Category: New Album Review

The newest albums, EPs and singles on the air at WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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New Album Review

Album Review: All the Time- Jessy Lanza

Best Tracks: All the Time, Alexander, Badly, Like Fire 

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If you’re a big fan of Jessy Lanza like I am, you’ve been anticipating her newest and 3rd full length album, All the Time, since she dropped her newest singles- “Lick in Heaven,” “Face,” and “Anyone Around” around the beginning of quarantine. Before the singles dropped, Canadian “clup-pop” artist, Jessy Lanza hadn’t put out an album since 2016’s Oh no. 

I first fell in love with Jessy Lanza’s sound with her first album- Pull My Hair Back. Songs like “Giddy” and “F*** Diamond” got me hooked with her etherial voice and siren-esque synth. Similarly, her second album, Oh no, became one of my favorites. Songs like “VV Violence” and “Never Enough” are reminiscent of the 80s with similarities to Janet Jackson- which I love. As well as a techno and club influence with songs like “It means I love you.” All the Time, Oh no, and Pull My Hair Back are similar yet very different– All the Time feels a lot more pop and electro-pop. 

The album is so cohesive in its consistency of sound throughout each song. Songs like “Face,” “Badly,” and “Like Fire” are very PC music, whilst still contributing her repetitive and ethereal vocals. They make you want to dance!!! Her lyrics are short and sweet- repeating phrases like “would you rather be lonely” and “over and over” on songs “Alexander” and “Over and Over.” Songs like “Baby Love” and “Over and Over” are slower, more drawn out and remind me a lot of Pull My Hair Back and even Robyn’s- “Baby Forgive Me.”

If it isn’t clear enough that I love this album, let it be known that I accidentally sent my therapist a text meant for a friend telling her to listen. Turns out my therapist listened anyways and loved it too :p I’ve also been playing the album a lot on my balcony and have gotten sweet responses from my neighbors- some even telling me to “turn it up.” SO, it really is a universally good album. 

If you’re in the mood for a fun, summer to fall album- I highly recommend. Tell your friends, neighbors, & even your therapist if you have one 😉 

-Xoxo, 

Gab

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New Album Review

Album Review: Every Bad by Porridge radio

Music billed as “the sound of our particular moment in time” can feel a little gimmicky, but Porridge Radio aren’t chasing trends, trends are catching up to them. The rest of the world is now just as bitter and disillusioned as Porridge Radio, and they have decided that this moment belongs to them alone. Seriously, lead singer Dana Margolin went into a NME interview and said “I’ve always known that we’re the best band on earth.”

If that claim makes them sound a little full of themselves, it’s not entirely unjustified. The album is built off a pretty traditional post punk formula, but it never feels like a throwback. The aggressive dour guitar tones, repetitive song structures, and wounded sarcasm call back to bands like Public Image Ltd, Pere Ube, and, of course, Joy Division. However the sound of the band takes a lot of risks as well, incorporating heavier noise-influenced passages and more memorable melodies.

Another appeal, aside from the overall sound, comes from the vocals. Margolin’s voice could hardly be described as beautiful, but she exudes the kind of self-assured, yet depressive swagger usually only rewarded in male alt-rock stars. Her lyrics repeat often, going into dark spirals, but the sheer intensity of her performances keep the music from getting stale.

The album isn’t a joyous experience, but if you need a intensely cathartic outlet for some negative emotions (And don’t we all right about now?) then I would highly recommend this album.

-Adrian F

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New Album Review

The Prelude EP Review

My favorites: Not Alright, At My Worst
Listen if you like: Khalid, Mac Ayres, Arin Ray 

The new Pink Sweat$ EP, called The Prelude, showcases six tracks by this upcoming R&B artist most known for the release of his single “Honesty” which has more than a hundred million plays on Spotify. However, the track “17” from the new EP has already surpassed those numbers. Pink Sweat$, also known as David Bowden, has yet to release his debut album but has gained popularity in R&B/pop circles for his singles and EPs. This EP is no exception, with a masterful blend of popular cotton-candy beats, soulful vocals, and emotionally vulnerable lyrics.

The album artwork for the EP greatly reflects the whole vibe of the album: happy and bright. On the surface, every song has a playful melody and instrumentation. Easily you could picture all of these songs on a top-100s chart, alongside Bowden’s past works. Penetrating into the lyrics and meaning behind the songs gives a deeper look at the emotion housed in the artist’s music. The tracks have beautiful lines like “We’ll be dancing the same groove / When we are ninety-two, the same as seventeen.” His track that delves deepest into emotions is “Not Alright,” which focuses on the treatment of Black Americans and the emotion following the death of George Floyd. 

This EP reminded me of some of the popular works by Khalid and Arin Ray, if you enjoy those I recommend giving this a listen. There is clearly an influence of contemporary R&B, pop, and soul music infused into this work. Most of the tracks utilize guitar, very simple beats, and rely heavily on the artist’s vocal talent. 

Give it a listen and let me know what you think!

– Miranda

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New Album Review

Review: Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 by Tkay Maidza

Tkay Maidza is a Zimbabwean-Austrialian artist who is no stranger to the underground scene. Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2, her third studio release, is an enticing smorgasbord of distinct flavors. In just 8 tracks, Tkay flexes her range as not only a singer but rapper as well, covering trunk-knocking hardcore hip-hop, silky alternative RnB and everything in between. With 26 minutes of runtime, the project plays more like an EP than an album; however, this works to Tkay’s benefit because LYWW2 is all killer, no filler.

My first experience with her was through her track “Awake”. Though it was released as a single in 2019, it fits into the tracklist of LYWW2 like a glove. Originally, I tuned in for JPEGMAFIA’s solid feature, but I stayed for Tkay’s commanding presence on the microphone. With its eerie synth lead, distorted bass, and confrontational lyrics, “Awake” is a banger to be sure.

Tkay reaches into pop rap’s bag of tricks in “You Sad”, which is accompanied by a quirky music video. The result, with its cheery guitar loop and vocal harmonies, is an earworm of a song about boys who simply won’t stop calling. To the ears, this track is diametrically opposed to “Awake”, and the fact that they are found on the same album is a testament to Tkay’s versatility as an artist.

Overall, Tkay Maidza has proven herself a force to be reckoned with on Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2, A collection of tracks that are all refreshing in their own right. I would recommend this project to fans of Princess Nokia, Kari Faux, and Leikeli47. Listen to the album.

Favorite tracks: 24k, Shook, Awake, PB Jam

– DJ Mango

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New Album Review

Album Review: Goodbye, Nowhere! by Double Grave

Goodbye, Nowhere! album art

This week in WKNC we received a new album by Double Grave called Goodbye, Nowhere! As their first full album since 2017, you can really tell how their time away has allowed for the band to grow into themselves and find the perfect melodies to emulate the feeling that this album gives. Starting off with the first song, Out Here sets the scene for the album as it leads us in with a background of soft wind chimes and sparse guitar riffs. It paints a picture that matches the album art, giving the listener the feeling of being stuck in a place called nowhere. 

Following the intro, The Farm starts a momentum that carries a pretty steady pace through the first half of the album. The flow is broken only momentarily by the song Actor. However, it is made up for by the emotion in Jeremy Warden’s voice when he reminisces on his past life choices and how, as the song progresses, he realizes everything would still be the same in the end. The second half of Goodbye, Nowhere! takes a more introspective turn when Warden says that if you can’t run from your problems, cover them up, or make them disappear, then “learn how to love.” 

My only criticism of this album is that Double Grave is still in that middle ground of finding their own, unique sound. However, Goodbye, Nowhere! is a progression of Double Grave finding their feet, slowly making their way out of that grave of ubiquitous, empty feeling, almost-emo rock. 

As a whole, the album gives a mixed feeling of leaving things behind yet continuing to love after you leave. As Warden said on the song The Farm, you can “walk a thousand miles,” but “take care of the ones you love.” 

Favorite Songs: 
The Farm 
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Slime

Thanks for tuning in,
Much love, 
Chippypants 

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Greer – Lullaby For You

ALBUM REVIEW: Greer – Lullaby For You

BEST TRACKS: Understand, Stay Clear

FCC violaitons: Aeroplane, Bye Bye Baby

Southern California bred alternative indie rock band Greer is new to the scene, yet somehow still sounds like a blast from the late 90s. Greer’s debut EP, Lullaby For You, is short and sweet with only 5 songs, coming in at just over 15 minutes, but is a great example of pure, old school alternative indie rock. Somewhat refreshingly, there’s nothing new-wave or post about it. Sometimes, you just get sick of all the new and failed experimental sounds, and just want to go back to the tried and true roots, ya know?

Though all the songs on this EP are united at their catchy pop song core, there is still a lot of diversity. In each song is a distinguishable element, and no two songs are too alike. Summery, beachy, and mellow – Aeroplane is the first song the band ever wrote together. Paper birds is folksy and cinematic, while Bye Bye Baby starts out with a drowsy intro and evolves into the most energetic song on the EP. Understand is my favorite track on the EP, because it has the most impressive vocals and is the most emotionally charged song for me. Stay clear is darker and smoother than the other songs. Josiah, the vocalist from the band stated in an interview with KXSC radio that Stay Clear is most reflective of the songs the band has been working on for the future, which I assume means that the band will be moving towards a harder rock sound.

Overall, though the music is bright and sparkling, I found this EP to be Incredibly sad when I listened to the lyrics. All of the songs are about the different forms of rubble left over after a lost love. I’m awaiting the full-length project, which will probably be about a year from now. This EP is recommended if you like bands like Peach Pit, Iron and Wine, and Weezer.

-Safia

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Dougie Poole – The Freelancer’s Blues

ALBUM REVIEW: Dougie Poole – The Freelancer’s Blues

BEST TRACKS: Claire, The Who’s Who of Who Cares, Natural Touch, These Drugs Aren’t Working

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If you’ve been a long-time listener, you might have heard Dougie Poole playing on WKNC sometime around the end of the year in 2017, which is when Dougie Poole released his first album, Wideass Highway. The album was a huge success among a diverse range of people, from fans of country to fans of lofi hip-hop. This is because Dougie Poole makes a sound that is like no other, incorporating core elements of good ole country, but playing guitar in a very unmistakable heavy psychedelic rock style. I’m happy to report that Dougie Poole’s newest album, The Freelancer’s Blues, is just as signature and unique, though maybe with a twinge more country influence.

The only other time I’ve ever seen psychedelic folk rock even remotely alike is in the self-titled Devarrow album, and even so, the guitar comes nowhere close to matching the hazy, faded ambience that Dougie Poole’s guitar creates. The reverberations consitenty coursing through every song on The Freelancer’s Blues are so strong that your sense of what’s really here and what’s not might get shaken up a little.

Another thing that makes Dougie Poole so incomparable to any other regular country artist is the lyrics. While these songs often tell a story like a country ballad, the lyrical themes stray far from country norms. Dougie Poole often sings about topics relatable to angsty metropolitan youth, like hard party drugs, having a laptop as a best friend, vaping on the job, and failed attempts at becoming a Buddhist. Listen to this album if you’re a broke, romantically alienated 20-something year old living in Raleigh’s urban decay, and you sometimes secretly wish you could live on a ranch in Houston with horses and fields of potatoes, but you know you could never give up Chinese fast food and nightclubs.

-Safia

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Love Fame Tragedy – Wherever I go, I Want To Leave

ALBUM REVIEW: Love Fame Tragedy – Wherever I go, I Want To Leave

BEST TRACKS: Please Don’t Murder Me (Part 2), Honeypie, Sharks, My Cheating Heart

FCC violations: 5150, Pills, Body Parts, Multiply, B-Team

Love Fame Tragedy is the solo project of The Wombat’s lead vocalist and guitarist Mathew Murphy. It all began in 2016 as a place for him to put his songs that didn’t quite fit in with the Wombat’s album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, which is leagues more innocent and love-struck than this independent project of Murphy’s.  Wherever I go, I Want To Leave is Murph’s debut solo album. This music is about as alternative indie rock as you can get for your buck, taking influences from bands such as Bastille and The Killers.

This album features an incredibly lush medley of percussion, guitar, and keyboard. Synth-pop elements are notably seen on the 5th track, ‘Multiply’, while track 2, ‘My Cheating Heart’, is heavier on the guitar and bass. Most songs on this album, however, are a spectacular blend of synth-pop elements and classic indie rock, mixing tight percussion and wavy synthetic effects with grounding baselines and catchy electric riffs. The instrumental on this album melds together, with no one instrument really taking the spotlight, which makes the vocals stand out a lot more. This is especially true on track 9, ‘Please Don’t Murder Me (Part 2)’ where the instrumental is really toned down to emphasize the message in the lyrics.

Though the cover art and title of this album seem pessimistic and bleak, the feeling I got from most of the songs on the album was quite the opposite. This album is very vibrant and lively, especially the 14th track, ‘Honeypie’. This album sort of seems like a confessional, as a common theme on this album is Murphy outlining numerous of his own flaws, such as his propensity to give in to the temptations of toxic women, spending huge amounts of money, drug abuse, and his tendency to bet everything on a whim – just to name a few. The list goes on and on.

Recommended if you like: The 1975, The Killers, Bastille, Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats

-Safia

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Khruangbin – Mordechai

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ALBUM REVIEW: Khruangbin – Mordechai

BEST TRACKS: Time (You and I), Pelota, Dearest Alfred, So We Won’t Forget

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I’ve been following Khruangbin since the release of their jaw-dropping first album in 2015, ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’. Following this release, Khruangbin has been releasing rippers one after the other, from the ever-ambient, Latin-American-influenced album Con Todo El Mundo to the religious experience that is the Texas Sun EP, to their latest release, Mordechai.  The thing that separates Mordechai from Khruangbin’s previous albums is that most songs on this album surprisingly feature vocals, which is out of character for this customarily instrumental band. Adding vocals was a risk that paid off, in my opinion, especially on the 6th track, ‘Pelota’, where beautifully sung Spanish lyrics are delivered in a most surreal and completely nonchalant way.

Khruangbin is a multilingual band taking influences from many different cultural music styles such as Brazillian Bossa nova and Congolese Soukous. Vocals on this album never overstep their place in this predominantly instrumental band, always sharing the spotlight with the guitar and percussion, melding pleasantly to create an ample, well rounded sound. Underlying the seemingly brand new approach to music on Mordechai, the signature Khruangbin psychedelic influence still remains, but you won’t catch in unless you look for it. It comes out most prominently in the subtle ringing and eerie, choir-like vocals of the 10th track ‘Shida’ and in the fuzzy, low-key electric guitar of the 1st track ‘First Class’.

When I listen to this album I feel like just drifting. I feel so completely relaxed, without a care in the world, like I’m lying in a hammock on the beach under palm trees, sipping a raspberry margarita. Inexplicable, there is also a prominent aura of mystery that I get from listening to this album, and I somehow feel as if this album signifies the end of something.

-Safia

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Remo Drive – A Portrait Of An Ugly Man

ALBUM REVIEW: Remo Drive – A Portrait Of An Ugly Man

BEST TRACKS: A Guide To Live By, Easy As That, If I’ve Ever Looked Too Deep In Thought

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Remo Drive has been one of my favorite bands even since the release of their album “Greatest Hits” in 2017. You might remember it as the iconic pink album that contains some of Remo Drive’s best songs such as ‘Yer Killin’ Me’, ‘Crash Test Rating’, and ‘Art School’. With the release of “A Portrait Of An Ugly Man,” Remo Drive has given up their emo days in favor of a more romantic age.

In “A Portrait Of An Ugly Man,” the anxious, forlorn punk rock style of “Greatest Hits” is replaced with more maturity and artistry. The drums are less frantic. The guitar thrashes less, but twangs and flourishes more. Vocals are much more refined, and there is no signature emo punk rock shouting and whining. Erik Paulson has done a full 180 on his vocal style, becoming tender and wispy, and incorporating breathtaking vibrato into bellows which seem to resound and bounce off of the walls. This album incorporates a lot of dark, southwestern desert rock elements into its instrumental and melodies, most notably in track 4, ‘If I’ve Ever Looked Too Deep In Thought’ with its rattlesnake-esque tambourine, cinematic 80s strings, and wet, reverberating guitar strums.

Though I might miss the mischief and youthfulness that has disappeared from Remo Drive’s radar, I can’t really blame a band for growing up. It looks like emo was just a phase after all. Nevertheless, “A Portrait Of An Ugly Man” has all the energy and charm of a Remo Drive album, only with more impressive vocals. Not to mention, the lyrics are still as hard-hitting and clever as ever. A line from this album that really stuck with me is “If all that goes up must come down how long do I have before I hit the ground?” from the last track ‘Easy as That’. I recommend this album if you love bands like Beirut, Andrew Bird, and Dr. Dog, and Pet Symmetry.

-Safia