Artist Record Label 1 ORTHODOX “I Can Show You God” [Single] Unbeaten 2 ENTRAILS “The Pyre” [Single] Metal Blade 3 KNOCKED LOOSE A Different Shade Of Blue Pure Noise 4 CREEPING DEATH “Ripping Through Flesh” [Single] Entertainment One 5 SIGNS OF THE SWARM “Crown of Nails” [Single] Unique Leader 6 AWAKE FOR DAYS “Break Your Chains” [Single] Self-Released 7 AS I LAY DYING “Blinded” [Single] Nuclear Blast 8 AMON AMARTH Berserker Metalblade 9 ASCENDING FROM ASHES Glory Darkscale Media 10 RITUALIZER “Speed Of Sound” [Single] Self-Released
Um hello, if the Secret Place is an actual place then it’s a place I wanna be! This Zephyr Bones album is only two years old, but it definitely has that classic indie sound that can be hard to come by these days. This is a great album that will absolutely stand the test of time for several reasons; perhaps I shall make a list:
That cover art. Sheesh. Wowza. What a cotton candy dream. Of course the album cover doesn’t affect sound quality but it’s what caught my eye in the music library and helped The Zephyr Bones stand out against thousands of other artists we have music from at KNC. If you aren’t looking for a specific artist’s work when you’re shopping around for some new music – then what will catch your eye? That cover babie! Before you even hear it, you see it, and the artwork for Secret Place is the perfect illustration. You can’t tell what it is. The landscape drawn out appears strange and feels hidden, as a secret place should.
Lets hear it for the boys! Indie rock has always gotta be rooted in ‘rock.’ I know it. You know it. The skater kids know it. Fortunately, Secret Place fits the bill! It’s definitely on the right shelf in the music library. The foursome combine all the right elements in just the right way, making a mellow, beachy sound that isn’t missing any of the great parts of rock we all love. These guys seriously know what they’re doing.
I’ll take those tunes with a twist – a modern twist. A great album sets out to do something different, which is not an easy task when so much music already exists. The Zephyr Bones do a great job of showcasing their individuality in Secret Place. Psychedelic soundscapes back up their already solid foundation and gentle vocals bring everything together in a way that just works.
If you’re looking for some indie rock to set a relaxing mood that isn’t lacking in genuine talent, this is the album for you.
Streaming: I know a lot of people love to hate streaming services, but they’d be lying if they didn’t agree that platforms like Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal are convenient, accessible and technologically up to date. These platforms allow for instant sharing of music and with smartphone capabilities, you can really take music everywhere you go.
Festivals for everything: Like streaming, people love to hate music festivals, but I think that’s just because they haven’t been to one. I was definitely a jealous 14 year old, Tumblr surfing girl who dreamt about going to something like Coachella. Nowadays, a lot of music festivals are popping up in a large, grassy field near you and with big artists too. Just this year, the first annual Dreamville Fest was put on in Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park.
Rap groups, artist collectives: Rap groups and general collectives of artists are such a spectacle in themselves showcasing different talents, styles and sometimes genres under one umbrella. The perfect example is Odd Future of course, a group of wild teens from California who represented the confusion, chaos and fun of being in the spotlight of the music industry. Artist collectives are fun to watch, to listen to and they always make the coolest merch. The hysteria that falls over everyone when a new group bursts on the scene is always an interesting thing to experience—the most recent being Brockhampton or Earthgang.
Diverse and inclusive artists: I love seeing more and more color and diverse backgrounds of the artists that I discover and personally listen to. Their differences, struggles and personal tastes really shine through in their music. The first example that comes to mind is Jai Paul, an electronic artist whose Indian descent shows well in his work. Lil Nas X has recently come out as gay, Sam Smith has come out as non-binary and these instances show how much more comfortable artists feel about revealing their true selves to the world. However, the music industry still has a long, long way to go in terms of gender and race diversity, but I think it’s headed in the right direction.
Hip-Hop is taking over: Move over Bruce Springsteen, hello Kendrick Lamar. I’m a hip-hop fan, so it’s pleasing to see rap achieve such a big step up in the music world, though it had great influence for decades now. According to Nielsen Music’s 2017 report, R&B/Hip-Hop are the most consumed genres of music in the US. With trap beats and rapped lyrics infiltrating genres like country, rock and pop, this statistic comes as no surprise.
Carrion was the first Parkway Drive song that I had ever heard and I immediately got chills during the intro. From there, I went back into the band’s entire discography. This band will forever be one of my favorite bands not only because their music is kickass, but also because they are genuine guys. I met them at the Carolina Rebellion in 2018 and they were all super cool! They said that they liked my $5 Walmart sunglasses, and they also put hearts around their signatures on my poster.
Parkway Drive is from Byron Bay, Australia and they formed in 2003. The band has released six full-length albums: Killing with a Smile (2006), Horizons (2009), Deep Blue (2010), Atlas (2012), Ire (2015), and Reverence (2018).
The band got their name, Parkway Drive, from the street where their home rehearsal space was at. The home was also a venue for live shows because there was a lack of venues for punk rock and hardcore punk bands to play at. Parkway Drive played their first show at the Byron Bay Youth Centre.
The band flew to the United States where they recorded Killing with a Smile with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz in just two weeks. Then the band got signed in 2006 to Epitaph Records. They went back to Dutkiewicz studio to record Horizons. The band hit the studio again to record Deep Blue, and according to Parkway Drive’s vocalists, Winston McCall, this record would be the rawest and heaviest record to date.
And as they say, the rest is history! The band has steadily been going up and getting bigger and bigger as each year passes. They went from playing at small house venues, to selling out big name arenas. Parkway Drive has “IT;” this edge to them, you can hear it in their music and you can see it in them when they perform live. They have this energy that puts their audience in a trance and you can’t help but jam when they play. They have that special combination that assures that the band will be even bigger! You can tell that they love what they are doing and that they’re playing for their fans. Having a band that is so genuine make it so far is honestly a breath of fresh air. Keep grinding, Parkway Drive. I can’t wait to see where you all go from here.
One of my favorite memories of seeing Parkway Drive was back in 2016 when one of their guitarists lost his shoe and a crowd surfer caught it and threw it back deeper into the crowd. The guitarist found this funny! And then out of nowhere, we had toilet paper being thrown around the crowd. It was awesome!
What is your favorite Parkway Drive song? Mine is Crushed.
This year I was given the amazing opportunity to be one of the DJ’s at the Pack Disco (alongside DJ Casey and DJ Charlie M.A.C). I was pretty nervous about it since this would be the longest and largest live DJing event I’ve ever done, but I was also really excited because of that. I decided to do throwback pop since it’s a genre that really gets people dancing and singing their hearts out, it puts most people into a state of nostalgia. I learned from the last time I DJ’d a silent disco (for the honors village) that you really have to read the crowd because they’ll definitely show you what they want. So I played some more classic throwback songs like R.Kelly’s Ignition, but since I noticed this crowd was so open and excited I also got away with playing stuff like Call Me Maybe and What Makes You Beautiful (it was amazing to watch people’s face when they realized what song was playing).
There were definitely more highlights from that night too. After the show some of the other people who were involved in running the event told me that they thought it was funny that I played Mr. Telephone Man because they hadn’t heard it in ages, I hadn’t either, weirdly enough halfway through the event it just came into my head and I decided to throw it in and I’m glad I did. But of course there were some highlights that I had hoped would go well and they did, but they kind of exceeded my expectations, this crowd was amazing. I knew Bohemian Rhapsody would do well, that song is a classic, but I did not expect people to pull out their phones and start a huge hugging-swaying circle. It was beautiful. I also noticed a dance circle form at some point, though I can’t remember the track’s playing at the time, it was really fun watching people get really into the community spirit and start to interact more. My absolute favorite things were the moments when I would look into the crowd and make eye contact with someone on my channel and we would either nod and smile or point and each other and shout ayeeee. It was amazing interacting with so many people solely on the basis of music.
The whole event itself was an amazing and unforgettable time and I’m so glad to have DJ’d with the people I did. We talked before and after the event and it was all positive vibes going around. We wished each other good luck before, and had more of a team spirit going during the disco then a competition. After the event ended you could see the excitement on all of our faces, it was a successful event and we couldn’t have been more happy have been a part of it. The whole time we felt the community vibe. People kept trying to give requests (though we couldn’t take them for safety purposes) and we had several people come up trying to give high fives and fist bumps. I don’t know about my fellow DJs, but with all that excitement built up I didn’t sleep til after 4am. It was totally worth it. Thank you to the IRC for choosing us!
The title track to this record is a rock-‘n’-roll / hard rock anthem! It’s opening riff is recognizable instantly! And stadiums, arenas, and ballparks around the world play this great song! Highway to Hell, unlike AC/DC’s previous five albums (and one LP), was produced by “Mutt” Lang, a legendary producer even at this early stage in his career. It was recorded at Chalk Farm, North London in March 1979, and released July 27, 1979. Mutt and the band changed just about everything the band was doing up to that point. AC/DC had been touring all over Australia and Europe by this time, but their evolution (even Bon Scott’s vocals) transformed into something they had never even thought about. Imagine, Mutt giving Scott vocal lessons!! Or Angus (Young) guitar lessons! Yet, that’s what happened, and it formed one of the greatest records of all time. Atlantic Records hated the album name, and the album cover released in Australia (the worldwide released cover, with addition of flames and a bass guitar neck) was no different (see Australian album cover above)!
The record had a less than serious theme: Love Hungry Man, Girls Got Rhythm, Beating Around the Bush, Touch Too Much, Walk All Over You, Get It Hot, and Shot Down In Flames are all metaphors (or otherwise insinuating) sex. The three remaining songs are stand alone themes: Highway to Hell, believe it or not, is about the band’s life on the road. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) is a titled borrowed from the band’s previous live record and it speaks to the fact that AC/DC will always give you everything that they have when they play live. And Night Prowler became quite controversial quickly! The serial killer, Richard Ramirez, nick-named “The Night Stalker,” was a huge AC/DC fan, and the song and the maniac will forever be intertwined. The band says that this song, too, is about sex, but that doesn’t explain the lyric, “…And you don’t feel the steel till it’s hanging out your back!”
The record was certified 7X platinum by RIAA in 2006. Tracks from this album are featured in eight movies, as a soundtrack for a video game, and as a theme song for the WWE SummerSlam (1998). The record peaked at #17 on the US Too 100. And it is the second highest selling AC/DC album of all time (right behind Back In Black, released a year later).
Within months of the release of Highway to Hell, Bon Scott literally drank himself to death, dying of alcohol poisoning on Feb. 18/19, 1980. AC/DC remained Angus Young – lead guitar; Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals; Phil Rudd – drums; and Cliff Williams – Bass guitar, backing vocals with the addition of Brian Johnson taking up vocals soon after the tragedy.
Favorite songs: Highway to Hell; Girls Got Rhythm; Beating Around the Bush
It was an average Friday the 13th when my friends told me there were extra tickets to see Tierra Whack that night in Chapel Hill. I had seen Whack a few weeks prior in New York, but I was way in the back of a huge crowd and barely got to see her brightly colored ensemble from there. Needless to say, I was excited to see her again in a much smaller setting. I could not believe that UNC got someone so talented and trailblazing as she is. If you’re unfamiliar, Tierra Whack is a Philadelphia born rapper and singer who is a pro at freestyling, being weird and creating endless microscopic worlds within her songs. I definitely think the side of the rap world that’s occupied by women benefits from a fresh alternative like Whack who doesn’t take herself too seriously.
As we packed into the theatre at Memorial Hall, I was happy to finally sit down and enjoy a concert in the comfort of a chair. The opener was ZenSoFly, a Raleigh based rapper with electronic production. By the time she finished her set I was quite literally itching to see Tierra. She finally arrives on stage via Razor scooter and I scream. She jumps into her performance of CLONES and when she’s finished she questions why the hell everyone was sitting down. Whack tells us to get up and commands the security guards to let us through to the pit area where you can stand directly in front of the stage. Everyone and their mother rushes the stage, my friend and I get split up, but I make it to the pit. Then she starts another song immediately and I just remember jumping up and down for about 2 hours straight after that, blowing out my vocal cords screaming the lyrics and climbing on the side of the stage to dance.
Like something I’d always dreamed, she performed the entire 15 minutes of her debut album, Whack World, a piece of work that was hailed amongst the best albums of 2018 by Complex and Pitchfork. That 15 minutes felt like forever because Tierra Whack is so amazing at creating fun, dark and well rounded soundscapes in her lyrics and production. The show was sprinkled with Whack’s silly personality as she frequently conversed with the audience, handed out microphones for the crowd to sing along, stole keys, wallets and caught the numerous pairs of panties that were thrown at her. After her encore performance of “Mumbo Jumbo,” (a song chosen by a crowd member) she signed shoes for about 20 minutes and then disappeared into the darkness of backstage. I was sore for several days after, it was the most rambunctious, chaotic and enthralling show I’d ever been to.
When I was a young freshmen here at state I stumbled upon this band called Wild Party. The first song I heard of theirs was ‘Life’s too Short’, I was instantly hooked. The track (and that whole album) remains to be one of my absolute favorite listens to come back to. So one day, when went back to listen, I became extremely excited to find that they were back with some new tracks. In March they released the track ‘Recipe’ and in April we got ‘Getaway’. The artwork is very similar for the two tracks which makes me think an album may be coming our way. And I couldn’t be more hopeful because these two new tracks absolutely lived up to the last release. The tracks both sound a bit different from their old stuff, but they still have that solid Wild Party energy behind them.
The first track ‘Recipe’ is an absolute bop. The lyrics are empowering and always leave me feeling uplifted. ‘Never gonna hit the brakes too slow, even if we make mistakes we know’ always puts me in a good mood and makes me want to work harder. The chorus will definitely stick with you too. Wild Party has always been good at having a smooth but interesting texture and strong instrumentation that really highlights the energy behind the lyrics. Getaway has a very similar vibe but the lyrics are a lot more critical in the meaning. ‘What’s with all our friends, They just talk and spend, All their time workin’, Like they’re mannequins’. Wild Party has always been one to sneak messages like this into their uplifting pop-rock-indie kind of music, and that’s what keeps me coming back.
Mexico City Blondes are not actually from Mexico City. They are from Santa Barbara, California. Also, only ½ of the duo is blonde, but we’ll let this false representation slide because their music is so good. Mexico City Blondes met in 2014 on Craigslist when vocalist Allie Thompson replied to an ad posted by instrumentalist Greg Doscher stating that he was searching for someone with similar interest in lo-fi downtempo music to collaborate with. They instantly clicked and began working. Their first single, Fade, with a little bit of luck, became a breakout hit after being spread around by word of mouth and getting picked up by multiple music blogs. Fade even made it to the top spot on Hype Machine more than once. Five years later, the duo has finally released their long-awaited debut album Blush.
Hot out of a studio built in Doscher’s garage, Blush is fresh, mellow, and psychedelic. This album is a harmonious blend of electronic drums kits, dreamy synths, trip-hop vocals, and sprinklings of synthetic sounds. Thompson’s unique voice elevates this album to a level above the rest. Her wispy voice will carry you into an alternate reality where it’s eternally dusk outside and mysterious pink flower petals are carried in the breeze. Thompson’s sleek vocals go hand in hand in hand with the album’s silky texture. Every song on this album is hazy and atmospheric, ideal for going on a solo hike early in the morning or swimming in the pool at night.
My favorite track on this album is Addio. The chills that hit every time the chorus comes in are indescribable. The deliciously slow, jazzy guitar solo on this track at the bridge is the cherry on top.
If you like Glass Animals or WILLOW, I recommend this album to you.
Artist Record Label 1 TORO Y MOI Outer Peace Carpark 2 LONE “Abraxas” [Single] Ancient Astronauts 3 KAYTRANADA Nothin Like U/Chances [EP] RCA 4 TOURIST Everyday Monday 5 GEORGE CLANTON Slide 100% Electronica 6 DORIAN CONCEPT The Nature Of Imitation Brainfeeder 7 KEDR LIVANSKIY Your Need 2MR 8 CHANNEL TRES Black Moses [EP] Godmode 9 LAURENCE GUY Making Music Is Bad For Your Self Esteeem [EP] Studio Barnhus 10 HOUSE OF FEELINGS New Lows Joyful Noise
