Category: Blog

Categories
New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Surf Curse – Heaven Surrounds You

Heaven Surrounds You by Surf Curse album cover

BEST TRACKS: Maps to the Stars, River’s Edge, Opera

FCC violations: Hour of the Wolf, Opera

A year after Nick Rattigan released A Different Age on his solo project under the moniker Current Joys, Nevada-based alternative duo Nick Rattigan and Jacob Rubeck returned to the front of the scene with a magical new release Heaven Surrounds You.

My first thought when I picked up this album and read the name was “wow, what a beautiful thought”’. Heaven surrounds you. I appreciated the assertive delivery of this message. The title of this album isn’t asking and it isn’t suggesting- it’s straight up telling you that the world is a beautiful place and you don’t have to wait until you die to find happiness. At least, that’s what I thought before listening to the album. As it turns out, this album is as self-deprecating and anguished as ever. I should have known. Surf Curse: feeling like a freak since 2013. But if it counts for anything, the last track, Jamie, closes out the album with this hopeful message: I love the people in my life. All my friends keep me alive.

Though I’m a big fan of the band’s traditional rough and visceral sound, I admit that Surf Curse cleaned up nicely with this Album. Heaven Surrounds You is Surf Curse’s most mature and polished album to date, more cinematic and sounding less like it was recorded in the basement and put together on Garageband 2.2. Saccharine violin on tracks on several tracks give the album a coming of age movie-like feel.

This is the perfect album for a road trip out west, with its sunny, lively guitar and dreamy vocals. The drums are modest yet toe-tapping, taking a back seat to the more melodic instruments on the album. Even the darker sounding tracks on this album, like Opera and Trust, have sweet, cinematic breakdowns and one-two rhythms that maintain the energy throughout.

I recommend giving this album a listen if you like Beach Fossils, the Frights, or Arcade Fire.

-Safia Rizwan

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 10/15

Artist Record Label
1 LALA LALA Sleepyhead (Reissue) Hardly Art
2 (SANDY) ALEX G House Of Sugar Domino
3 CHASTITY BELT Chastity Belt Hardly Art
4 OH ROSE While My Father Sleeps Park The Van
5 KATE TEAGUE Kate Teague [EP] Muscle Beach
6 ROYAL TRUX White Stuff Fat Possum
7 ZACK MEXICO The Page The Pope and The Hanged Man Self-Released
8 OH SEES Face Stabber Castle Face
9 ROYAL CANOE Waver Paper Bag
10 MARIKA HACKMAN Any Human Friend [EP] Sub Pop
11 AA BONDY Enderness Fat Possum
12 FRANKIE COSMOS Close It Quietly Sub Pop
13 GOOD SERVICE Summer Muses Self-Released
14 SHANNON LAY August Sub Pop
15 PIP BLOM Boat Heavenly/PIAS
16 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Doko Mien Merge
17 MAUNO Really Well Tin Angel
18 JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD Magick Songs Dine Alone
19 INFINITY CRUSH Virtual Heaven Joy Void
20 STRANGE RANGER Remembering The Rockets Tiny Engines
21 GOOD RIDDANCE Thoughts And Prayers Fat Wreck
22 B BOYS Dudu Captured Tracks
23 NATHAN BAJAR Playroom In Real Life
24 REPTALIENS Valis Captured Tracks
25 FLORAL PRINT Floral Print Tiny Engines
26 SARAH BETHE NELSON Weird Glow Burger
27 FRUIT BATS Gold Past Life Merge
28 BODY TYPE EP1 + EP2 Partisan
29 SACRED PAWS Run Around The Sun Merge
30 FLORIST Emily Alone Double Double Whammy

Top Adds

1 PEACH PYRAMID Bright Blue Oscar St
2 ERTHLINGS Indigo [EP] Future Classic
3 NEW PORNOGRAPHERS In the Morse Code Of Brake Lights Concord
4 TINO DRIMA Suitin’ Up Park The Van
5 MELTT Swim Slowly Self-Released
6 JAPANESE WALLPAPER Glow Nettwerk
7 MENZINGERS, THE Hello Exile Epitaph

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 10/15

Artist Record Label
1 GIDEON Out of Control Equal Vision
2 KUBLAI KHAN Absolute Rise
3 TOXIC HOLOCAUST Primal Future: 2019 eOne
4 CREEPING DEATH Wretched Illusions eOne
5 GATECREEPER Deserted Relapse
6 LEFT BEHIND “Peeling Wax” [Single] Pure Noise
7 KNOCKED LOOSE A Different Shade Of Blue Pure Noise
8 VARIALS In Darkness Fearless
9 WIND ROSE Wintersaga Napalm
10 SIGNS OF THE SWARM Vital Deprivation Unique Leader

Categories
Miscellaneous

WKNC’s FAKING NEWS

Categories
Festival Coverage

Shouts to Shakori: A listening experience

Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain blasted out of my friend’s tiny car, which was full of tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks. We were speeding towards Shakori Hills. The grassroots music festival in the lovely Pittsboro wilderness has been an institution for 16 years. This would be my first time camping during the festival which takes place twice a year, in the spring and the fall. Shakori hosts all kinds of musicians and acts and I was ready to explore some new bands. We had reached the end of our journey and piled out of the car into a field. It only got hippier from there. 

Shakori is oriented in a circle with food vendors and camping connecting the four main stages. I decided to forgo the schedule and just walk around the circle until I heard something I was interested in. One of the bands that caught my attention was People Of Earth. Their alt-rock and jazz-influenced music had the crowd jamming out and was a welcome change of pace from the bluegrass and country that the festival is known for. I heard TerraBANG from across the grounds. I was immediately intrigued by lead singer Jameilyara Moore’s smooth vocals. The upbeat and funky songs had me floating away (Checkout their song Art School Drop out). My favorite performer of the weekend might have to be Roosevelt Collier. You could see his beaming smile from a mile away and his music was just as infectious. Collier shreds on the lap steel guitar and completely stole the show with groovy almost grunge take. 

There is something to be said about the environment of the Shakori, everyone knows they are in a special place and it shows with the absolute kindness and generosity of the volunteers and even the attendees. It felt like fall for the first time that weekend, the weather was the perfect backdrop for the festival. Definitely count on seeing me there in the spring 🙂 Happy Shakori! 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5UR8M3HEO1T0mhlT59n46j 

-Lil Witch xoxo

Categories
New Album Review

Album Review: Kublai Khan – Absolute

All I can say is… WOW!!!  KUBLAI KHAN REALLY DIDN’T HAVE TO GO THAT HARD. This is a masterpiece of a record, in my opinion. This entire album is pure anger and aggression and I am here for it. The listener gets a taste of what is to come on this record with the opening track, Armor of Goddamn, which immediately flows into one of my favorite songs on the record, Boomslang. This song is full of chunky riffs, backed up with Matt Honeycutt’s (vocalist) aggressive growling. There is a nasty breakdown in this song after Honeycutt yells “Shut the f*** up” and you will automatically start jamming.

This theme of chunky riffs, nasty breakdowns, and Honeycutt yelling “F*** you,” “motherf***** and my favorite “I don’t even f****** like you b****” which is in the song Us & Them is seen throughout the entire album. This album is a beating and is guaranteed to be kept on repeat. The intensity doesn’t stop at all, each and every song is a beating and will for sure get you moving. Each song makes me want to flip a table and start hardcore dancing.

Each track is as strong and as heavy as the next. This album is pure perfection and in every song you can hear the intensity within the music and the passion within Honeycutt’s lyrics. The overall sound is rich and unblemished. Every song is a bop and especially Self-Destruct. This song has all the elements listed above but it’s breakdown is so groovy that I can already see the hardcore kids in the pit spinning around in circles, swinging their arms. If you don’t headbang and jam to every song off this album, well… there is something wrong with you.

This album is short, heavy, and to the point. I will say that this record is their absolute best (pun was definitely intended).

Favorite songs: I want to say every song but the ones that really stand out to me are – Boomslang, Us & Them, Self-Destruct, and my absolute favorite, High Hopes.

Rating: 10/10

What is your favorite song off of Absolute?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Concert Review

College Radio Day

 

College Radio Day was this October 4th and WKNC celebrated it at The Wicked Witch with a live set from Secret Shame, Green Aisles and Flood District. Sadly, I couldn’t stay around the whole show but I did see Green Aisles and Flood District, and they put on a really good show. I loved the atmosphere of the event. It was just small enough to feel relaxed but still hype enough to engage the crowd and make the show feel intimate. The music was memorable and the event overall was a worthy experience. 

I arrived a bit early and got to see meet of the band members while they were chilling around before the show started. The picture above is actually Flood District, and I got the chance to speak to some of the band members for a bit before the show started. They were super chill, funny and inviting and it made a good show feel even better. Everyone who performed was super kind and their interactions with the crowd all felt very genuine, it just added to the intimate and relaxed vibes going around. 

I went to the show alone, but it was so welcoming that it never felt awkward or off. Everyone was pretty inviting and I spoke to a lot more people than I would at other shows. Not that I have anything against big venue shows, but I think that there is definitely a place in the music world that needs these more intimate shows, and I’m totally here for it. It was a perfect way to celebrate College Radio Day. Cause I mean, we are the best in college radio.

– DJ Psyched

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Metallica – Master of Puppets

image

The third studio album by the (now) legendary Metallica, Master of Puppets is so important to the history of music generally, and the evolution of it specifically that in 2015 The United States Library of Congress preserved the recording in the National Recording Registry; the first heavy metal recording to do so. It was recorded September 1 – December 27, 1985 at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was released on March 3, 1986 by Elektra Records.

Whereas Kill ‘em All (the band’s first studio release) is straight-forward, in your face thrash metal, and Ride the Lightening (their 2nd release) evolved further into unchartered Metal waters (both of these records were heavily influenced by original lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine – Megadeth), Master is a full-blown leap off the map! The album is nearly universally praised as the best heavy metal album of all time, both inside and outside of the metal community. The record peaked at #29 on The Billboard Top 200, and was the first “Thrash Metal" album to be certified Platinum. It was certified 6X Platinum by RIAA in 2003.

Metallica was formed in Las Angeles, CA in 1981 (San Francisco has been the band’s base) by guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) was the original lead guitarist, but was fired just before the recording of Kill ‘em All. Cliff Burton was the original bassist until 1986 when, during their European tour, the band’s bus crashed in Sweden killing Burton. Kirk Hammett (Exodus) was tapped to replace Mustaine and has been a constant ever since. Jason Newsted (Flotsam and Jetsam) replaced Burton (R.I.P.), until January 2001. Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies; Infectious Grooves; Black Label Society) stepped-up in 2003 and has been a solid member on the bass to the present day.

Master stretched Metallica’s previous “thrash metal" sound, and invented a new one! A heavier, darker feel than any offering of it’s time. Hetfield’s vocals are deeper and chunkier and all guitars are drop tuned. The overarching theme of the record concerns control and the abuse of power (notice the cover art), as the title track suggests; as well as Battery, The Thing That Should Not Be, and Leper Messiah (directed toward the televangelists of the 80’s). Welcome Home (Sanitarium) expresses a result of such abuse. Disposable Heroes addresses the subject from the point of view of soldiers sent to endless wars on behalf of the elites. And Orion is a beautiful instrumental, composed by Cliff Burton, putting on full display his classical training. Don’t let my “beautiful” description fool you, though, this song is a beating; while Battery is the fastest, and The Thing That Should Not Be is the heaviest.

The “O.G. Metalhead" (a.k.a., my dad!) saw Metallica (with Cliff on bass) in 1986, in Binghamton, NY during the band’s first arena/stadium tour supporting Ozzy. “We had never heard of them. Upon seeing them perform, we had never seen or heard anything like it before! The rest is history!” I finally got to see them in Atlanta in 2018, and again right here in Raleighwood, January of this year (2019).

Favorite songs: Master of Puppets (duh!); The Thing That Should Not Be

Rating: 10/10!!

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Music Education

Songwriting Tips

 

I really love Linkedin Learning, and a little while ago I took one of the courses named ‘20 Unofficial Rules of Songwriting’ (because my songwriting can always use some serious work). And I thought the course was pretty useful, so I figured I’d share some of the best tips I’ve learned (from videos like this and from personal experience), because songwriting is great and I think anyone interested should give it a try.

  1. Don’t overthink it – This was my biggest problem when I started. I would contemplate every word I wrote and it took forever, it always led to me never finishing any songs. Yikes. But one day I just sat there and started singing and just let it be what it was, and I wrote the first song I ever finished. It wasn’t any kind of masterpiece but it made me realize that I was being way to uptight and it was ruining my creativity, so I think relaxing is a good way to combat that. To quote Rick and Morty ‘Good music comes from those who are relaxed, just hit a button’.

  2. Improvise – I recently made a friend who wanted to start songwriting together and when we got together I realized we had totally different ways of doing this. I usually come up with an idea and then start building slowly. He just straight up starts hitting keys and improving until it feels right. And while I’m sure both ways have their place I also think improv is also just another form of being relaxed and letting it happen, so you might accidentally end up making something amazing. Who knows?

  3. Listen more – My music teachers are avid that listening to a lot of music and analyzing what they do will help give you ideas. I have to admit they’re kind of right. Just listening to more music will help give you ideas and inspire your own work, and it’s just fun.

  4. Think about talking to someone – This is the only technical advice I have (but if you are interested in more stuff like this I’ll link that course below) but writing as if you’re talking to someone is a real crowd hitter. It makes the music feel a bit more personal and natural and usually makes for good hooks.

Do you have any songwriting tips I could use? (anything would be appreciated)

– DJ Psyched

Categories
New Album Review

Album Review: Coach Phillips – Never is Enough

BEST TRACKS: Tailspins, January in Seattle, Listerine

FCC violation: Conversation with Pietro (track 4)

Formed in 2017, Coach Phillips is a folky math rock band that got started in the DIY scene playing a series of low-key house shows in Seattle, WA. After picking up some support from college radio stations and the successful release of their EP Learning How to Swim in 2018, Coach Phillips started playing bigger shows and touring around the west coast, but they always stayed true to their Seattle roots and never lost their DIY ethics; Coach Phillips is signed with Den Tapes Records, an independent Seattle label dedicated to supporting local artists.

This LP is churning with gentle, down-to-earth melodies. Never is Enough features a crunchy acoustic guitar, a sparkly tambourine, sad harmonica solos, and warm vocals by Wade Phillips that are dreamily complemented by Jessica Kim’s harmonies. On the 7th and 9th tracks Tailspins and Delta, a forlorn violin makes an appearance, played skillfully by Kim to sound like it’s crying. While the variety of instruments might have perked my ears up a little bit, I feel that some more variation in the levels of intensity could have served this album well. After listening to this album for a while, I started to feel like I was listening to one long dreary song. However, the sliding riffs and tasteful baselines make this album still worth listening to.

Coach Phillips has a knack for digging up old feelings and memories of the past. The tambourine and harmonica on the 2nd track Chastity jeans will tug at your heartstrings making you nostalgic and wistful for the summer after high school. The 3rd track Lake Michigan Dream will summon melancholy to make you feel like someone just punched you hard straight in the middle of your chest. This album will be perfect to listen to on the rainy October days to come.

Recommended if you like American Football or Pinegrove.

-Safia Rizwan