Category: Blog

Spring Album Recommendations

Post author By Caitlin
Post date March 11, 2022

It’s nearly spring again, and I’ve been writing many blogs to celebrate the end of winter. Despite already making my “Ringing In Spring” series, I felt it would be nice to give some album recommendations for the spring for those who prefer the album listening experience as opposed to the playlist. These are all albums I’ve either been obsessed with in past springs, I feel evoke the energy of new beginnings quite well or just sound “springy” to me.

It’s been beautiful to go outside without layers on (although, considerably harder for me to brainstorm outfits) and see the flowers blooming on the trees. I can never decide which season is my favorite (they all have major pros and cons), but I think if I had to choose it would be spring.

Without further ado, here are some albums I think you should check out or revisit this spring.

“Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” – Big Thief
“Gone Now” – Bleachers
“I Need to Start a Garden” — Haley Heynderickx
“If I Am Only My Thoughts” – Loving
“Jubilee” – Japanese Breakfast
“Stereotype A” – Cibo Matto
“MY WOMAN” – Angel Olsen
“First Flower” – Molly Burch
“Las Ligas Menores” – Las Ligas Menores
“The Execution of All Things” – Rilo Kiley
“Rock N’ Roll Ain’t For Me” – Kate Rhudy
“Collapsed in Sunbeams” – Arlo Parks

Have a lovely spring,

Caitlin

Tags album recommendation, spring, WKNC 88.1

Non-Music News

“Verity” by Colleen Hoover Book Review

Post author By museum maddie
Post date March 10, 2022

Summary

What do you get when you cross a somewhat-newly-single struggling writer with the husband of a famous thriller novelist? Colleen Hoover’s Verity. I struggled for a while with finding a book that captured my attention, dealing with the relatable struggle of being in an I-want-to-read-but-just-can’t-sit-down-and-do-it sort of rut. Verity book reviews had appeared on my TikTok, so I decided to get it on a whim because I had heard good things about the book and Colleen Hoover. I read it in a day, neglecting all other obligations because I could not manage to put it down.

Main character Lowen Ashleigh is in her early thirties and is living in New York City. After witnessing a man getting hit by a car in close proximity, she happens to run into Jeremy Crawford. Unbeknownst to her, Jeremy is the husband of Verity Crawford, a renowned novelist. Lowen and Jeremy share a moment in which he takes care of her in a nearby coffee shop, tending to her after such a shocking experience. The two connect emotionally, but then go their separate ways. After her encounter with Jeremy, Lowen has to catch a meeting with her agent (and ex-boyfriend) Corey. Lowen was toeing the line of financial ruin due to caring for her sick mother when she was offered the deal of a lifetime. Who walks in to offer her this deal? Jeremy Crawford.

Mysteriously injured, Verity Crawford’s status of health is unknown to the public. She needs someone to finish her book series as per her contract. Verity’s publishers ask Lowen to take on this task, which involves her going to the Crawford’s house in Vermont to look through Verity’s files. Lowen, initially resistant, has a moment alone with Jeremy, who convinces her to take this deal. What Lowen finds at the house would change the course of the lives of everyone involved forever. If you are into quite steamy romantic thrillers, Verity is definitely for you.

About the Author

Colleen Hoover is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty two novels. She mainly writes New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance, along with psychological thrillers. Colleen’s foundation, The Bookworm Box, has donated over $1,000,000 to help those in need. This program provides readers with signed novels each month and profits are then donated to various charities.

Rumors say that a movie adaptation of Verity is in the works, and I am excited to see this story come to life. Colleen Hoover’s other books have definitely made it on my to-read list, including It Ends With Us and Ugly Love. I hope you give this book a try if you’re finding yourself unmotivated to read.

Till next time,

dj mozzie

Weekly Charts

Top Charts 3/8

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 9, 2022

"Multiverse" by Reptaliens album cover

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	REPTALIENS	Multiverse	Captured Tracks
2	SOFTCULT	Year Of The Snake [EP]	Easy Life
3	BIG THIEF	Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You	4AD/Beggars Group
4	JPEGMAFIA	LP!	EQT
5	LAVA LA RUE	“For You” [Single]	Marathon Artists
6	MARKEE STEELE	Vet & A Rook [EP]	Thee Marquee
7	WAVEFORM	Last Room	Run For Cover
8	CATE LE BON	Pompeii	Mexican Summer
9	DARKSOFT	Cryo	Look Up
10	EVIDENCE	Unlearning Vol. 1	Rhymesayers
11	FLYING LOTUS	Yasuke	Warp
12	GULLY BOYS	Favorite Son [EP]	Get Better
13	LITTLE SIMZ	Sometimes I Might Be Introvert	AGE 101
14	MOONCHILD	Starfruit	Tru Thoughts
15	SAMM HENSHAW	Untidy Soul	Dorm Seven/AWAL
16	TYLER THE CREATOR	CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST	Columbia
17	WESLEY JOSEPH	Ultramarine	EEVILTWINN/Transgressive
18	ARCA	KicK iii	XL
19	AUDREY NUNA	A Liquid Breakfast	Arista
20	BLUE HAWAII	My Bestfriend’s House [EP]	Arbutus
21	CAKES DA KILLA, PROPER VILLAINS	Muvaland Vol. 2 [EP]	Warner
22	DAWN RICHARD	Second Line	Merge
23	FLY ANAKIN	Pixote	Mutant Academy
24	FREDDIE GIBBS AND MADLIB	Bandana	Keep Cool/RCA
25	GREENTEA PENG	Man Made	EMI
26	HAVIAH MIGHTY	Stock Exchange	Self-Released
27	HIATUS KAIYOTE	Mood Valiant	Brainfeeder/Ninja Tune
28	ILLISM	Family Over Everything	The CRWN
29	INJURY RESERVE	By The Time I Get To Phoenix	Self-Released
30	JOESEF	Does It Make You Feel Good? [EP]	Bold Cut

Daytime Adds

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	PHANTOM HANDSHAKES	No More Summer Songs	Self-Released
2	BEACH HOUSE	Once Twice Melody	Sub Pop
3	LEANNA FIRESTONE	Forward/Slash	frtyfve
4	OSKA	My World, My Love, Paris	Nettwerk
5	SHOUT OUT LOUDS	House	Bud Fox/Integral
6	ADULT	Becoming Undone	Dais
7	DAISY GLAZE	Daisy Glaze	The Sound Of Sinners
8	FRANK TURNER	FTHC (Deluxe)	Xtra Mile
9	GOON	Paint By Numbers Vol. 1 [EP]	Self-Released
10	GRIM STREAKER	Mind [EP]	Mothland

Tags NACC Weekly Charts, Top Charts, WKNC 88.1

Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 3/8

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 9, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	ROSS FROM FRIENDS	Tread	Brainfeeder
2	MAGDALENA BAY	Mercurial World	Luminelle
3	CFCF	Memoryland	Self-Released
4	COFFINTEXTS	8700 [EP]	Club Qu
5	DAWN RICHARD	Second Line	Merge
6	ERIKA DE CASIER	Sensational	4AD/Beggars Group
7	PIXEL GRIP	Arena	Feeltrip
8	SMERZ	Believer	XL Recordings
9	KEDR LIVANSKIY	Liminal Soul	2MR
10	ARCA	KiCK iiiii	XL

Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 3/8

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 9, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	JPEGMAFIA	LP!	EQT
2	MARKEE STEELE	Vet & A Rook [EP]	Thee Marquee
3	EVIDENCE	Unlearning Vol. 1	Rhymesayers
4	LAVA LA RUE	“For You” [Single]	Marathon Artists
5	TOM MISCH AND YUSSEF DAYES	What Kinda Music	Blue Note
6	TYLER THE CREATOR	CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST	Columbia
7	WESLEY JOSEPH	Ultramarine	EEVILTWINN/Transgressive
8	AUDREY NUNA	A Liquid Breakfast	Arista
9	CAKES DA KILLA, PROPER VILLAINS	Muvaland Vol. 2 [EP]	Warner
10	FLYING LOTUS	Yasuke	Warp

Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 3/8

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 9, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	STANGARIGEL	Na Severe Srdca	Self-Released
2	JOHN CANDY, THE	28 Samples Later	Rad Dudes
3	TRIP TO THE NETHERLANDS	VARIOUS ARTISTS	Weedian
4	ANATOMY OF HABIT	Even If It Takes A Lifetime	Self-Released
5	DRUNE	Drune	Self-Released
6	RUNDGARD	Stronghold Of Majestic Ruins	Signal Rex
7	SPIRIT BOX	Eternal Blue	Pale Chord
8	VISIONS FROM BEYOND	Re-Animator [EP]	Dry Cough
9	ZETAR	Devouring Darkness	Spirit Coffin
10	EYEMASTER	Charcoaled Remains / Festering Slime [EP]	Caligari

New Album Review

Jazmine Sullivan “Heax Tales, Meux Tales,” Album Review

Post author By Delusional Melodrama
Post date March 8, 2022

The name of this album is actually “Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales,” but I couldn’t resist the opportunity. The album is a deluxe edition of the most recent Jazmine Sullivan album “Heux Tales,” which came out at the very beginning of 2021. In a year where a lot of albums just ran right through me, “Heaux Tales” was one of the few that grew on me across 2021. Led by the R&B hit “Pick Up of Your Feelings” and built around a compelling concept, the album was killer. The concept is executed effortlessly without sacrificing the quality of a single song. I was pleasantly surprised to see it topping more than one publication’s top albums of the year, and even more pleasantly surprised to see it get such strong radio play for a independent release.

Around a year later, Sullivan has come out with a deluxe edition. So-called “Deluxe Editions” published incredibly soon after an album’s publications for streaming optimization are a trend that has worn thin incredibly fast. Lil Uzi Vert, who started the trend, did alright by effectively releasing a double album, but since then I’ve started instinctually tuning these out. I’m glad I broke that rule for Sullivan, because “Mo’ Tales” is an excellent exception to the rule.

The main album is built off of interwoven songs with testimonials from various women talking frankly about their sex lives. The extended edition is more rigid, with each new track having exactly one spoken section that reflects the topic of the song quite directly. This makes a direct front to back listen a little tiring since around a third of the new runtime is spoken word, which is presumably part of why the tracks were cut. The new songs are worth it though, each one feels like it was cut from the full album not because of its quality, but because it would interrupt the flow of the album. Seeing the incredible restraint Jazmine Sullivan used when building the track list really does inspire a new appreciation for the strength of the main album, which is an incredible thing for a deluxe edition to do.

Some songs were clearly cut for thematic clarity. While the song is a nice counterpoint in the extended edition, including “A Breux’s Tale” (I did not change that one, that’s the actual name of the song) and the intentionally callous song from Sullivan that accompanies it on the main album would have distracted from the overall progression. Anderson Paak’s brief feature was all the counterpoint needed on the original album. Same goes for songs like “Tragic,” which while fine in this context, wouldn’t have worked out as well on the main album.

If you listened to “Heaux Tales” and haven’t really returned to it, this deluxe edition is an excellent excuse to give it another listen. And if you’re entirely unfamiliar with Jazmine Sullivan, give the main album a shot, it’s an album that really appeals to everyone.

Tags Deluxe Edition, Heux Tales, Heux Tales Mo' Tales, Jazmine Sullivan

Music News and Interviews

Wallows “At the End of the Day” Song Review

Post author By Mitali Joshi
Post date March 8, 2022

Wallows are an up-and-coming indie-rock band that have grown in popularity in the past three years. Their band consists of three members: Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters, Cole Preston. The song “At The End of the Day” was released this Friday, March 4 and is a single that is part of their sophomore album titled “Tell Me That It’s Over”, which will be released on March 25.

From my initial impression, the song was a lot different than the songs we have seen from Wallows recently and had a much more mellow rhythm compared to their more upbeat single “I Don’t Want to Talk”. While “I Don’t Want to Talk” featured a more energetic tempo, “At The End of the Day” had a slower more steady tempo, matching the nostalgic feelings of the lyrics. What was teased as an acoustic song was released as a masterpiece.

Another refreshing aspect of this song was that the audience was able to hear a lot more of Braeden’s voice throughout and he was the main vocalist. Oftentimes, Dylan is the lead singer and his voice is accompanied by Braeden’s, though in this song Braeden was able to take center stage.

A few lines that stood out to me in the song were “Please just see | That you are not alone, you are not alone| I’ll never let you go| Unless you want me to” There is something just so sentimental about being afraid to end a relationship or let go of someone you love because you are afraid you’ll hurt them. This song encompasses this feeling all too well.

The meaning behind this song is as resonating as most Wallows songs are. This song describes the intensity of being in a relationship and feeling that the end might be nearing, though at the end of the day (no pun intended) you just want your significant other to be happy.

The aesthetics of the music video serve this immense nostalgia of summer nights and this is a song that you’ll be rushing to add to your late night driving playlist.

Check out the music video here.

Tags Wallows

Classic Album Review

Classic Album Review: “It’s Not Me, It’s You” by Lily Allen

Post author By Caitlin
Post date March 7, 2022

ALBUM: “It’s Not Me, It’s You” by Lily Allen

RELEASE YEAR: 2009

LABEL: Regal / Parlophone

RATING: 9.5/10

BEST TRACKS: “F-ck You” “Chinese” “Everyone’s At It” “Not Fair”

FCC: Explicit

Like quite a few of the pop artists of the day, then 22-year-old Lily Allen rose to fame on MySpace. This album was an absolutely massive hit, but I find it, along with Allen herself, is often forgotten in conversations about pop albums of the 2000s.

This album touches on quite a few subversive themes for a woman pop artist to speak about in the 2000s. For example, “Not Fair” is about not being pleased by a partner in bed, “Him” makes quite a few overt political and religious statements, and “Everyone’s At It” is explicitly about the copious amounts of drug use in the music industry. Allen touches on all of these subjects in the same upbeat manner from song to song.

Greg Kurstin assisted Allen in the songwriting and did all of the production on the album. Track nine, “Who’d Have Known” also gives songwriting credits to members of Take That because of the melodic similarities in the chorus. Notably, “Who’d Have Known” was later sampled by T-Pain in his song “5 O’Clock” in 2011 and was a massive hit.

There’s nothing spectacular about her vocal performance (although, she is one of those British singers who sings in a British accent which I find extremely charming), but her delivery is blunt and almost comedic at times.

This album, in my opinion, is a perfect pop album. Clocking in at 43 minutes with 12 songs, it’s short, sweet and to the point. There’s no dead air, every song is thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s nostalgic. This was one of the first albums I ever truly fell in love with and jump started my interest in discovering new music. I think we, as a culture, need to give Lily Allen credit where credit is due and recognize her as one of the defining pop artists of the 2000s.

Tags Classic Album Review, Lily Allen, Pop, WKNC 88.1

Concert Review

Concert Review: By George and Late Notice at the Trailer Park (2/25)

Post author By PK
Post date March 7, 2022

Coming into college this year, one of the things I looked forward to the most was going to local shows. Now that I’m in college, I don’t have to worry about my parents’ schedule, so I can go to concerts whenever it works for me. And on Feb. 25, it worked for me.

My friends and I hadn’t been to a show at The Trailer Park yet, so we had no idea what to expect. We arrived at 8 p.m. when the concert was supposed to start, and we were a little bit worried to see that the crowd was sparse. However, when By George finally took the stage around 8:30, the yard was packed with people.

By George’s performance was incredibly energetic and entertaining. They played a mix of covers and originals, sprinkling some brand new, unreleased music throughout. My favorite song of the night was “Klep” off of By George’s recent album, “The Life of Guy.” The energy was through the roof, and my neck still hurts from headbanging.

By George lead singer Tyler Ford singing and playing the guitar — By George Performing (photo by me)

If I thought that the crowd was delighted by By George, then they were beyond thrilled for Late Notice. As the band walked out of the house, the crowd began pushing forward. Luckily, my friends and I were in the front so we were able to use the front porch/stage as support, but I made the mistake of lifting up my hands, so that’s where they stayed for the rest of the night.

Late Notice mostly played covers, but they also played a couple of unreleased originals. Sadly, the concert ran late, so the cops came and cut off Late Notice’s set halfway through. Even with an unfinished setlist, Late Notice did an amazing job.

Late Notice setlist — Late Notice Setlist that my friend got

All around, the concert was an incredible experience. The bands did an amazing job performing, and the atmosphere at The Trailer Park was amazing. All of the people were incredibly nice, so despite almost falling over several times, I felt the safest I could possibly feel at a concert. If you ever get the chance, I would definitely recommend attending a concert at The Trailer Park; it’s an experience that you won’t forget.

~PK

Tags by george, concert, concert review, late notice, local