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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

Categories
Playlists

Friday Favorites (8/7)

Quarantining away from my friends and family has been difficult, but I’ve found some bright new releases that keep me uplifted. They also relate to my experience, likely a widely shared one, for my Friday Favorites this week, check it out and enjoy.

Cabin Fever – Jaden 

This new single from the talented Jaden Smith perfectly reflects the “Groundhog Day” experience of being away from your partner during quarantine. With a bouncy melody and layered vocals, the song will become anyone’s new favorite.  

astrid – glaive 

This short track is a new release that I quite enjoy; it’s a brave mix of pop, electric and rap that actually sounds good. Something new that you should definitely check out. 

Verbs (ft. Steve Lacy) – Peyton

A cute little love song with delicate, otherworldly vocals, simple beat and background vocals by my favorite, Steve Lacy. A simple song perfect for long summer days (and the inevitable multiple walks you’re taking to fight boredom). 

Please Don’t Make Me Cry – Lianne La Havas

Lianne La Havas’ new self-titled album is a beautifully crafted artistic work. It combines elements of indie folk, soul and alternative genres into something beautiful. This song in particular has a complex melody that keeps the listener intrigued throughout. 

Darcy – Wabie 

This single from Wabie is very groovy. It reminds me of the West Coast surf-pop I listened to during my high school years, but I also find that his songs have really strong lyricism and depth. 

You can listen to all of these songs and any from past weeks on WKNC’s Spotify, linked here. 

– Miranda

Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 8/4

Artist Record Label
1 ROBYN “Beach2k20 (Yaeji Remix)” [Single] Konichiwa
2 YVES TUMOR Heaven To A Tortured Mind Warp
3 DEATON CHRIS ANTHONY BO Y Self-Released
4 YEULE Serotonin II Bayonet
5 BIICLANo Place [EP] Good Luck Have Fun
6 JAMES MASSIAH Natural Born Killers (Ride for Me) [EP] Levels
7 COWGIRL CLUE Icebreaker Vada Vada
8 SONNIKU, LIZ, SOPHIE"Sweat (Sophie Remix)“ [Single] Bella Union
9 CARIBOU Suddenly Merge
10 BLOOD ORANGE Angel’s Pulse

Categories
Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 8/4

Artist Record Label
1 BROCKHAMPTON Ginger Question Everything/RCA
2 ANDERSON .PAAK Ventura Aftermath
3 SOLANGE When I Get Home Saint Records/Columbia
4 CASHINOVA Big Dragon Stophouse
5 EARTHGANG Mirrorland Dreamville/Interscope
6 PAT JUNIOR I Thought I Knew Be Absxlute
7 YOUNG RJ AND MEGA RAN 2HANDSUP Ne’Astra
8 MAXO LIL BIG MAN lastnamedavid
9 TOBI LOU Live On Ice Empire
10 BLACK SOPRANO FAMILY Black Soprano Family

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Thirsty Curses Debut Music Video for “Bruises on Your Shoulders”

If you’ve been following WKNC’s coverage of local artists then you’re no stranger to the name Thirsty Curses. This Raleigh rock band has been prominent on the scene since 2017 and has made quite a name for themselves rather quickly. They have received dazzling reviews from Yes! Weekly, Vents Magazine, and many more. These well-documented accolades can be found on the Thirsty Curses website. Among these reviews is a blog post from WKNC Assistant Daytime Music Director Safia Rizwan.

Safia’s review covered Thirsty Curses’ self-titled album which includes their top song, “Bruises on Your Shoulders,” for which a music video was released today. In it, the band performs as a young couple goes through several life changes (i.e. marriage, working and being fired from a corporate job, therapy, drinking problems), ultimately resulting in a failed marriage. The song discusses this concept, as frontman Wilson Getchell sings, “One day you wake up and you’re a completely different person. Same name, same face but it’s like someone else is doing the work.” Though the concept of the video follows the couple’s complicated personal lives, it’s a song to which almost anyone can relate. 

The music video itself is filmed in a single shot– think the style of early 2000s OK GO videos– and pivots between the band themselves performing or the silent reenactments of the actors playing the young couple. For accreditation purposes, the video was filmed and edited by Isaac Anderson at the Boykin Center in Wilson, N.C. (further production details can be found in the description of the video on YouTube). Anderson does a great job of keeping the audience’s attention, relying on feelings of nostalgia and familiarity to engage the viewers. The set, which was a simple construction mimicking that of an old children’s cartoon, was able to be moved and removed as the video was filmed– despite the fact that the entire thing was shot in one room. 

Ultimately, what I perceived as the greatest takeaway of this video was the timing of its release. As the Coronavirus pandemic continues, this same feeling of disassociation and shell shock from rapid changing events is captured by “Bruises on Your Shoulders.” It seems as though Getchell, without even knowing what kind of landscape we’d find ourselves in months later (as this song was written and released in 2019), was able to tune in to exactly what the population was feeling… and needed to hear.

You can connect with Thirsty Curses on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and their music is available on all streaming services. More information about the band can be found on their website, or through their previous Local Beat session podcast. 

– DJ Beowvlf

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 8/4

Artist Record Label
1 MELODY Teacher’s Pet [EP] Self-Released
2 IGGY T AND THE CRAZYMAKERS Just Can’t Get Enough Underground Sun
3 DAKOTA THEIM Somewhere Under The Sun Self-Released
4 SCHOOL OF XDestiny [EP] Tambourhinoceros
5 EX NORWEGIAN Something Unreal The Best Of Self-Released
6 JAUNTAll In One Self-Released
7 BECCA MANCARI The Greatest Part Captured Tracks
8 EVE OWEN Don’t Let The Ink Dry37d03d
9 JUNIOR MESA Peace [EP] Nice Life
10 BABA ALI This House [EP] 30th Century
11 STRFKR Future Past Life Polyvinyl
12 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM Circulatory System Elephant 6
13 CLIFFFS Panic Attack State Fair/We Know Better
14 VARSITYT he Basement Takes Run For Cover
15 JERRY PAPER Abracadabra Stones Throw
16 TIM BURGESS I Love The New Sky Bella Union/PIAS
17 CHLOE MORIONDO Spirit Orb [EP] Elektra
18 MAX BLOOM Perfume Anniversary
19 SOCCER MOMMY Color Theory Loma Vista/Concord
20 SKYLAR GUDASZ Cinema Suah Sounds
21 JULIA SHAPIRO Perfect Version Self-Released
22 SIDLEYS, THE Breathless Self-Released
23 PICTURES OF VERNON Now That’s What I Call Music Vo. 420 [EP] Self-Released
24 HEY CHELS Everything Goes Self-Released
25 DUMB Seeing Green Mint
26 METZ Covers [EP] Sub Pop
27 RACOMA This Front Room Self-Released
28 DISCOVERY ZONE Remote Control Mansions And Millions
29 CAVEBOY Night In The Park, Kiss In The Dark Self-Released
30 HONEY HARPER Starmaker ATO
 

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 8/4

Artist Record Label
1 CARACH ANGREN Franckensteina Strataemontanus Season Of Mist
2 BURY TOMORROW Cannibal Sony
3 THE ACACIA STRAIN Slow Decay Rise
4 GULCH Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress Closed Casket Activities
5 DEE SNIDER For The Love Of Metal (Live) Napalm
6 SUNAMI Sunami [EP] Creator Destructor
7 AVERSIONS CROWN Hell Will Come For Us All Nuclear Blast
8 BEHEMOTH A Forest [EP] Metal Blade
9 CATTLE DECAPITATION Death Atlas Metal Blade
10 UPON A BURNING BODY"Extermination" [Single] Seek & Strike

Categories
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

FCC clean

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

Categories
Playlists

Road Trip Playlist

One of the best part about a road trip is that you can listen to excellent music while traveling. I recently got home from a 7000 mile road trip from North Carolina to Washington and back*, and suffice to say the 80 hours in the car required a lot of good music to keep me entertained. I decided to compile my best road trip tracks to share with all of my friends and blog readers, I hope you enjoy! 

America – Simon & Garfunkel 

I love Simon & Garfunkel, this song and also many in Paul Simon’s wheelhouse are perfect for a long road trip. Think old subaru outback, stale cigarette smells, and cinnamon coffee.

Coming Home – Leon Bridges 

A really pretty track which I especially appreciate after an incredible journey. Nothing like coming home. 

Nara – alt-J 

This song and the “This Is All Yours” album are all really relaxed, pretty songs with appealing electronic tones to add a perfect depth. 

Santa Fe – Beirut 

I love hearing songs about the places I’m visiting, which is why many of the songs in the playlist reflect state or city names. Beirut’s “The Rip Tide” is really appealing to me for this reason. 

This Must Be The Place – Iron & Wine

Iron & Wine makes some great road trip songs. I love their covers which bring a new, usually acoustic and gentle, sound into the nostalgic tracks we all grew up loving. 

Check out my full road trip playlist here. 

*To preemptively address concerns about my trip – I am relocating to Washington after graduation and went up to begin the moving process, as well as get engaged to my now-fiancé. We took social distancing precautions and wore PPE in public, and I quarantined for two weeks before and after my travels. I recommend anyone planning a road trip to consider postponing until U.S. COVID-19 cases are significantly reduced, especially because many of the cities I visited still do not have mandates about masks or social distancing. If you must travel, please pack plenty of masks, sanitizer, and gloves, and use common sense. Be safe. 

– Miranda 

Categories
DJ Highlights

My time at WKNC

 

If anyone ever asks me what my favorite part of going to NC State was, the answer is my time at WKNC. I’m here to share the highlights of my time at WKNC. All the opportunities I was given, the skills I gained, and the unforgettable moments along the way. 

I became a DJ at WKNC during the Summer of 2018. Near the end of my training course the GM told us that the position for Social Media director was open. We were told we could apply before we were DJs, and as an eager bean who really wanted to work for the station, I applied shortly before finishing the training. That’s how I became the Social Media Director and a new DJ at the same time.

I had that position for the remainder of the summer and the following semester, and picked up my first DJ shift that Fall. At the time my show didn’t have a title, but on September 1, 2018 from 2pm-4pm 2k Indie went live for the first time. The show might not have had a name, but I was already DJ Psyched at this time. I remember asking family, friends, making polls on social media, and even using random name generators when I was looking for my DJ name. In the end I went with ‘Psyched’ because I am a psychology major and I couldn’t think of anything else. At this point the idea of the ‘Get Psyched’ image did not exist at all. I had no plans to turn the name into a whole persona, but it worked out amazingly (so I’m glad I didn’t go with ‘DJ Snuggles’).

 

The first semester was amazing. I was getting the hang of running my show, meeting other DJs, and learning to manage the station’s social media platforms. I also started to get some cool opportunities like getting paid to DJ live near Carter Finley before a football game with Laura (our current GM). I jumped on every opportunity I could. I went to just about every volunteer activity, every concert on the lawn, and any concerts I could get a DJ pass to. 

 

I did this for the rest of my time at WKNC, doing as much as possible and having the best moments of my college life. Some of the things I got to do include DJing for: pack disco, the target run, the honors village silent disco, and hopscotch. I also got to go to a bunch of neat events including: the Radio Disco Prom, Double Barrel Benefit, and two DJ and staff social events. I also attended some more unforgettable concerts, thanks to WKNC, and saw artists that include: Flo Rida, TLC, Nelly, Omni, Soccer Mommy, Joy Again, 311, and Dirty Heads (just to name a few).

 

In my last year I was also given the opportunity to be Daytime Music Director and create content as a blogger and pod-caster. This is when things went from amazing to dream-like, I hardly have words for how much this last year has meant to me. 

The ‘Get Psyched’ image was born alongside my podcast. I found my mission and had the best time meeting up with different artists, fellow creators, and friends to talk about things we were passionate about. I found a passion in getting psyched about reading, health, DIY work, and music: and it motivated me to create a YouTube channel. ‘Get Psyched’ isn’t just a slogan or job to me, it’s my passion and it has made me more determined than ever to always stay psyched about the things I love.

It’s hard to imagine my time at WKNC coming to an end now that I’ve finished school, but I will cherish these memories and moments for the rest of my life. The ‘Get Psyched’ mission doesn’t end here, and I’m grateful for all the ways WKNC has shaped me as a creator and person. 

Until Next Time

Always stay psyched,

DJ Psyched