#wknc881

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Strange Ranger stopped by The Lounge to play a few songs off their latest album "Remembering the Rockets" 0:04 "Rockets" & "Ari Song" 4:32 "Living Free" WKNC is a student operated, independent college radio station, playing the best of indie rock, metal, electronic, hip hop, local music and more. The Lounge sessions are live recording sessions with bands and recording artists that visit the station. by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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Raleigh Locals, Dotwav Media stopped by The Lounge to play some songs for us-- this is the first one! "2 Weeks" By Dotwav Media and edited by Lydia Farro. WKNC is a student operated, independent college radio station, playing the best of indie rock, metal, electronic, hip hop, local music and more. The Lounge sessions are live recording sessions with bands and recording artists that visit the station. by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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Brooklyn's environmentalist softcore band Peaer, signed to Chapel Hill's Tiny Engines Recoreds, stopped by The Lounge to perform their song, "Commercial" for the WKNC staff before their show in Chapel Hill later that evening. This is the first reinstatement video of the Lounge series since taking a hiatus so please excuse the short length & audio problems. Our new Multimedia Director has filmed several more sessions since this & while this was her first, we still think its pretty great! Big ass love to Peaer for all that they do. WKNC is a student operated, independent college radio station, playing the best of indie rock, metal, electronic, hip hop, local music and more. The Lounge sessions are live recording sessions with bands and recording artists that visit the station. by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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WKNC's very own DJ Psyched represented us & all of NC State at the Wolfpack Silent Disco not too long ago! Check out this feature video of the event that introduces you to the DJs of the night, what they do, why they do it, & more! by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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ALBUM REVIEW: Tacocat - This Mess is a Place

BEST TRACKS: Crystal Ball, Hologram

FCC violation: Grains of Salt

Tacocat is a guitar-based pop punk group out of Seattle. However, Tacocat’s most recent album, This Mess is a Place, leans significantly more towards bubblegum pop than some of their previous albums. Tacocat rose to success as a band in the early 2010’s, at a time where everyone wore rainbow loom bracelets and nyan cat ruled the internet. Though Tacocat sharpened and refined their sound over the decade, the early 2010’s influence is still prevalent in their pastel music videos and peppy songs.

A word of caution to crust punks, metalheads, and people who love to suffer: this album is SWEET- have too much and you might find yourself with a cavity. Songs on this album feature velvety background choruses and saccharine guitar. You could say this album sounds similar to Chris Farren’s Can’t Die, or Remember Sports’ All of Nothing but with way less grit. Overall, This Place is a Mess is light and breezy, easy listening. I enjoyed listening to it in the mornings while I was in the shower to get pumped for the start of a new day.

Despite having underlying existential themes, this album refuses to wallow in misery. This Mess is a Place is about finding hope and light despite the bleak state of the world. The first track, Hologram, reminds you to take a step back and enjoy life’s simple moments, with immersive imagery of beaded curtains in the purple dark. The third and most popular track on the album, Grains of Salt, is about living for yourself and dropping the weight of other peoples’ judgements from your shoulders. Major props to Tacocat - say what you will about them, but their cup is undeniably overflowing with mettle.

If you like sunshine, you’ll probably like this album. Just don’t forget to brush your teeth!

-Safia Rizwan

[wknc881]

Afterhours Charts 8/27

Artist Record Label 1 KAYTRANADA Nothin Like U/Chances [EP] RCA 2 TORO Y MOI Outer Peace Carpark 3 CHROME SPARKS Be On Fire [EP] Counter 4 SATIN SHEETS St. Francis 100% Electronica 5 CHANNEL TRES Black Moses [EP] Godmode 6 SWEELY Nice Archive Traxx, Vol. 1 Lobster Theremin 7 TILMAN Love [EP] Fine 8 HOT CHIP A Bath Full Of Ecstasy Domino 9 FLOATING POINTS LesAlpx/Coorabell [EP] Ninja Tune 10 DJ SEINFELD Lilium [EP] Young Ethics

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Daytime Charts 8/27

Artist Record Label 1 PEAER A Healthy Earth Tiny Engines 2 MARIKA HACKMAN Any Human Friend Sub Pop 3 METZ Covers [EP] Sub Pop 4 PURPLE MOUNTAINS Purple Mountains Drag City 5 DUMB Club Nites Mint 6 GRINGO STAR Controlled Burn Baby Robot 7 BLESSED Salt Pirates Blend 8 OH SEES Face Stabber Castle Face 9 GREYS Age Hasn't Spoiled You Carpark 10 GARCIA PEOPLES Natural Facts BBIB 11 CRUMB Jinx Self-Released 12 FLORAL PRINT Floral Print Tiny Engines 13 STRANGE RANGER Remembering The Rockets Tiny Engines 14 B BOYS Dudu Captured Tracks 15 FROTH Duress Wichita 16 FLORIST Emily Alone Double Double Whammy 17 REPTALIENS Valis Captured Tracks 18 A BEACON SCHOOL Cola Grind Select/House Arrest 19 CHAI Punk Burger 20 TRUTH CLUB Not An Exit Tiny Engines 21 CHERRY GLAZERR Stuffed & Ready Secretly Canadian 22 GAUCHE A People's History Of Gauche Merge 23 FOAMMMM FOAMMMM Sheep Chase 24 PINHEADS, THE Is This Real Farmer & The Owl 25 SHARON VAN ETTEN Remind Me Tomorrow Jagjaguwar 26 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Doko Mien Merge 27 CHRISTELLE BOFALE Swim Team [EP] Father/Daughter 28 SARAH BETHE NELSON Weird Glow Burger 29 AA BONDY Enderness Fat Possum 30 NOTS 3 (Three) Goner

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Tobi Lou - Live on Ice

By far, the most creative album I’ve heard in a long time.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been listening to Tobi Lou for a while now, but how I discovered Tobi Lou is actually quite interesting. A producer that I was extremely fond of named YOG$ had just got done doing a collaboration project with another artist I thoroughly enjoy, and upon finishing that project, did a track with Tobi, and I hated it. It took me about around 3 months and 15 listens to actually come around on the song, and I was still pessimistic listening to the rest Tobi’s music. I finally started coming around to Tobi’s music because of the dichotomy between lighthearted fun and melancholy teenage emotions within his songs. Not to mention his incredible lyrical creativity, singing ability, and downright fantastic production, mixed with actual interesting ad libs. Tobi Lou quickly became one of my favorite artists to follow, and Live on Ice does not disappoint. 

Something that makes this album truly interesting and separate from other hip-hop/r&b/pop albums is that many of the songs can be thrown into any of those genres, and possibly others. From the first track on the album, 100 Degrees, it would appear to be a hip-hop album, but as you head down the track list, you find songs like Sometimes I Ignore You Too and That Old Nu-Nu that are so far from hip-hop in a traditional sense, and that argument can be made for just about every song on the album. Tobi even collaborated with K-Pop artist Vernon on the track Looped Up, arguably making for one of the most creative and ambitious songs on the album. 

I have been trying to think of a good comparison for Live on Ice, and from a musical perspective, I haven’t been able to find one. It’s just that unique and creative. But, I believe an argument can be made that Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper and Tobi Lou’s Live on Ice have very similar impacts on the audience it reaches, essentially accomplishing the same goal, connectivity. Acid Rap, is arguably one of the most influential factors for the type of music I listen to, and many others my age. Live on Ice accomplishes the same effect, but for a slightly different audience. Acid Rap was influenced by extremely prevalent themes being love, friends, following your dreams, with the biggest theme being heavily based around drugs. All of these elements combine for one of the most successful mixtapes ever made, as well as being responsible for Chance the Rapper’s massive popularity. Live on Ice is similar to Acid Rap in a way, due to how Tobi effectively connects the themes of the album to the listener. While it might not be as successful as Acid Rap, Tobi Lou has created a project that will touch the lives of many people in the same way Acid Rap did. Themes like finding love, dealing with depression, being comfortable with who you are, and heartbreak are expressed throughout the album extremely effectively through fantastic production, Tobi’s ambitious vocal layering/editing, and lyrical creativity. Personally, I love happy music, and when I heard tracks like Favorite Substitute, Like My Mom, and Ice Cream Girl, I immediately fell in love with them because they connected with me in a personal and interesting way. The use of non-traditional hip-hop instruments, catchy choruses, unique vocals, and actually interesting ad libs (seriously no one ever has good ad libs) make songs more lively, and help to set a mood for the album overall.

Live on Ice is genuinely in a league of its own, and I think it should be treated as such. It took me almost a month to fully understand and interpret this album, and I hope others get as much out of this project as I did. I truly haven’t listened to an album this interesting since Healy’s Subluxe in 2017. I highly suggest you give this album a shot, even if you don’t like hip-hop/r&b/pop because it is such a different experience. 

Suggested Tracks:

-100 Degrees

-Sometimes I Ignore You Too

-Berlin/Westside

-Cheap Vacations

-Looped Up

-Favorite Substitute

-Ice Cream Girl

-Jaye