Artist Record Label 1 NEVER ENDING GAME Just Another Day Triple B 2 KROSIS A Memoir of Free Will Unique Leader 3 LORNA SHORE Immortal Century Media 4 POINT OF CONTACT Commitment Plead Your Case 5 TIME AND PRESSURE The Gateway City Sound Safe Inside 6 HANDS OF GOD Blueprint for Self Destruction [EP] Self-Released 7 DIVISION OF MIND Division of Mind Triple B 8 CRIMINAL INSTINCT Terrible Things Closed Casket Activities 9 FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE Veleno Nuclear Blast 10 ENTERPRISE EARTH Luciferous Entertainment One
Sobville is the first EP released by artist Arrested Youth following his 2018 full length album, Fear. The tracks focus on the theme of taking personal responsibility for your thoughts and feelings. Arrested Youth has drawn me in with his intensely relatable and mindful lyrics. On his last release he said the lyrics are about ‘thinking of the things that are big in our heads but so small on the radar of life’.
The EP Features five tracks that all seem to focus on different aspects of the overall theme. ‘Dig’, the first track, is a powerful anthem that sets the tone by highlighting the idea of not being who he once was and how he is starting to see things differently. The hook includes the lines ‘Dig me up, from underneath, and you’ll see, I’m not who I used to be, I’m not who I used to be.’ giving insight into what inspired the work and making the listener feel powerful by the reminder.
The next track, titled ‘Expectations’, keeps up the anthem theme that holds strong throughout this album; all of the choruses are incredibly powerful and really draw in the listener. This particular track focuses on how expectations set by the world may not align with out true callings and leave us feeling like we’re not living our truth. He highlights this with the hook ‘…All the years I’ve spent, All the lives I’ve faked, Just to keep myself protected’.
The third track, titled ‘What You’re Made Of’, was the first track I heard from the album, it’s an empowering and blunt anthem. The song focuses on bouncing back from life’s troubles. Even when ‘I’ve been up, I’ve been down, I’ve been kicked down on the ground… I stand tall, where I’m at, Been to hell but now I’m back’. I put this track on to hype myself up because there’s something really inspiring about hearing him say ‘Show me what you’re made of’.
The second to last track ‘The Kid I Used to Know’ is almost a reflection of ‘Dig’ since he’s saying goodbye to his old self and his old habits. This flows perfectly into what is my current favorite track, a powerful ending to the EP, ‘Sob Story’.
This track pulls together the point he’s been building throughout the works, ‘I’ve been broke like a toy machine, I’ve been spit back out like some listerine, But I get up on my own two feet, ‘Cause I’m not some sob story’.
This track is another anthem and this repeating and developing chorus isn’t even the best of it. The bridge features a complete change in music, with its eerie and lighter tone. Its lyrics ‘You might be asking: “How can I be happy, When the whole universe keeps laughing at me?”, It’s pretty simple: let go of your hang ups, Life doesn’t owe me a thing’ always makes me feel powerful and calm, it’s a great reminder that we shouldn’t let the things that happen to us define us. This whole album serves as an eye-opening reminder that our thoughts are powerful and we have to be careful how we let them frame our lives.
I would like to introduce one of my favorite metal bands, Infected Rain. I was a bit skeptical before listening to this nu-metal album, but much to my surprise, I completely fell in love with the album and the band. Their incorporation of metalcore, melodic death metal, electronic samples, touching lyrics, and female screams gives them a unique, gripping sound. 86 perfectly showcases the talent of each individual member. The first song of the album, Mold, gives a good introduction of their eclectic sound by combining heavy guitar, explosive vocals, and electronics. Elena Cataraga, also known as Lena Scissorhands, has a wildly impressive vocal range, spanning from clean singing, intense vocal fry, to deep gutturals Everything she delivers is packed with so much raw emotion it gives me chills to this day. This emotion shines through in Orphan Soul, where Lena writes a letter to her parents reflecting on her painful childhood while celebrating the new freedom and life she’s found despite her past. My favorite song from this album, Peculiar Kind of Sanity, focuses on how we allow our ego to corrupt our perception, overcoming deeply instilled fear, and taking control of our life. The primary theme throughout the album seems to be awakening from confusion and pain, corruption of humanity, self-acceptance, and overcoming your past or current pain. I find myself going back to their music over and over again for escape and solace. As is the beauty of music, but I find this vulnerability is somewhat rare in a lot of metal, so Infected Rain’s take is refreshing. Who said being in touch with your emotions isn’t metal?
Infected Rain formed in 2008 in Moldova, and first appeared playing at a concert dedicated to Slayer. Later that year they released their first demo CD with three songs – With Me, Parasite, and No Idols. They’ve shared the stage with bands such Obituary, Behemoth, Katatonia, Mötley Crüe, and The Agonist. After ten years of being an independent band, they finally signed with Napalm records in February 2019. Lena states on their website, “I want to touch people somewhere deep inside, try to end their fears and give them that escape that they always search for. Music saved my life, but when I started to sing is when my life acquired color. I want to share that with you.” It’s apparent listening to their work that every moment comes from the heart, and I think that’s what makes this band so special.
While I absolutely love this band, I have a few reservations about their techniques regarding electronic sounds. From conversations I’ve had and reviews I’ve seen, it’s a common thought. Songs like Mold and Freaky Carnival are a prime example. The electronic sounds are sometimes unexpected and take the songs in a different direction that I would like. Maybe this is a misled presumption I’ve developed from listening to so much traditional sounding black and death metal. I respect that Infected Rain is pushing boundaries of metal and incorporating various sounds to create their art. If you can’t get past the electronic sounds, this band still has loads to offer. Electronic sounds are incorporated in only a few songs, and the rest is pure metal. Overall, I think this band is extremely underrated and I can’t wait to see where their unique sound takes them.
Here’s a playlist that you can play in a variety of settings. These songs are chill, lyrical, funky, jazzy, introspective and nostalgic. Rap deals with a lot of heavy subject matter and a lot of the songs below talks about serious stuff. While I love rap and I love to have fun while I listen to it, it’s important to recognize the black stories being told here. With that being said, I’ve provided a bunch of things to do while listening to each song for a maximized listening experience.
Gangsta Bitches (ft. Da Brat & Trina) – Eve
Play this when you’re getting ready for a party or a date and you wanna feel badass.
Nas Is Like – Nas
Play this when you’re walking to and from class.
What They Do – The Roots
Play this while you look out of the window of a car riding passenger.
Blast – Reflection Eternal
Play this when your friends come over on Friday.
Verses from the Abstract – A Tribe Called Quest
Play this in the car at night and bob your head the whole way.
Mr. Me Too – Clipse
Play this while you’re cooking dinner it helps you concentrate.
Shook Ones, Pt. II – Mobb Deep
Play this when it’s raining out and you feel a little emo.
Tonz ‘O’ Gunz – Gang Starr
Play this to speed-walk to class.
Big Momma Thang – Lil’ Kim
Play this while you get ready with a bunch of your friends (no boys allowed sorry).
Superthug – N.O.R.E.
Another song to play in the car. Volume up.
When I B On Tha Mic – Rakim
Another amazing song to play on the walk to class. I also think it’s great in the shower.
Liquid Swords – GZA
Night driving song. Chill, but hardcore.
Beware – Big Pun
Angry? Play this.
Grindin’ – Clipse
If you wanna dance, this Neptunes beat will do it for you.
MHB’s – Quasimoto
If you wanna chill and laugh at a clever bar, listen to this.
Southern Hospitality – Ludacris
Another futuristic and funky Neptunes beat. Dance to this.
Hip 2 Da Game – Lord Finesse
This catchy chorus will have you hooked and bobbing your head.
Blow the Whistle – Too $hort
High speed chase with the police? Play this to get away with it.
Hate It Or Love It (ft. 50 Cent) – The Game
A catchy chorus and infectious beat. This is a summer song.
Song Cry – Jay Z
If you’re sad, Jay Z will rap you to sleep with this amazing sampled beat.
She’s A Bitch – Missy Elliot
Get you and your krump dance crew together for some new choreo with this one.
BEST TRACKS: Wandering Son, The Static Age, Against the Day
FCC Violations: Julia Take Your Man Home
Thin Minds, released earlier this month, is Wolf Parade’s sixth album. You might have heard of Wolf Parade in the context of their genre-shattering 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary, which paved the way for many more odd, jittery indie rock bands to come such as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and King Crimson. After taking slightly different paths with their later albums over the years, Wolf Parade again embraces their roots with Thin Mind, an album that evokes the same feelings and energy as their debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary. Original fans of Wolf Parade will be relieved to know that the band has returned to their early style. Wolf Parade took the sound of Apologies to the Queen Mary and refined and finely aged it to produce yet another stunning rock album.
Songs on this album feature unique melodies slightly twinged with electronic style, but surely grounded in pure rock. The shining feature of this album is definitely its tendency for catchy, melodic riffs. Flourishing keyboard work by Spencer Krug keeps the energy surging from song to song as Dan Boeckner’s guitar work holds you captive with it’s immense grit. Some of the charm of this album is due to the subtle 80’s pop-synth influence and Krug’s frazzled vocal style.
Even though it was released in the peak of winter, Thin Mind is a very summery-sounding album to me. It reminds me of swimming in the lake, climbing pine trees, and going camping, possibly because of the nostalgic, coming-of-age energy this music exudes. This album will make you want to set your inner child free, to leap and bound over the hills. Themes on this album are very inspirational. The very first track, Under Glass, is about freeing yourself by embracing uncertainty.
If you’re a fan of Arcade Fire circa 2004, then this punchy album is sure to win your heart.
Yola, born Yolanda Quartey, is a 36 year old Bristol, UK native. She has worked in the music business since the early 2000s backing for artists such as Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers, and Iggy Azalea. In 2010, she joined Bristol band, Phantom Limb, as lead vocalist. She left the band when her artistic work began being put down by the rest of the band. To pair with her vocals, Yola began learning guitar and writing her own songs. In 2016, she released her first EP, Orphan Offering, but it did not reach audiences enough to make much of a name for herself outside of the Bristol scene.
After Orphan Offering, Yola continued to develop her sound. She teamed up with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and began crafting her debut album, Walk Through Fire. Named after a real-life experience of setting her kitchen on fire, Walk Through Fire serves as a metaphor for the artist leaving her old life behind and emerging as a transformed musician in the industry. The album is full of stories of heartbreak and turning the page on past relationships. Her style is colorful, integrating genres from singer-songer/American, to r&b, to pop, to the sounds of Muscle Shoals. The album is both heartwarmingly nostalgic and refreshingly modern. Through Walk Through Fire, Yola has made a name for herself in the music industry and left audiences excited for what she has to come.
LISTEN TO IF YOU LIKE: ethereal folk, pagan folklore
FCC
Clean
If anyone reading this is a fan of Grouper, think about if Grouper was to make music similar to Agnes Obel or Joanna Newsome. Oh, and if Grouper obsessively wrote lyrics about pagan myths and sacrifice.
At any rate, the group now called Tasseomancy (based on the title of the album they released under the name, Ghost Bees), the sisters Sari Lightman and Romi Lightman produce some of the most lyrically intriguing modern folk. Their first album under Tasseomancy, Ulalume (2011) attained some significance in the underground music community as an experimental folk album dedicated to poems about death… but before that, they released “Tasseomancy” in 2008, and this is truly a hidden gem.
Some background on this Toronto based group: their great great grandmother was a Russian Jewish tea-leaf reader so the name “tasseomancy” and the album cover for this album are dedicated to her. In general though, their lyrics have an extreme pagan influence, with songs like Tear Tassle Ogre Heart with lyrics like “But god, I trace your guts and wear them as a beauty mark.” Tracks like Erl King refer to the legend of the “Erlkönig,” or king of the fairies (written by Goethe) about an anxious young boy who is lured by the fairy to be murdered. Some example lyrics from this track are “The gifts I could give to you, the wind and the wild river spring. Child, you’re beautiful, come quiet, come willing.” A truly disturbing, but remarkable track.
The vocals are just absolutely haunting on this album, both in terms of tone and lyrics. Certainly check out this album if you want to hear some folk music with dark under and overtones sung by two women who are great a capella performers as well as guitarists.
Artist Record Label 1 WORMHOLE The Weakest Among Us Lacerated Enemy 2 SEPULTURA Quadra [Advance Tracks] Nuclear Blast 3 CATTLE DECAPITATION Death Atlas Metal Blade 4 MAGNITUDE To Whatever Faithful End Triple B 5 BRAND OF SACRIFICE God Hand Unique Leader 6 SHADOW OF INTENT Melancholy Self-Released 7 SIGNS OF THE SWARM Vital Deprivation Unique Leader 8 UPON A BURNING BODY Southern Hostility Seek & Strike 9 AFTER THE BURIAL Evergreen Sumerian 10 DISENTOMB The Decaying Light Unique Leader
Artist Record Label 1 BLACK SURFER Black Surfer [EP] Self-Released 2 TRUTH CLUB Not An Exit Tiny Engines 3 BASEMENT REVOLVER Wax And Digital [EP] Sonic Unyon 4 JUNIOR ASTRONOMERS Body Language Self-Released 5 VACANT COMPANY Decolonize [EP] Deep Sea 6 DOTWAV MEDIA Rather Die Than 9-5 Dotwav Media 7 LALA LALA Sleepyhead (Reissue) Hardly Art 8 OH SEES Face Stabber Castle Face 9 GREEN BUZZARD Amidst The Clutter And Mess I Oh You 10 PAT JUNIOR I Thought I Knew Be Absxlute 11 CEREMONY In The Spirit World Now Relapse 12 METZ Covers [EP] Sub Pop 13 GEOWULF My Resignation PIAS 14 MILLY Our First Four Songs [EP] Dangerbird 15 OH ROSE While My Father Sleeps Park The Van 16 BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT At The Party With My Brown Friends Saddle Creek 17 BLACK MARBLE Bigger Than Life Sacred Bones 18 FLORAL PRINT Floral Print Tiny Engines 19 PEAER A Healthy Earth Tiny Engines 20 MANNEQUIN PUSSY Patience Epitaph 21 CHARM “Leo Rising” [Single] Self-Released 22 KING GINO Cold Blooded Callisto 23 CHASTITY BELT Chastity Belt Hardly Art 24 DESERT SESSIONS Vol. 11 & 12 Matador/Beggars 25 HOP ALONG How simple Saddle Creek 26 MACSEAL Super Enthusiast 6131 27 ALEXANDRA SAVIOR The Archer 30th Century 28 DARKSOFT Brain Self-Released 29 KATE TEAGUE Kate Teague [EP] Muscle Beach 30 BODYWASH Comforter Luminelle
TOP ADDS
1 FRANCES QUINLAN Likewise Saddle Creek 2 REAL ESTATE “Paper Cup” [Single] Domino 3 COLD BEAT Mother DFA 4 BAD SOUNDS Escaping From A Violent Time, Vol. 1 [EP] Theory 5 DEEPER “This Heat” [Single] Fire Talk 6 FYOHNA Radio Sampler [EP] Self-Released 7 SLOTFACE Sorry For The Late Reply Nettwerk 8 PAPOOZ Night Sketches Half Awake 9 WOLF PARADE Thin Mind Sub Pop 10 DIET CIG “Night Terrors” [Single] Frenchkiss
Artist Record Label 1 LAVA LA RUE “Widdit” [Single] NiNE8 COLLECTIVE 2 LO VILLAGE “Jefe’s House” [Single] Rebel 3 ZACK COKAS “Bust Down” [Single] 808s and Beatbreaks 4 SKYXXX “Hotboy” [Single] Warner 5 EVIDENCE 10,000 Hours Rhymesayers Entertainment 6 J.I.D. Off Deez (ft. J. Cole) Dreamville/Interscope 7 FOGGIERAW “I Gotta Ball” [Single] Diff Sound 8 NESS HEADS “Pull Me Up” [Single] Ness Heads 9 HEALTH “HATE YOU (ft. JPEGMAFIA)” [Single] Loma Vista 10 LESTHEGENIUS “Raleighwood Hills (ft. Sonny Miles and Jaxson Free)” [Single] Self-Released
