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: King Krule’s Man Alive!

My favorites: Stoned Again, Perfecto Miserable, Slinky

Listen if you like: Ariel Pink, Blood Orange, Toro y Moi 

I really like King Krule’s (alias for Archy Marshall) music, specifically his lyricism, which is filled with wit and strangeness I haven’t found in any other indie artists. His voice stands out, a scratchy baritone with a thick English accent that is a delight to the ears. King Krule’s 6 Feet Beneath the Moon helped him accrue popularity in the indie/alternative scene. I particularly love this album; its melodies are relaxing and each song is shrouded in emotional depth. 

I found Man Alive! to be an interesting contribution to King Krule’s discography. I loved that while listening, I could feel more emotion throughout this album than most of his previous works. There is a palpable anguish in the tracks Comet Face and Alone, Omen 3. Perfecto Miserable is a track where he expresses a deep love and longing, which specifically stuck out to me as less grim and more emotionally charged than his past works. The entirety of Man Alive! allows the listener to step into the mind of a grim, pessimistic Londoner, and I love any album that can show so clearly the perspective and storytelling of another person. Throughout all the darkness in sound and nightmarish lyricism, there are the lighthearted snippets “Please, complete me/ It must be the answer” and “You’re my everything/ You make me feel alright” which must be a reference to Marshall’s current relationship. Even the ending of the album with Please Complete Thee transforms from a dark, grungy melody to light uplifting notes in the last minute of the song. This album is filled with such contrasts. King Krule also played with a variety of new sounds compared to his previous work. Specifically, there is more electronic influence in tracks like Cellular and Comet Face. As a big fan of electronic music, I really appreciated this as a breakaway from some of his more guitar/piano based songs from older albums. Although 6 Feet Beneath the Moon will always be my favorite of Marshall’s discography, this album is a lovely look into the evolution of King Krule as a musician and makes me excited for what’s to come. 

– Miranda 

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Ratboys – Printer’s Devil

ALBUM REVIEW: Ratboys – Printer’s Devil

BEST TRACKS: Printer’s Devil, I Go Out at Night, Look To

FCC clean

Printer’s devil is an old term for an apprentice at a printing establishment. Printer’s devils would do simple tasks such as mix basins of ink. There are many supposed origins for the term. My favorite theory is that a mischievous devil, Titivillus, haunts every print shop and performs mischief such as removing lines of type and misspelling words. The printing apprentice was blamed for these things, and called the printer’s devil by association. Printer’s Devil is also the name of Ratboy’s most recent release and the last (and best) song on the album. This Chicago indie band is back on the scene, attempting to break our hearts again with another wistful, nostalgic album.

On Printer’s Devil, Ratboys banishes any last remaining essence of twang or folk from their style to produce a through and through alt-pop album. Julia Steiner’s voice is childlike and whimsical, which brings a level of warmth even to Ratboys’ most grungy, fuzzy songs. However, most songs on Printer’s Devil are on the softer side, which suits Steiner’s voice better. While she has a wonderful voice, Steiner is definitely not a screamer. While this album features some electrifying riffs, you won’t find anything too intense here. In accordance to Ratboys’ past style, Printer’s Devil is still rather laid-back, despite having lost elements of post-country and twang.

This album was recorded in Steiner’s empty childhood home, which might have added some ache to Steiner’s voice, especially since a prominent theme on this album is the revisitation of childhood memories as an adult. While listening to this album,  I can’t help but recall memories of my own childhood and wondering what all those places from my memories look like now. Though Printer’s Devil is less novel than Ratboys’ previous release, GN, it’s still worth a run-through. Excite your ears with some new sounds. I’d recommend this album to fans of Charly Bliss, Cayetana, and  Weakened Friends.

-Safia

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Basement Revolver – Wax and Digital

ALBUM REVIEW: Basement Revolver – Wax and Digital

BEST TRACKS: Master’s Degree, Concussion pt. 2

FCC Violations: Concussion pt. 2, Have I Been Deceived

Basement Revolver’s newest, second ever album, Wax and Digital, is delicate and simple shoegaze. There’s nothing overworked about it. long-time fans of Basement Revolver fell in love with the band when they made a splash in the Ontario indie music scene, cultivating their fuzzy, reverberating sound and vocalist Chrissy Hurn’s angelic voice. Hurn is still out to impress with her talented singing for this new album, but the band has taken a different approach this time around, opting to put intensity in the backseat for favor of a more dream pop approach. As opposed to Basement Revolver’s first album, Wax and Digital is an album for the more mellow music listeners out there.

Wax and Digital sounds a lot different from Basement Revolver’s hit debut album Heavy Eyes. This new release tones down the intense percussion, high-pitched feedback, and wailing vocals in favor of more humble drums and lighter, softer vocals. Though Wax and Digital is largely floaty and shimmering, there is no lack of gritty riffs. Guitarists Chrissy Hurn and Jonathan Malström, and Bassist Nimal Agalawatte work together to add scant elements of fuzz, chaos, and power to an otherwise tame dream pop album.

Wax and Digital is definitely an emotionally charged album, but the lyrics come off as vague. I would have loved to see more vulnerability coming from this album, perhaps in the form of more specific lyrics or concrete diction. Lines like “I can’t bear the thought of ever losing you” (track 1, Wax and Digital) and “I don’t want to let you go tonight” (track 5, Romantic and Heart) feel trite and generic, as though the artist is shy and holding back. Not all music needs to be gut-wrenching and painful (indeed, it shouldn’t), but when you’re writing sad songs you might as well go all the way. Regardless, if you’re in the mood for some easy listening, give this record a spin, especially if you’re into bands like Palehound, Tacocat, or Chastity Belt.

-Safia Rizwan 

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: King Adora – Vibrate You

ALBUM REVIEW: King Adora – Vibrate You

BEST TRACKS: Suffocate, Bionic, Big Isn’t Beautiful

FCC Violations: Bionic, Aceface

Vibrate You is the album that propelled British glam rock band King Adora to number 30 on the UK Albums Chart. The album received a lot of criticism for the third track, ‘Big Isn’t Beautiful,’ which seems to glorify anorexia and bulimia with lyrics such as “I’m gonna shed me some skin, get me real, real slim. I want to feel my bones on your bones.” but others see the song as satire, pointing out that the song is from the perspective of someone suffering from an eating disorder, who is blind to the harm that they are causing themselves, as evident in the lyrics “I love myself too much to see, it haunts by dreams” Musically and lyrically, I think that ‘Big Isn’t Beautiful’ is the best track on the album, simply because it comes from such a twisted place in the artist’s mind.

This album is spotted with clever rhymes that make the songs memorable and catchy, my favorite being the lines “I got the wind on my back, Like the good Frank Black, I gots to get me some speed, Like the Lord Lou Reed.” From the 2nd track ‘Bionic’. The way Maxi Browne sings these lines with stress and emphasis makes them all the more brilliant. Browne’s vocal versatility is iconic, ranging from scratchy growls and full-throated screams to feminine, high-pitched vibrato. His vocals are a match made in heaven with Dan Dabrowski’s intense, thrashing drumming style, and Martyn Nelson’s fuzzy, hardcore guitar riffs.

Vibrate You encompases everything that I like to see in music. This album is dark, intense, sexually deviant, vulnerable, and raw. It’s definitely one of my top albums. You won’t be able to find this album on spotify or bandcamp, but all of the songs are on youtube in pretty good quality. I recommend this album if you like bands like Silverchair, Nirvana, or Pearl Jam.

-Safia

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Pintandwefall – Your Stories Baby

This garage rock revival band is comprised of four best friends from Helsinki, Finland that have dubbed themselves with spicegirl-style names Tough Pint, Cute Pint, Crazy Pint, and Dumb Pint. They are fun, creative, wear all black, and perform in Zorro masks. The quartet has been close friends since highschool and initially started the band to perform in their school’s band marathon. Over a decade later, the band is still comprised of the original four members, who have recently released their sixth studio album. Your Stories Baby is melodic, bright, and playful, with several slightly bizzare music videos to match.

Lead vocalist Dumb Pint has a soft, gentle voice, which is the focal point of the album. Dumb Pint’s voice is framed by Cute Pint’s lush 80s synth keyboard, Tough Pint’s delicate percussion, and Crazy Pint’s whimsical electric bass riffs. My favorite track on this album is track 1, Titanic. This song has an amazing energy flow and is the most upbeat song on the album. It serves as an opener that will draw you into the rest of the album. The second track, The Roof, is mellower, with simple, happy lyrics, and focuses heavely on sunny keyboard instrumental.

Pintandwefall is like if the Powerpuff girls formed a band to defeat evil with the sound waves that come out of their speakers. Themes on this album are far and wide, ranging from sweet and melancholic (track 3, Ah-Ah-Ah) to slightly comedic (track 8, Job Interview). As a small band from across the word, with only 8,700 listeners on Spotify, Pintandwefall doesn’t have a huge following in the United States, but I think they have potential, especially because they play their songs in english rather than Finnish. I recommend this band if you like Marina and the Diamonds, Sade, or Surf Curse.

-Safia Rizwan  

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New Album Review

Snippets: Connan Mockasin, “Forever Dolphin Love”

Connan Tant Hosford, otherwise known by the stage-name Connan Mockasin, does not desire to be understood. He wants to be experienced, and he has no use for precise or exacting words or meanings. The title track off Connan’s 2011 album, “Forever Dolphin Love”, is a ripe, poignant example of this mentality.

The first three minutes of the song play out like the beginning of a journey. Dissonant, jambling chords of various key instruments alert you that something important is about to happen. This makes way – or more accurately, is abruptly quashed by – piercing, high-arching synthesizers. The soundscape just barely becomes rounded out as the synths take the background and accept a bass melody and drums into their midst. Harmonicas pelt your ears from the sides and flit around the center – and only after this does Connan’s voice come in.

There are no lyrics yet – simply sighs, an emotional crux as the bass takes back over. The tension is still mounting! But it’s soon released oh so smoothly as the bass is again accompanied by synthesizer, though this time the synth is relaxed and contemplative. Now, we’re treated to words.

“From bleached waves, that never change, from Dalston, forever dolphin love, ah ah ah ah ah

My dull steed, she has no hair, I’ll talk to her, forever dolphin love, ah ah ah ah ah

And Dun’s life, he’s turning heads, he talks to her, forever dolphin love, ah ah ah ah ah ah

From memories that never change, of Dalston, forever dolphin love, ah ah ah ah ah”

All of this makes up a dense, wilting verse given structure only by what may be described as nonsense. This is but a segment of Connan’s emotions. There’s no need for sense, exactly – only the appreciation, if not understanding, of the feeling. The feelings themselves are wrapped up in layers of complexity, which Connan readily engages with. Interfacing with these words – extracting any kind of value from them – requires the listener to let go of their usual methods of judgment. Literally, he’s talking about dolphins. The word is there, there’s “bleached waves” ostensibly coursing some body of water, and – reason be damned – he’s riding the thing! It’s his “dull steed”, but it’s not a horse. It has no hair. And maybe he’ll even talk to it in its dolphin chitter, “ah ah ah ah ah”!
Whoever Dun may be and whatever happened in Dalston are issues all of their own that are never answered. But that’s not the point. These are not words to be scrutinized; rather, they are only meant to be felt as part of the song. While the chorus is more straightforward, the listener’s role is no different:

“Oh Sunter, I loved her, she was to be my wife

Oh Sunter, I loved her, she was to be my wife

My wife, my wife”

Connan opens his heart in this clear fashion only for a few brief, savory moments. The character of Sunter, the object of his affection, reflects the heartbreak and melancholy which the song is centered on. Yet still the listener must extrapolate and connect to the feelings, lest they miss the point. To this end, Connan quickly sways back into the verse, sprinkling new words and new abstractions. Thus the journey dwindles off, and concludes.

The title track that I’ve just described, “Forever Dolphin Love”, is an excellent piece that is worthy of listening and re-listening. It’s ten minutes long and one of those tracks where you’ll find something new every time. Like Connan himself, the entirety of the “Forever Dolphin Love” album is an experience that is worth having. If ever you find yourself not knowing how to describe or what to do with a vague sense of existential feelings, this is certainly a song – and an album – for you.

-Decent Icon

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New Album Review

Album Review: Miss Anthropocene by Grimes

My favorites: New Gods, You’ll miss me when I’m not around, IDORU

Listen if you like: Crystal Castles, Purity Ring, Kap Bambino 

Grimes’ most recent album, Miss Anthropocene was released a few days ago. Grimes is known for her ethereal electronic melodies and otherworldly vocals. This album is no exception, though there is a saturnine quality to the entire album; in complement with the themes of climate change and human destruction Grimes attempted to portray. The last track, IDORU contrasts with all of that – its lyricism is all based on love, and has a softer tone than the other tracks. Some of the other main themes of the album include depression, self-destruction, and the recent experiences Grimes has been through (such as her relationship, pregnancy, and focus on ethical issues). 

I have followed Grimes since I first gained an interest in synth-pop/electronic music in my teens. Her albums Visions and Geidi Primes are among my top favorites of all time. Although nothing will meet the novelty of Visions as an album truly unlike any other, Miss Anthropocene is a delicious complement to Art Angels. Her music is unparalleled by any other electronic or art-pop artist, and since her entrance into the music scene in 2007 has gained prominence and prosperity. Throughout the many years, she has Grimes has evolved alongside her music. Now 31, she is pregnant with the child of the billionaire Elon Musk and has gained much more of a celebrity status. Miss Anthropocene shows the growth of Grimes as an artist as well as a reflection on the changes within her life. Grimes shows a  motivation to break out of her previous more pop-influenced albums and pull from different influences and genres, like the influence of Korean music in We Appreciate Power and Bollywood in 4ÆM. I love to see the progression in sound reflected on this newest album. 

– Miranda

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New Album Review

New Music: The Magnolias

Listen if you like: Bon Iver, Cigarettes After Sex, spookyghostboy

The Magnolias are a band based in Chapel Hill/Mooresville composed of members Sam Gatlin, Bryton Shoffner, and Danny Knutelsky. They began writing and playing together as The Magnolias last year. With the help of UNC’s Grammy-nominated music production professor, Jason Richmond, the band was able to begin recording in a professional studio in late 2019; thus allowing them to put out their most recent tracks, on An Invitation. 

An Invitation features the songs Goodnight, I’m going to sleep and Blood in the Sink. The Magnolias show a clear talent in the multiple instruments they play. The melody of the songs is intricate and their sound is incredibly developed, especially for a band so new. I adore the lyricism in both of the singles, and especially enjoy the layered vocals in both songs. I definitely recommend giving this up-and-coming band a try, you won’t be disappointed. 

I was able to interview band member Sam Gatlin about the band and their recent releases, which are available on Spotify and all other major streaming platforms. Gatlin told me that some of the main sources of their music come from personal topics like depression and self-harm; and musical inspiration from artists like Moses Sumney and Jeff Buckley. The band is passionate about these recent additions to their discography and they are ready to make more. According to Gatlin, The Magnolias plan to release more singles in the upcoming months. 

The best way to find out about upcoming music and shows is their Instagram, @magnoliasband. 

– Miranda 

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New Album Review

Hot New Indie: Alone, Omen 3 (King Krule)

In his new single, King Krule continues on his tradition of punky and dark jazz fusion. His unique voice here takes on a more relaxed, contemplative tone, similar to the second half of “The OOZ”. True to King Krule’s form, the central theme of the single is being alone. Through all the darkness, though, there’s a touch of hope that shines through.

The sound profile of the two songs on the single sound like they would fit on “The OOZ”, yet “Alone, Omen 3” in particular uses samples, something that Krule does not use often. The track opens with a phone ringing that is never picked up, particularly fitting for the first line of the verse it precedes: “Take a dip, if you’re alone, take your time”. Krule seems to believe in patient contemplation and self-discovery.

The hope interspersed in the track sits in the bridge and the outro: 
“But don’t forget you’re not alone; Sometimes you’re stretched … Every minute, every second, you’re not alone, you’re not alone…” Krule may be talking to his partner here, who he had his first child with in 2019. Throughout the track, the lens shifts from the royal “you” to specific references to his girl, indicative of the fact that they’re present for each other and that neither of them are alone.

-Decent Icon 

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New Album Review

Snippets: Tame Impala, “Tomorrow’s Dust”

Tame Impala has recently come out with their newest album, “The Slow Rush”. One track in particular, “Tomorrow’s Dust”, is an excellent representation of the sound of the album and the direction in which Tame’s sound is going.

Lead by ethereal synthesizers, sublime guitar leads, and a powerful dance beat, the song prepares the listener for Tame’s sweet-yet-sad lyrics. The ideas present in the track are dense, as the verse extends to give time for contemplation on being alone and connecting to others.

In fact, a central theme in the track (and the entire album) is time. The second verse is short and to the point on this front: “There’s no use trying to relate to that older soul; And no use biding your time if the bell is tolled”. What exactly the bell is tolling for is not clear, but perhaps it’s meant to be that way. Maybe the isolationist yet newly-wed Kevin Parker has gained a new perspective on biding his time.

-Decent Icon