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: Elvis Depressedly – New Alhambra // Reverb Fest

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On Saturday, Double Barrel Benefit veterans Elvis Depressedly will play the third installment of Reverb Fest in Charlotte.

Last summer, we covered Elvis Depressedly’s show at a very small art space in the North Davidson district of Charlotte. Tomorrow they’ll play Reverb Fest at the Neighborhood Theatre, a 1000-capacity venue in that same corner of the city. It will be their first show since the release of their new album, New Alhambra. The album marks a departure from the lo-fi-ness of their past releases, while still using older recording equipment. The result is something well-produced, yet with a unique sound. Outlining the album are obscure vocal samples that tie into the loose theme of the Second Coming. These often effect-ridden samples push the album forward until the end of its run time of just over 20 minutes.

Some of my favorite cuts from the album include: “Ease” (a song that takes note on self-consciousness and features a beautifully distant-sounding electric guitar), “Rock n’ Roll” (a song that smartly uses a classic rock & roll beat and has lyrics like “Jesus died on the cross so I could quit my job” that seem purposefully laughable), and “New Alhambra” (which boils down to an audacious belief that one can parry death eternally because pain has been replaced with numbness).

The last song, “Wastes of Times,” begins with a sudden dropout of the electronic ambiance that pervades the entire album. It’s a striking contrast that represents an acceptance of the bad if it means being able to look forward to what’s new and worthwhile. It’s also the least lethargic track on the album, and a quick glance at the lyrics will show hopeful and compassionate words: “Heartbreak can’t phase me. I am crazy, but I’m true.“ The brevity and minimalism of the track is refreshing, and heck, it nearly has me convinced that there actually will be “No More Sad Songs” from Elvis Depressedly.

You can still get tickets to tomorrow’s festival with Elvis Depressedly, Beach Fossils, and several of North Carolina’s most worthwhile bands and you can treat yourself to a copy of New Alhambra.

-DJ Nasty Nate

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New Album Review

Universal Coolers by Radical Dads

Radical Dad’s new album will burn you alive and give you a lot of joy too. This sick trio from Brooklyn features twingy, melodious rock backing the emotional scream-singing of frontwoman Lindsay Baker. This song “Slammer” will give you a sample of the high-octane rock n’ roll on this release. Highly recommended! – Dave Samuels, WKNC Assistant Music Director

Listen/purchase: Universal Coolers by Radical Dads

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Local Music New Album Review

Jake Xerxes Fussell

A recently new resident to Durham, Jake Xerxes Fussell is hands down one of the best traditional musicians of today. Growing up in Columbus, Georgia, Fussell became well acquainted with the Piedmont blues musicians that were from the Chattahoochee Valley by touring and recording with legends like Precious Bryant, Black Rodeo Rider, Rye Whiskey Distiller, and Georgia Daniel. In this new self-titled album, Fussell teamed up with William Tyler to rearrange ten folk and blues songs that still retain their roots, but with more of Fussell’s original flare. – Local Music Director Clint Bowman

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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New Album Review

Nights in the Dark by CALIFORNIA X

This Don Giovanni band’s new release, Nights in the Dark by CALIFORNIA X, sounds like that time you got all nostalgic reading a Buzzfeed list of “20 Toys from the 90’s That Were Totally Awesome” and then thought about your middle school crush and how you wish you’d had the nerve to say you LIKE-LIKED him/her during truth or dare at that birthday party the whole class was invited to. – Meggs Benedict

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New Album Review

[Afterhours]End of Fall Album Roundup

Machine Drum – “Vapor City Archive”

Based off the artist’s recurring dreams, this complex album paints a picture of his dreamscape. Awesome rhythms, beautiful keyboard parts, and top notch production that really brings out the darkness in the album. Minimal Vocals.

Flying Lotus – “You’re Dead”

Super jazzy album. Most tracks are quite short. Other than “Never Catch Me” featuring Kendrick Lamar, this album lacks the typical hip-hop influence FlyLo tends to bring. This album can go from an extreme fast passed weirdness to a slow and lulling cadence.

Aphex Twin – “Syro”

Thirteen years in the making, Aphex Twin’s “Syro” album. Ambient, Industrial electronic, even some jungle techno. A cool mix of interesting sounds throughout the entire album, while still keeping up with Aphex Twin’s darker style.

SBTRKT – “Wonder Where We Land”

The second full length album from SBTRKT (pronounced “subtract”) brings less synths for a wider range of styles. Sampha’s smooth R&B vocals are used on several of the tracks as well as other recognizable vocalist and rappers. All songs are pretty chill.

Caribou – “Our Love”

A more lyrically personal album for Caribou. This album explores a wide variety of styles. From the slow cerebral tracks like “Silver” to the mode mid-range synth-pop songs like “Can’t Do Without You” to the dance tracks like “Julia Brightly” this album has a lot to offer. 

MOA – “Maverick”

I like this music, give me some “moa” am I right? (lame) Wow, what a feel good album. This is one of the happiest and upbeat electronic albums I’ve heard all year. Lots of dance club type tracks and some dubstep. Some tracks sound a little poppy; lots of upbeat techno.

Garden City Movement – “Bengali Cinema”

Sweet EP. Very chill, downtempo beats with chopped and screwed vocals. Totally “Majestic Casual” style. Listen if you enjoy those chill tunes.

Eliot Lipp – “Watch The Shadows”

A soulful album that really showcases his synth-hop style. Many great vocalists are featured on this album. A beautiful fusion of soulful organic sounds and new dance floor mechanics.

Kodomo – “Patterns and Lights”

Nice beats with some classical elements thrown in. This album has more of an ambient sound; no big drops or build ups. Reminds me of Japanese producers styles.

Bonobo – “Flashlight”

This 3 song EP really demonstrates the quality of Bonobo’s work. A chill album with many layers to concentrate on while listening. Good swurling synths. The last track is the most down-temp of the three.

by Muta &  YeägerMeister

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New Album Review

[Afterhours] End of Summer Album Roundup

There is one more week until the end of my favorite season of the year. Here are some of the best Afterhours albums from this season:

Porter Robinson – “Worlds”

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This NC artist takes a very different approach compared to his last album. A very light electro sound that was made to go against the grain of current EDM. Lots of indie & pop influence will be found.

Amp Live – “Headphone Concerto”

Some of the best production this year. A beautiful mix of live instruments with synthesizers. This album is broken up into three distinct parts. Many cool guest vocalist and several hiphop songs.

ODESZA – “In Return”

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Dope beatz from ODESZA with Deep Percussion and high synth melodies. More downtempo-chill songs but a nice variety from song to song. A very well put together album. I dig the positive vibes I get from the songs. It’s nice because downtempo songs are usually darker, sometimes even somber.

Chet Faker – “Built On Glass”

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Some of my favorite male vocals I have heard released this year. The instrumentals are as smooth as this man’s voice. This album draws a lot from Flume, Chet was even featured on the song “Left Alone,” but this record is a bit jazzier.

Tensnake – “Glow”

A top notch house producer who keeps getting better. By house, I mean the older Chicago style house. Tensnake also throws in some post-dub and many great guest vocalists. 

Slow Magic – “How To Run Away”

Light, midtempo, and catchy. Wordless vocals and guitar riffs chopped up into an ethereal swirl. Very vibrant synths and percussion.

Hippie Sabotage – “The Sunny Album”

This album is super chill, but NOT boring. The producers do a good job of keeping things interesting while still keeping the chill vibes and avoiding heavy drops with crazy wubs. Common theme here is big bass with unique drum beats and overall chill vibes.

Lone – “Reality Testing”

Jungle and house album with cool jazz influence. No lyrics, just smooth synths.

Mndsgn – “Yawn Zen”

This album favors murky, underwater sounds dripping with syrupy chimes. What really brings it all together is the trippy jazz undertones. No song is longer than 3 minutes and there are no vocals.

by Muta &  YeägerMeister

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New Album Review

The Grapes return to the music scene with the release of “Low”

There has always been a lot of mystery surrounding The Grapes. They certainly don’t go out of their way to advertise their presence in the music scene. When I first discovered them in the summer of 2012, I had to spend hours scouring the internet for information on this band. The most I could ever find besides their two (known) releases on their bandcamp page was a few music videos, and a live video from a performance at The Cave. The mysteriousness behind the music that I instantly fell in love with only added to their ultra-lofi/DIY image.

If you haven’t heard The Grapes before, I highly encourage you to check out their first two releases.. It was long thought that the band broke up for good in 2012, and having hardly any activity since a reunion show in the summer of 2013, it definitely solidified the rumor amongst their fans. However, the band quietly released a brand new album on September 1st, 2014.

With this latest album, featuring 11 brand new tracks, The Grapes take their music in a new direction. Instead of their usual two piece, nitty-gritty, loud and erratic lofi gold, this album is considerably slower, less noisy, and much more sophisticated musically. Lyrically, we follow the same well spoken (or sung) narrator as he lives his life in college, but still deals with all the same self-loathing and girl related issues he dealt with in high school. The Grapes always offer humor at the foreground of their lyrics, with dark emotional torment sitting right behind. This can be best found in tracks like “Teen Girl Song” and “Frat Boys”.

With the release of this album, the band also welcomes Chris Palmour to join the original members, Jeremy and Brett. I’m very excited to see where the band goes with the release of this album. I can only hope that it includes some shows this fall, but of course, they’ll probably be so secret I won’t even know about them.

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New Album Review

Fresh outta high school, Astro Cowboy releases Hedonism Colosseum

Wilmington indie rockers, Astro Cowboy, released their first full length album last weekend titled Hedonism Colosseum. Complete with a release party at Bourgie Nights in Wilmington on July 12th, the band handed out a hundred free copies of their album and also released it on bandcamp the following day. 

Hedonism Colosseum explores the feelings, relationships, drama, and juvenile joy of being in high school. As the band writes on their bandcamp page: 

“Remember when you thought that high school was going to last forever? When you thought that it was the apex of real? Every relationship, decision, and action you made, you thought was going to remain relevant and important for the rest of your life? This album is the result of those feelings.”

Hedonism Colosseum album art

The album features 10 brand new, original songs. It includes the heavier, punk influenced songs like “White Shoes“ and ”Suntan“ which share a similar sound with the band’s first EP Rat-Man Vann, but on more than a couple tracks, such as “Inhale” and “Goodbye, A.E.G.” the band takes instrumental explorations with intricate guitar riffs and drum fills that sound reminiscent of Modest Mouse’s The Lonesome Crowded West.  

All in all this is a very solid record, and my only complaint is that it’s not longer! Clocking in at 40 minutes, the end of this album leaves the listener wanting more. 

Astro Cowboy follows the release of their album with an East Coast tour supporting fellow Wilmington band, Museum Mouth.

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New Album Review

My Awaking to Tycho

My top three biggest regrets this last semester:

  1. Not brushing my teeth.
  2. Dropping out of school.
  3. Skipping the Tycho show at Cat’s Cradle.  

WHY DID I NOT GO TO THIS SHOW!!!  But seriously, Tycho’s last album “Awake” is probably the most inspiring album this year.

Going for a long drive? Listen to “Awake.” Studying? Listen to “Awake.” Crab fishing in Alaska and rough seas got you sea sick? Listen to “Awake." Most electo- trance -(poppy) music like this will be amazing all the time, but what makes the album beautiful is the distinction between all the songs.  Each one has a certain mood affiliated with it.

Please download this album as you swim through the introspective heat waves of the summer.

– Coyote

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: The Hotelier – Home, Like Noplace Is There

Release Date: February 25, 2014

Record Label: Tiny Engines

Genre: Emo, Pop Punk

I believe the cover can say a lot about an album. This one’s a familiar image, suburbia. Though, it’s not a comforting view. The words of the album title are painted in black across the vinyl panels of this weary-looking house. It’s almost definitely a sarcastic remark. The lawn is overgrown. The hedges are misshapen. The shutters are dirtied. This doesn’t feel like home.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Oh no, another pop punk album about the suburbs.” Well, if there’s one thing that sets this album apart from — those — it’s the writing. The lyrics on a song like, “Your Deep Rest” make that very clear. You don’t have to read too far into them to see the song is about loss, particularly the loss of someone you love. It’s a theme that permeates the whole album. In “Dendron” it’s summed up with the words, “Part of your charm was the way you would push me from all of the traps that I just couldn’t see. Figures the one that was there to have tripped you up would be the one was set there by me.”  For me, these aching moments of regret are the album’s highlights. Where you felt you could have done something more. You could have somehow fixed a hopeless situation.

The Hotelier’s sophomore album, “Home, Like Noplace Is There” was released a couple months ago. While this means I’ve missed the hype train, it also means I’ve had plenty of time to let this record settle. Well, this collection of nine songs has been on consistent rotation, and it still sticks. It’s the kind of emo/pop punk hybrid that hasn’t been a rarity in the past few years. But, it’s much more endearing than most. I think when people look back on the late 00’s and early 10’s era of DIY “emo” music there are only a few bands they’ll remember. Algernon Cadwallader, Snowing, TWIABP, and The Hotelier will be among the most prominent.

In a weird way, this album also shares elements with bands like Third Eye Blind, Blink-182, and Taking Back Sunday. But here, the emotions, the guitar distortion, and the vocals, are all much more raw. What I love about this album is its tendency to conjure up memories in me, like being in middle school, waiting endlessly in carpool lines, or just the feeling of being young and aching to have a purpose, dreaming of living an unhinged life, but still so scared to leave home. It brings back memories of hopping creeks and sneaking into construction homes. The failed relationships that can’t be resurrected, the regret of letting time make its move, the snare of depression. Things that feel so strange to look back on now… “Home, Like Noplace Is There” will surely be looked back on. It’s undoubtedly one of the best rock albums of 2014.

PS: Do yourself a favor. Read the lyrics with this one.

Favorite tracks: “The Scope of All This Rebuilding”, “Your Deep Rest”, “Among the Wildflowers”

-DJ Nasty Nate