout this album.

This 7-member ensemble from Melbourne, Australia shows no fear of exploring different genres. Their first two albums 12 Bar Bruise and Eyes Like the Sky were energetic blends of surf and garage rock. Over the next six years, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards continued to expand their sound, releasing several albums that included psychedelic rock, soul, folk, jazz, and heavy mental themes. King Gizzard has something for everybody.

Fishing for Fishies, released in April of 2019, is King Gizzard’s 14th album, and is a bizarre culmination of unique talents and creativity.  Fishing for Fishes was a highly anticipated album. After all, if the band could release 5 stunning albums in one year, who knew what would happen when they took a whole year off? Well, the result was a true gem that sounds a little like blues rock in the age of robot. The drums are crisp and tight. The vocals are heavily filtered and electronic. The guitar is fluid and upbeat yet maintains a beautifully forlorn bluegrass feel.

Several quirky messages are sprinkled into this album such as ‘don’t kill fish’ in the title track Fishing for Fishies and ‘we all have a false sense of reality because of corrupt media’ in the sixth track Real’s Not Real.

Though I think King Gizzard’s earlier surf and garage rock phase was their best era, I can tell the boys had tons of fun making this album.

Similar sounding artists are Aphrodite’s Child and Mahivishnu Orchestra. If you love Doctor Who or are empathetic to fish, then I recommend giving this album a spin.

-Safia Rizwan

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Classic Album Review

Retro Review: Pie Face Girls – First

Pie Face Girls - First

It’s time to talk local. It’s time to talk classics. It’s time to talk local classics. Basically, it’s time to talk Pie Face Girls, Raleigh legends. The trio has pumped out newer tracks and continues to absolutely crush the game, but this is a retro review after all, so we’re gonna get as retro as we can with these local celebrities. 2014.

            The geniuses of PFG gifted us with First in early 2014. Hard to believe this album is almost 6 years old, and even harder to believe that these lovely folks have stuck around oak city for all that time! We’ve been riding this rollercoaster of jams ever since this initial release, and although the group just keeps getting better, their debut is nothing to stick your nose up at.

            First screams Pie Face Girls. It’s just so them. The cover is essentially looking at you and asking you what you’re staring at. It’s not anything other than what Pie Face Girls really is. We get the message without any frill. If you check out this album online, you’ll also see that it contains four songs, none of which are child friendly per se. Three out of the four titles could not be spoken in full on air and I’m pretty sure all of them violate FCC regulations – but what a perfect illustration of PFG this is. They rock and they know it. Each of these sweet tunes has the essentials: Klay, Dani, and Tiffany rocking our worlds with earth shattering beats and perfectly yelled vocals telling us what we need to hear. The shortest track, F*** You I’m Pretty…? Sheesh what a tune. First of all, gold star for that title. We love to see it. Second of all, hello perfectly performed grungy drum moments. Hi scary bass riffs that prepare me for battle. NICE TO MEET ALL OF YOU. This song makes you wanna jump up and down in ugly pants and fight to destroy oppressors. Same goes for the whole album, honestly. This energy is what Pie Face Girls does best. They kill it every time and this first album is no exception. LONG LIVE PFG!!!

xoxo

your trusty music librarian 

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Local Music Music News and Interviews

The Local Beat: Goddamn Wolves

The Local Beat: Goddamn Wolves

Dj Beowvlf sits down with Goddamn Wolves as they play songs off their latest album, talk about their music journey and more! tune in for a great edition of The Local Beat.

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Podcasts

The Local Beat: Goddamn Wolves

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Miscellaneous

WKNC’s FAKING NEWS

Anthony Fantanto was asked to leave Pinecrest Elementary School after starting a live stream and loudly shouting that the performance was derivative of the the nearby Westwood Middle School ’s recital. 

-Andrew Evans 

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Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 9/24

Artist Record Label
1 ORTHODOX “I Can Show You God” [Single] Unbeaten
2 ENTRAILS “The Pyre” [Single] Metal Blade
3 KNOCKED LOOSE A Different Shade Of Blue Pure Noise
4 CREEPING DEATH “Ripping Through Flesh” [Single] Entertainment One
5 SIGNS OF THE SWARM “Crown of Nails” [Single] Unique Leader
6 AWAKE FOR DAYS “Break Your Chains” [Single] Self-Released
7 AS I LAY DYING “Blinded” [Single] Nuclear Blast
8 AMON AMARTH Berserker Metalblade
9 ASCENDING FROM ASHES Glory Darkscale Media
10 RITUALIZER “Speed Of Sound” [Single] Self-Released

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Podcasts

EOT295 Matt Brady: The Science of Rick and Morty 9/22/19

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Classic Album Review

Retro review: The Zephyr Bones – Secret Place

Um hello, if the Secret Place is an actual place then it’s a place I wanna be! This Zephyr Bones album is only two years old, but it definitely has that classic indie sound that can be hard to come by these days. This is a great album that will absolutely stand the test of time for several reasons; perhaps I shall make a list:

  1. That cover art. Sheesh. Wowza. What a cotton candy dream. Of course the album cover doesn’t affect sound quality but it’s what caught my eye in the music library and helped The Zephyr Bones stand out against thousands of other artists we have music from at KNC. If you aren’t looking for a specific artist’s work when you’re shopping around for some new music – then what will catch your eye? That cover babie! Before you even hear it, you see it, and the artwork for Secret Place is the perfect illustration. You can’t tell what it is. The landscape drawn out appears strange and feels hidden, as a secret place should.
  2. Lets hear it for the boys! Indie rock has always gotta be rooted in ‘rock.’ I know it. You know it. The skater kids know it. Fortunately, Secret Place fits the bill! It’s definitely on the right shelf in the music library. The foursome combine all the right elements in just the right way, making a mellow, beachy sound that isn’t missing any of the great parts of rock we all love. These guys seriously know what they’re doing.
  3. I’ll take those tunes with a twist – a modern twist. A great album sets out to do something different, which is not an easy task when so much music already exists. The Zephyr Bones do a great job of showcasing their individuality in Secret Place. Psychedelic soundscapes back up their already solid foundation and gentle vocals bring everything together in a way that just works.

If you’re looking for some indie rock to set a relaxing mood that isn’t lacking in genuine talent, this is the album for you.

 xoxo

your trusty music librarian

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DJ Highlights

Music Trends I Love

  1. Streaming: I know a lot of people love to hate streaming services, but they’d be lying if they didn’t agree that platforms like Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal are convenient, accessible and technologically up to date. These platforms allow for instant sharing of music and with smartphone capabilities, you can really take music everywhere you go.

  2. Festivals for everything: Like streaming, people love to hate music festivals, but I think that’s just because they haven’t been to one. I was definitely a jealous 14 year old, Tumblr surfing girl who dreamt about going to something like Coachella. Nowadays, a lot of music festivals are popping up in a large, grassy field near you and with big artists too. Just this year, the first annual Dreamville Fest was put on in Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park.

  3. Rap groups, artist collectives: Rap groups and general collectives of artists are such a spectacle in themselves showcasing different talents, styles and sometimes genres under one umbrella. The perfect example is Odd Future of course, a group of wild teens from California who represented the confusion, chaos and fun of being in the spotlight of the music industry. Artist collectives are fun to watch, to listen to and they always make the coolest merch. The hysteria that falls over everyone when a new group bursts on the scene is always an interesting thing to experience—the most recent being Brockhampton or Earthgang.

  4. Diverse and inclusive artists: I love seeing more and more color and diverse backgrounds of the artists that I discover and personally listen to. Their differences, struggles and personal tastes really shine through in their music. The first example that comes to mind is Jai Paul, an electronic artist whose Indian descent shows well in his work. Lil Nas X has recently come out as gay, Sam Smith has come out as non-binary and these instances show how much more comfortable artists feel about revealing their true selves to the world. However, the music industry still has a long, long way to go in terms of gender and race diversity, but I think it’s headed in the right direction.

  5. Hip-Hop is taking over: Move over Bruce Springsteen, hello Kendrick Lamar. I’m a hip-hop fan, so it’s pleasing to see rap achieve such a big step up in the music world, though it had great influence for decades now. According to Nielsen Music’s 2017 report, R&B/Hip-Hop are the most consumed genres of music in the US. With trap beats and rapped lyrics infiltrating genres like country, rock and pop, this statistic comes as no surprise.

-cellar door xx

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DJ Highlights

DJ Psyched on Pack Disco

 

This year I was given the amazing opportunity to be one of the DJ’s at the Pack Disco (alongside DJ Casey and DJ Charlie M.A.C). I was pretty nervous about it since this would be the longest and largest live DJing event I’ve ever done, but I was also really excited because of that. I decided to do throwback pop since it’s a genre that really gets people dancing and singing their hearts out, it puts most people into a state of nostalgia. I learned from the last time I DJ’d a silent disco (for the honors village) that you really have to read the crowd because they’ll definitely show you what they want. So I played some more classic throwback songs like R.Kelly’s Ignition, but since I noticed this crowd was so open and excited I also got away with playing stuff like Call Me Maybe and What Makes You Beautiful (it was amazing to watch people’s face when they realized what song was playing). 

There were definitely more highlights from that night too. After the show some of the other people who were involved in running the event told me that they thought it was funny that I played Mr. Telephone Man because they hadn’t heard it in ages, I hadn’t either, weirdly enough halfway through the event it just came into my head and I decided to throw it in and I’m glad I did. But of course there were some highlights that I had hoped would go well and they did, but they kind of exceeded my expectations, this crowd was amazing. I knew Bohemian Rhapsody would do well, that song is a classic, but I did not expect people to pull out their phones and start a huge hugging-swaying circle. It was beautiful. I also noticed a dance circle form at some point, though I can’t remember the track’s playing at the time, it was really fun watching people get really into the community spirit and start to interact more. My absolute favorite things were the moments when I would look into the crowd and make eye contact with someone on my channel and we would either nod and smile or point and each other and shout ayeeee. It was amazing interacting with so many people solely on the basis of music.

The whole event itself was an amazing and unforgettable time and I’m so glad to have DJ’d with the people I did. We talked before and after the event and it was all positive vibes going around. We wished each other good luck before, and had more of a team spirit going during the disco then a competition. After the event ended you could see the excitement on all of our faces, it was a successful event and we couldn’t have been more happy have been a part of it. The whole time we felt the community vibe. People kept trying to give requests (though we couldn’t take them for safety purposes) and we had several people come up trying to give high fives and fist bumps. I don’t know about my fellow DJs, but with all that excitement built up I didn’t sleep til after 4am. It was totally worth it. Thank you to the IRC for choosing us!

– DJ Psyched