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Staff Picks: Top Quarantine Albums

Feeling the quarantine blues? Check out the WMUA staff picks for their top albums!

Nina (Programmer) - Sawayama (Rina Sawayama, 2020)

I was counting down the days to this album from the moment it was announced. Rina’s sound is texturally rich, and here she offers a multitude of genres, from heavy metal to synthpop. The high notes in some of these songs are really impressive, and the timbre of her voice is lovely. Sawayama is proof of her excellent craftsmanship and willingness to take risks.

Top tracks: “Dynasty”, “Who’s Gonna Save U Now?”, “Tokyo Love Hotel”

John (Finance Director) - Whole Lotta Red (Playboi Carti, 2020)

Despite coming out in the last week of 2020, this was still my second most listened to album of the entire year, so I had to pick it. People love to hate this for some reason but I think Carti delivered a great follow up to the instant classic that was Die Lit.

Top tracks: “Rockstar Made”, “ILoveUIhateU”, “Slay3r”

Andy (News Operator) - This Is Happening (LCD Soundsystem, 2010)

One of the things I miss most right now is dancing: the rush of euphoria and that feeling of being caught up in the moment. This album has helped me fill that void. The song writing is top notch, the melodies are addictive, and frontman James Murphy’s lyrics are often just as catchy as they are relatable.

Top tracks: “Dance Yrself Clean”, “I Can Change”, “Home”

Judge (Technical Director) - Mena (Javiera Mena, 2010)

Coming from a similar place as Andy, without a doubt my most listened to record since COVID began is Javiera Mena’s second record, Mena. It’s pop sugar injected straight into the bloodstream. It’s jumping into a dark river with your lover. In more literal terms, Mena is nine tracks of emotional dance pop perfection with peaks and valleys of energy, hooks to fill your storage unit with, and a loving, freeing spirit.

Top tracks: “Primera estrella”, “El amanecer”, “Luz de piedra de luna”

Zoe (Communications Music Director) - Stillness In Wonderland (Little Simz, 2017)

Little Simz has a sound that many have tried to conquer but very few have mastered. This jazz-rap album takes you through the inner workings of the artist’s fantasy world, and she paints a stunning picture. Between the high quality production and the well-articulated verses, one can’t help but to get sucked in and appreciate her artistry. Not to mention, this album has insane collaborators (BADBADNOTGOOD, Syd and Chronixx just to name a few).

Top tracks: “Picture Perfect”, “Shotgun”, “One In Rotation + Wide Awake”

Bonnie (News Editor) - Hypersonic Missiles (Sam Fender, 2019)

I first listened to the single with the same name as the album and loved it. I was immediately drawn to the lyrics and his voice. The lyrics can resonate with so much of our generation, those who feel disconnected from the rest of the world and realize the horrors out there. The songs on this album can be felt by all of us as we go about our lives.

Top Tracks: “Hypersonic Missiles,” “Saturday,” “Leave Fast”

Melissa (Public Relations Director) - Who Am I? (Pale Waves, 2021)

Harkening back to the early 2000s goth-pop, this album may remind you of Avril Lavigne’s Let Go, so I obviously had to choose it. This album dives into personal awakenings and being your true self. Since their first album, lead singer Heather Barron-Tracy came out publicly and their drummer Ciara Doran announced they are non-binary, providing inspiration for their new album. Who Am I? has been called “a candid portrayal of queer love”.

Top Tracks: “Change”

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Album Review: Jaime by Brittany Howard

by Alex MacLean

It’s rare to hear a record so brimming with life and creative energy as this one, at least for me. The kind of work that reminds you of the power music can have; paradigm-shifting, life-sustaining stuff. If you've heard the Alabama Shakes, you've heard this artist’s voice and her songwriting, but Jaime, her first release under her own name, feels like something else entirely.  While the Shakes are firmly a guitar band devoted to rock music, Howard's approach is more varied on this one, with jazz and soul creating the backdrop for idiosyncratic arrangements that don’t really sound like much else now. It is an experimental, soul-searching album that is joyous, adventurous, tragic and romantic, concerned with mining the past for a blueprint on how to move forward and always do better. 

This unique and eclectic approach makes itself apparent from the first track, the funky and political “History Repeats.”  This track is followed by a pair of love songs, “He Loves Me,” and “Georgia.” The former is a stomping, swaggering gospel song devoted to God, the only man who loves Howard unconditionally even when she’s “smoking blunts...drinking too much,” and just doing what she wants. At first it seemed to be a romantic sentiment, but the song is intermittently interrupted by samples of a preacher’s impassioned sermon. The latter finds Howard expressing desire for a woman named Georgia to notice her. She wants so badly for her “to know what [she] means when [she] says hello.” It starts from a quiet place with stuttered hi-hats and Howard singing falsetto, but eventually the crush blooms, and the song blasts off from an organ break into a coda of laser-like sustained guitar. Other highlights include the stunning “13th Century Metal,” which rides a “Funky Drummer”-like groove and an ancient-sounding keyboard into oblivion as Howard repeats a number of powerful mantras: “We are all brothers and sisters,” “My spirit will never be stomped out,” “Give in to love.” The song swells and swerves in and out of dissonance, inviting choirs of saxophones and other voices to join in. 

The ninth track, “Goat Head,” brings the pace of the record to a halt, in the most stunning way. The song delves into Howard’s personal history and identity, detailing a hate crime her family experienced in her childhood, and the negative and inaccurate impressions foisted on her as the child of a black man and a white woman in small-town Alabama; choice line: “See I’m black, I’m not white / but I’m that, nah nah I’m this, right?” The song also strips back a lot of instrumentation and low end, opting for a minimal, airy trap-style beat with a chopped-up piano loop. This lets the lyrics, and Howard, speak for themselves without the possibility of her message being misconstrued. 

Jaime is so engaging because Howard is so confident as a songwriter and her band is so talented that she is able to essentially throw out the rulebook on making records. Not that there is one, but a lot of deviations from pop song form and production unequivocally make for a singular and more compelling pop record. Speaking of the band, Robert Glasper guests on keys and Nate Smith plays drums on most tracks here. Smith may not be a name you know, but it should be, because his performances on this album are the source of much of these songs’  power. The drum sound is heavily compressed and distorted in many songs, pushed to the foreground of the mix. This would seem like the “wrong” thing to do to a lot of mix engineers, if you’re trying to get a clean and clear drum sound, but it brings raw power and heft to Smith’s precise yet relaxed timekeeping; it makes the effortless cool of playing just behind the beat a key feature of these songs, just like J Dilla’s unquantized MPC drums were as they changed the face of music back in the 1990s. 

Jaime above all, rewards repeat listens. Every song has something ot offer; after many listens just sort of tuning out those that weren’t my favorite tracks, the magic of “Short and Sweet” became apparent, it does so much with just a sparse acoustic guitar instrumental and Howard’s impassioned vocals. It is definitely an album worth going back to if you missed it when it first came out.

Jaime is out now on ATO Records

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Some of Our Favorite Quarantine Media!

Check out the full masterlist here!

MUSIC

WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 - Yaeji

Korean-American artist Yaeji has released a mixtape with sparkly production and colorful synths. Definitely a good record to draw to.

Heaven to a Tortured Mind - Yves Tumor

Psychedelic soul for the twenty-first century baby! There’s everything from rock n roll, pop, and electronic elements to this album. 

Collector - Disq

Midwestern power pop teetering on the edge of chaos.

MOVIES

Ex Machina (2014) - Alex Garland

A beautiful, smart sci-fi thriller about artificial intelligence for the cerebral. On Kanopy and Netflix.

Sorry to Bother You (2018) - Boots Riley

A surrealist dark comedy satire about a telemarketer who falls into the unexpected. On Hulu.

Shirkers (2018) - Sandi Tan

An incredible documentary about the 90s Singapore cult class that never was. On Netflix.

House (1977)  - Nobuhiko ŌbayashiJ

A Japanese horror film that moves between the psychedelic and the absurd. On Kanopy.

VIDEO GAMES

Japanese Breakquest

free online role-playing game by Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner!

Night in the Woods

single-player adventure game about a cat who has to uncover a dark mystery in her hometown

Hollow Knight

single-player adventure game about an insectoid Knight on a quest

BOOKS

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (1969)

An influential work of science fiction about a human emissary sent to a planet where inhabitants can change and choose their gender.

The Girls by Emma Cline (2016)

In the 1960s, a young girl is drawn to an infamous cult and finds herself getting involved with unthinkable violence, inspired by the Manson family murders.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami (2004)

Short and mesmerising, After Dark is set in the course of one night in Tokyo. The story involves multiple characters crossing paths in intriguing, surrealist ways.

Little Weirds by Jenny Slate (2019)

In the author's own words, you will find: × The smell of honeysuckle × Heartbreak × A French-kissing rabbit × A haunted house × Death ×  Young geraniums in an ancient castle × Birth × A dog who appears in dreams as a spiritual guide × Electromagnetic energy fields × And more!

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Four Albums with Distinct Atmospheres

By John Matraia

We are currently living through a historical event and at times, it is difficult to keep our spirits up. All we can do is try to adapt and do what we can to keep ourselves safe and sane while being cooped up indoors. One way to cope is to try and step away from the tragedy for an hour or two. I’ve personally found myself watching movies, reading, or listening to music to distract myself. There are many different ways music can help, but I’ve found that albums that distinguish themselves from the rest are those that create a distinct atmosphere and a world of their own. They do this by establishing consistencies, not just sonically, but also in terms of subject matter.

An atmosphere alone isn’t ideal though. Many albums fall victim to using the same presets, filters, or vocal pitching across songs to the point where they blend together and create an album that serves as nothing more than a soulless tone. What is really impressive is an album’s ability to have a collection of songs that stand strong on their own, while also reinforcing the qualities that many of the tracks around them share, thus creating a cohesive piece.

You may be thinking that I’m just describing a concept album, and some may use that term more loosely than I do, but the projects I point out below are not in-your-face with a singular story or meaning. While they create their own universe, that universe may vary from listener to listener because these projects allow us to make our own interpretation of it, while still focusing on certain themes and stringing the project together musically. This is exactly what makes these albums below such transcendent experiences.

Liquid Swords – GZA (1995)

Liquid Swords gives me a feeling similar to the one I felt when I watched Michael Mann’s film Heat from the same year. The world of Los Angeles in Heat, contrary to the film’s title, is actually cold, devoid of any compassion or love. The icy blue hues that consume so much of the film’s color palette represent the city’s cold nature and the characters’ inner workings. The film is raw and up close and personal with the characters and the multiple lives that they each balance. On Liquid Swords, GZA (and other members of the Wu-Tang Clan) recognize the reality of the world they are living in, and this album is them coming to terms with that reality and telling their story. The intoxicating combination of GZA’s otherworldly raps and RZA’s barren beats place the listener directly into New York’s cold world in 1995. Everything, down to the way the album is mixed, drops the listener into their story.

The beats on Liquid Swords are dark and skeletal, with grim storytelling to match. Its minimal production doesn’t distract from the rapping, but everything included is necessary for the album’s success. GZA reflects on his surroundings, most notably on tracks like “Cold World”, speaking on the violence and other social problems that surround him in New York. Along the way though, he also establishes his dominance as a top tier rapper who will slay any opponent he comes across. It wasn’t just RZA’s production that created the bleak aura of Liquid Swords. GZA’s way of translating the daily problems people in his position faced for the listener to give them a harsh, yet realistic depiction of his life adds to this nature and brings the listener in. Liquid Swords is a true timepiece that captured the gritty essence of a night in New York, and has also proven to be a lasting piece of music that has influenced the generations to come.

The OOZ – King Krule (2017)

The OOZ is King Krule’s slow and lengthy descent into loneliness. It translates emotional outbursts into music on post-punk influenced tracks like “Dum Surfer”, and converts roaming aimlessly into ambient pieces like “The Cadet Leaps.” Tracks here include subtleties in the background that would be musically impressive even without the dark jazz infused instrumentation that graces the foreground of those tracks. The album drags on in the most realistic way possible, following our protagonist as he copes with the dreary world surrounding him.

The album’s moody nature swallows the listener through fleeting guitar solos and alienated keyboard melodies. The instrumentation of “Lonely Blue” becomes more climactic as Archy’s vocals become louder and more helpless. The experiences Archy describe seem uncertain to the listener at times, but the mystery within the songs reflect the unpredictable essence of his experiences. We empathize with his sense of misdirection, and wander along with him in a world that seems hopeless at times.

Big Fish Theory – Vince Staples (2017)

Even if Big Fish Theory came out today, it would still be ahead of its time. There is nothing quite like this album, and I’m sitting here waiting for it to get the credit it deserves. If nothing else, from a production perspective alone, it is remarkable. The beats are sharp and cold with rhythms that move in hot and sweaty fashion, serving as a wake-up call within an album that has a very gloomy feel to it. The punchy, booming bass on every track feels like the thunder that accompanies a rainy day.

Regardless of whether the track goes down a more electronic dance route or takes on an industrial sound, Vince’s adrenaline-packed delivery is hard to ignore. When a track like “Big Fish” takes a funkier approach, a subtle running water sound effect plays throughout the track and strings together the album’s motif of water, supplemented by other tracks with bubbly synthesizers and futuristic recordings. A small detail like this only adds to the theme of drowning created by the other tracks through Vince’s lack of optimism about society’s future and even the way his vocals are mixed. We hear this distrust in Vince’s lyrics that are fed up with the system and the dystopian world that the music of the album creates.

Wildflower – The Avalanches (2016)

Wildflower is breezy and care-free musical bliss. It’s rooted in nostalgia and creates a sense of longing for the unknown future in the listener. The light, airy rhythms and angelic vocals are pure joy in sonic form. It’s full of bright and colorful textures, and flows together beautifully. The run from “Subways” to “If I Was a Folkstar” features infectious grooves that float above the glistening samples and take us on a journey like none other.

The group’s unique sampling style we heard on Since I Left You is still there, but Wildflower presents more easy-going instrumentals at times that give the listener space to breathe and lounge on the beach. Not only that, but The Avalanches also make room for a number of guest appearances on the record from the likes of Danny Brown, MF DOOM, Biz Markie, Ariel Pink, Toro y Moi, and more.

While the first three projects I pointed out featured murky aspects, I’m glad to end this piece on more of a cheerful note with an uplifting album experience. Many of us tend to resort to consuming darker art, and it’s good to be in touch with that side of ourselves. It’s important to understand our situation and face it. At the same time though, it’s important to take a step back from all of this and try not to worry or mope around too much, because better days are ahead.

Originally appeared in Lyrical Lemonade

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Destroyer Live at the Sinclair - Cambridge, MA 3/6/2020

Photo and Review by Alex MacLean

The new record by Destroyer, Have We Met, is full of digital sounds: Synth VSTs, drum samples, glass-shattering sound effects, all accompanying chief songwriter Dan Bejar’s distinctive vocals. He is the band’s only constant through a number of musical and lineup shifts since his home four-track debut in 1996. Expanding into full band Bowie-esque glam rock, piano-led ballads, and MIDI experiments; folding in prog, folk, and finally dance music, ambient, and jazz into their sound with each new album. So I didn’t know what to expect from a live show at this point in time. Would there be a band? Would the new songs dominate the setlist or would the back catalogue? Destroyer doesn’t tour often, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity no matter what.

Nap Eyes was intended to be the opener for this show, but they had to drop due to a visa issue. So instead, Elastic Stars, the solo project of Destroyer’s bassist Colin Cowan came out to play some songs. He sat down at the drum kit with his acoustic guitar in the center of the stage and stomped the bass drum and hi-hat pedals along with his spirited, folky pop songs. It was a really nice way to open the show as a replacement for what was planned.

Dan Bejar is much taller than I imagined, he towers over the rest of his band members on stage when he isn’t crouched down next to the monitor, which he does often when he doesn’t need to sing. Backed by a formidable six-piece band, Destroyer gave the audience a dynamic set that showcased the performers’ range. Though the setlist leaned towards newer songs, some greats from fan favorites Kaputt and Destroyer’s Rubies fully vindicated my time of refuge in those records as a lonely high schooler. Those two are probably the high points of Bejar’s record-making career, and make good entry points for curious listeners.

Opening appropriately with Have We Met’s opener, “Crimson Tide,” the band floated between two major seventh chords as the rhythm section kept up a driving backbeat over Bejar’s lyrics about hospital stays and washed-up entertainers making their last stand in a world that’s falling apart. Having made Thief in 2000, a concept album about--and highly antagonistic towards--the music industry, Bejar has always been interested in questioning the role of entertainers and their relationship to industry in an increasingly precarious world. After all, this is the guy who once uttered “A life in art and a life of mimicry is the same thing!” during a ballad called “Looters’ Follies.” All of the new songs sounded great, particularly “It Just Doesn’t Happen” and “Cue Synthesizer” were invigorated with new energy provided by drummer Joshua Wells, driving the songs with powerful, danceable rhythms and frequently mesmerizing fills. Bassist Colin Cowan’s slap bass in “Cue Synthesizer” was powerfully groovy. I noticed at this show that a lot of Destroyer’s recent work mines America’s urban commercial-entertainment culture; hearing both “tinseltown swimming in blood,” a New Order-like synth pop number from 2017’s Ken and “Times Square,” a sardonically romantic folky song about New York’s gaudiest block. Mid-set, Bejar announced he was going to read a poem by the late great Lou Reed, and his band began a cover of Reed’s song “Ecstasy.” It was a welcomed peek into the influences of a singer and writer I admire. The set reached peak energy as the band joyously blasted through “European Oils” from Rubies, singing wordless hooks along with Bejar and playing as loudly and skillfully as they could. They finished the set with “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker,” a lengthy high point of Kaputt with lyrics written by the artist Walker herself, the former portion of the title referencing the New York duo. The trumpeter, who had been providing wonderful texture and space by micing and running his trumpet through an effects pedalboard, began the song with several minutes of distorted and warped ambience that I could feel reverberating around in my skull. It could have gone on for an hour and I wouldn’t have minded a bit. The song is one of my very favorites of theirs.

They left the stage after “Suicide Demo,” but soon came back out to do an encore. I was surprised: encores would seem like the sort of showbiz formality Dan Bejar would not be interested in, similar to his attitude towards stage banter. However, the band more than delivered; they played “Poor In Love” from Kaputt and went straight into the nearly ten-minute title track of Rubies, which builds to a massive crescendo of guitars and pianos and drums. It felt great to be immersed in this music for an hour, and made for one of my favorite live performances I’ve seen.

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Happy New Year! Here are some of WMUA staff's favorite albums from 2019:

PR Director - Ariya Sonethavy

House of Sugar by (Sandy) Alex G and Anak Ko by Jay Som -- I think I overplayed these records in the second half of the year. House of Sugar is magnificent every time and I absolutely love how different each song is, though listening to it in order always feels like something new. The way he produces and manipulates instruments/vox is insane. Anak Ko is my go-to comfort record for the last few months and I've become very attached to it. I love the layers Melina Duterte produces with tracks that are sunny and warm but also moody. I'm also obsessed with the fact that both Alex G and Melina Duterte write and produce all their own tracks -- their songs fill me with big ultralight beams!

General Manager - Toby Cashook

When I first listened to Digital Shades Volume II, it's as if I had finished a surreal sci-fi Dungeons and Dragons adventure narrated by Panos Cosmatos. Having only known M83 as their electric-pop, “Midnight City”selves, this was a total vibe check. Anthony Gonzalez, the lead on this project, reminisced that this was an album that, for him, brought back a feeling of childlike adventure. Inspired by early-age videogames and similar source material, DSVII echoes those mediums that are so endearing and so close to our hearts. For me it was 'Oh Yes You're There, Everyday' and 'Feelings' that reminded me of that naive experience when exploring classic RPG and fantasy games like Bethesda's Skyrim or Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time open worlds for the first time. In a way, my naive sense of childlike wonder was restored. It was like old friends reuniting after seeing hadn't seen each other in quite some time. Similar in nature to Ben Prunty's Curious Merchandise, each song plays like a series of short stories, each describing a unique setting or situation that plays itself out in a satisfying way. 

DSVII leaves you wanting more. Within the chaos of our society, DSVII is a nostalgic album. It's a call to remember the simplicity in our lives that we once let go. It can be tiresome to imagine those moments, and yet listening to DSVII feels as though they've always been by your side. It's a throwback for sure, and I'm sure all of us could use that reminder. 

Programmer - Taylor Cassidy

I think my staff pick for 2019 is Better Oblivion Community Center by.... Better Oblivion Community Center, better known as Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. This release is from the earlier part of 2019, but it's one of the few albums of this year where I dove in and listened to more than just one or two tracks, and I enjoyed it all. Oberst's emo vocals and punk sensibilities complement Bridgers' songwriting and deeper voice, and they just really come together perfectly in this bizarre concept album about joining a cult. It's folk rock for people who had an emo phase and hate the word "folk" - a label which I guess suits me. Many of the songs are catchy despite being weird, creepy, or depressing and songs like "Dylan Thomas" have a really anthemic, singable feel. It was a release I was really anticipating and wasn't disappointed when I added it to my library.

Finance Director - John Matraia

Bandana by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib is the rap album of the year. Five years removed from their last collaborative album Piñata, it seemed improbable that the duo could top the 2014 classic. And while it’s hard to pick one over the other, it’s clear that both of these guys only get better with time. And more dynamic, too. Just look at "Palmolive” (with an incredible guest verse from Pusha T) or the heartfelt "Practice." On every track here, Freddie and Madlib are fighting to outdo each other, and the greatness that both artists strive for puts this tape over the top. Sure, maybe on a song like “Crime Pays”, Madlib’s mesmerizing instrumental just edges out Freddie’s greatness, and maybe Freddie steals the show on “Education.” But it’s tracks like “Fake Names” and “Cataracts” where both connect at the top of their game and prove that they’re the best in their respective lanes. Freddie claimed that this album was his “baby”, and this sentiment bleeds through on the uplifting intro track “Freestyle Sh*t”, where he reflects on everything he’s been through to reach this point. What follows this are thirteen tracks that serve as a victory lap for both artists, with Freddie making a case for the best rapper alive, and Madlib proving why he’s the best producer of all time. 

Communications Music Director - Alex MacLean

It’s so hard to pick just one record from this year, the amount of plainly great music that has come out this year is absurd. However, I’d like to make the case for one people might not have heard much about. Foam by Diviño Niño is a wiggly, catchy, summery bit of psychedelic pop, with lyrics in English and Spanish that are equally evocative and lovelorn in both languages. The Chicago-via-Colombia band runs through a wide array of sounds and styles with ease. It’s easy to put on and let it breeze tunefully by, but if you pay closer attention, the record’s clever songwriting and wonderfully quirky and detailed instrumentation begin to take hold on you, worming their way into your head. The beachy title track grooves with funky guitars and auxiliary percussion like Speaking in Tongues-era Talking Heads, and second track “Quiero”’s half-time chorus stops the song’s midtempo momentum in its tracks to let singer Camilo Medina make important declaration: “I don’t ever wanna change your mind / I wanna be with you the way that you are.” Elsewhere, “Maria” is an all-Spanish language breakup song about having your heart ripped from your chest and spit out by a girl named Maria (figuratively, of course), after which the singer decides to drink a lot and smoke 7 joints: “Chaqueta de liquor / Siete porros y un adios.” It’s an example of evocative lyricism that cuts to the emotional core despite its economy. There are lots more I enjoyed this year, but Foam is an underappreciated record that stuck with me.

Archival Music Director - Jamie Daitch

For me, 2019 has been the year of embracing country music, and no album pulled me closer in than the self-titled debut of the Highwomen, a supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. This is the best sort of collaboration,where every artist is giving their absolute best to the project to make an incredibly compelling whole. This album captures a large swath of feminine life experience, with sharp, detailed, emotionally complex writing that will give you new little details every listen. And you'll want to listen over and over again, with melodies that are just so catchy and song structures that hook you along for every ride. I can't think of an album I listened to more this year. If the closest you've come to country as of late is Kacey Musgraves's "Golden Hour" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," then this is an album to try. The Highwomen demonstrates the unique strengths of country music better than anything else this year. Check it out!

Check our WMUA’s CURATED playlist for best picks of 2019: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3SgHBwTf6Tq1Ts5eMzwBzL?si=Q_9wsLgqRTKvRRdz3LnixA

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Album Review: clipping. Makes Horror Into Noise-Rap Spectacle

By John Matraia

The new album There Existed an Addiction to Blood from clipping. is experimental rap, and more specifically, horrorcore, at its finest. It might be the group’s best project to date, and for those who have heard their back catalog, you’ll know that that’s saying quite a bit. But this is truly that good. The group’s 2019 album sucks the listener in, and leaves no room for turning back.

This project is bombastic at times, noisy at times, and genuinely terrifying throughout. Based on the first single, cover art, and the release date, fans knew at the very least to expect something spooky this time around. And boy, did the hip-hop outfit deliver on that. This album is full of breathtaking moments and boundary pushing production, and it’s thematically laser-focused, which are just some of the elements that make this a stand-out release.

Daveed Diggs blacks out on pretty much every track on the album, most notably losing it on tracks like “Nothing is Safe” and “Blood of the Fang”, where his breath control is on another level. Not to mention, his lyrics all over this project are scarily vivid and precise. He proves what makes him such a talented rapper time and time again here on top of some of the sharpest industrial production in all of music. The way that the group is able to weave substance, like commentary on race, drugs, authenticity, death, and more, into this project and keep it cohesive is an incredible feat.

Blood is the musical equivalent of a horror movie, and that’s exactly what the group was shooting for. It’s sure to darken any mood: with moments of suspense, alongside twisted storytelling scattered with shocking moments. There’s a time and a place for an album like this, and I can’t say I’ve heard anything quite like it. I never thought I’d hear Benny the Butcher rapping on a track that morphs into a two minute noise outro. Nor did I expect the album’s outro track to be an eighteen-minute recording of a piano burning, fittingly titled “Piano Burning.” It makes sense though. This slow, low destruction of grandiose beauty is what this record is all about.

There’s so much to be said about the chilling There Existed An Addiction to Blood. But I’ll keep it at that for now.

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We’re having a record fair! This Saturday in the Campus Center room 163c. Come by and peruse some records from local vendors as well as old curiosities from the depths of our library! 

[wmua-amherst]

Album Review: Miami Memory by Alex Cameron

By Jamie Daitch

The world of music has a dime a dozen “retro” acts who crib sounds once popular in the past and repeat them for easy nostalgia points. A mediocre retro act will play a fine enough set, but will struggle to make their sound relevant for our present time. Alex Cameron is not one of those acts. If you’re looking for some of the sharpest, funniest, and most relevant lyrics of 2019 and care to coat it in an 80s pop sheen, then you owe it to yourself to check out his new album Miami Memory.

Alex Cameron has been working in these tones for three albums now. His first two albums, Jumping the Shark and Forced Witness, are classics in their own right, bringing in incisive, intelligent lyricism and a Springsteen-esque hooks. Miami Memory seems to put an even greater emphasis on glorious, unironic cheese. Alex Cameron succeeds not by running from the more uncool aspects of 80s pop tones, but by embracing them. The opening track “Stepdad” illustrates this formula perfectly, where we get a sobering look at a fractured relationship, but one that roots itself in an absolutely anthemic chorus that makes you want to shout “I’m your Stepdad!” from the rooftops. The hooks are as jaunty and joyous as ever, even when the subject matter broaches some rather dark territory. It should be noted however that the best song on this album is by far the most positive and most corny: “Far From Born Again.” It is simply a catchy, wholesome anthem to sex work that works in large part because it Alex sells genuine feeling without a shred of cynicism.

That genuine feeling permeates all of the best songs on Miami Memory, from the genuine sense of resigned glory on the title track, to the regret and confusion on “Bad For The Boys,” to the deep heartfelt need on “Too Far.” This is the biggest departure from his prior albums, that here, Alex’s thoughts and feelings come to the surface more directly than ever. For most of the album, it pays dividends. And for fans of his prior work who worry that this album has to sacrifice its cleverness for its heart, rest assured. Every song on the album has the kind of lines that sideswipe you with their depth and precision and clarity, particularly on “Divorce” and “The End is Nigh.” Not to mention that so many lines are just plain hilarious.

The album is not necessarily the best Alex Cameron project. Forced Witness before it has the sharp lyrics and 80s sheen, but on the whole is a stronger production and performance. If you’re looking for the perfect mix to satisfy all of your compositional wants, then I would go back to Forced Witness. But that does not mean that I would not recommend this album to everyone, particularly if you like songs with hooks that will stay in your head for weeks. Miami Memory is perhaps not the best album of the year, but if you want one of the best lyrical projects of the year, this is a good place to start.

Miami Memory is out now on Secretly Canadian.

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Project 10 and the Counterculture Movement at UMass

By Ayelet Ehrenkranz

Project 10 was an experimental academic program that began in the fall of 1968 in Pierpont dormitory. Much like the Residential Academic Programs that are offered at UMass today, Project 10 was a live and learn community. In 1968, the first group of people involved in Project 10 participated by invitation. Initially, only those with high SAT scores were invited to the program, but after time, it was open to all. 

A 1974 Hampshire College curriculum guide describes Project 10 Courses such as Communitarian living, Literature of Utopia, and In Pursuit of World Spirit. Many of the courses offered were in collaboration with Hampshire College professors. Bob Brick, who participated in Project 10 from 1968-1972, said “We had lots of classes in the dorm that were new and innovative. Many of those classes were oriented around political change and social change.” 

In the late 1960s and 70s, Pierpont dorm was a source of radical politics, a possible factor in the development of Project 10. During this time, the Vietnam war sparked anti-war protests and UMass, along with many other schools in the country, shut down for a month. Project 10 was a focal point in that decision.

A groundbreaking action residents of Project 10 took on was the incorporation of co-ed floors. In the 1960s, dorms were completely single sex. Pierpont was a female dorm, Moore was male. In most dorms, there were parietals: past 10 pm, visitors of the opposite sex were not allowed in their counterpart’s buildings. Project 10 residents informally swapped rooms in order to integrate the sexes. In some circumstances, residence even created co-ed rooms. Brick attributes this to the lack of security at the time. This integration attracted many people. 

Eventually, the dorm turned into a drug haven. In 1971 alone, Pierpont was the focus of two seperate drug raids. Bob Brick said the drug use was heavy and “for a year or two, the dorm might have been the drug center of western Massachusetts.” Paul Tauger, who was part of Project 10 from 1970-1971, said that the Massachusetts state police would plan drug raids but instead of calling the University legal team, they would call the student run legal team. The student attorneys would then warn Pierpont residence that the police were coming and the residence would prepare for the raid. In one instance, the residence of Pierpont made a sign that said “Welcome Massachusetts state police,” baked a cake, and set up decorations right before the state police raided. 

Tauger recalled that people from Springfield would come and take temporary residence in the dorm. “The Pierpont community extended beyond the university,” Paul said, noting that many of these people were providing drugs. Some of these visitors were known as “crashers”-- young people invited to live in the dorm who were not UMass students. These characters were often oddballs. Brick said during his year of head resident, he received a call from the FBI, who heard about a resident that had an illegal amount of radium. The suspect was a Wilhelm Reich enthusiast and one of the non-students of the dorm. Brick and the FBI agents carried a geiger counter to gather information on the suspect and found that he had a “medical amount of radioactive material” obtained from a school science related event. The amount he obtained was decidedly unharmful.

Famous people of the counterculture movement, including Allen Ginsberg, Janis Joplin, and Nat King Cole, stayed in a Project 10 based apartment while they were visiting the area. An anonymous Project 10 alum recalls these visits. “Yeah, I smoked pot with Allen Ginsberg,” he said, acknowledging “it was a time of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.”   

Members from Project 10 were not only active in their dorm, but were also active on campus. Members of the project were crucial in creating a food co-op and organic restaurant located in the Student Union. They also participated in experimental film festivals including one called “The Electric Carnival” that was presented in the dining commons. Tauger recalls building a yurt and log cabin in the middle of campus, “because it was something to do, and we did it.” In a 5 year period, two Project 10 members became the student government president. 

Though Project 10 was a great experience for many of those inside, it ended in the late 70s. Brick, holding a leadership position in the dorm, said it began to “spun out of control,” and the administration did not want to continue dealing with the chaos. There was a sort of student run government inside Pierpont, but Tauger described it more as “anarchy.”

Both Brick and Tauger cite Project 10 as a great influence on their life. Tauger came in with Engineering in mind, but ultimately left with a degree in Theatre. “It made me question the extent to which I wanted to follow the program that I had laid out in my head voluntarily, and my parents head, for the rest of my life,” Paul said. 

Project 10 reunions occur every two years. Alum stay in their prior residence, Pierpont dormitory. 

Note: This story was researched, produced and aired on WMUA 91.1FM in November 2018

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Show Review: Weyes Blood @ Iron Horse Music Hall, September 5th 2019

By Jose Francisco Perez

The Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton provides easy access to some great underground talent, however, this time it wasn’t so much underground talent that I found playing but instead a living masterpiece. Weyes Blood, or otherwise known as Natalie Mering, is a singer-songwriter that specializes in psychedelic folk. Think Tame Impala, but Barbra Streisand is Kevin Parker. Weyes Blood isn’t new to the music scene, having written and produced four other records. Titanic Rising is her latest and most refined piece to date, surprising and delighting the indie music scene, praised as a work of art by fans and critics alike, myself included. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a record that was so incredibly and perfectly executed. Every song feels like a different journey through space and time and this concert was no different. 

The thing about Iron Horse is that it is not only convenient and close by, but also one of the most intimate venues I’ve attended. Restaurant by day and music club by night, and even though Weyes Blood performed during what they would call “dinner time,” the tables and chairs did not interfere or distract me from what was about to happen on stage. At first, we were greeted by the opening act, Purr. Purr is the collaborative project between childhood friends from New York, Eliza Callahan and Jack Staffen. Frankly, I’ve never heard their stuff, but boy am I glad I did. Purr was a powerhouse on stage and their lively pop presence did not take away from Weyes Blood’s more melancholy and sorrowful sound. Instead, I think both acts complemented each other quite well. Purr performed a few tracks including their recently released single, “Take You Back,” which I immediately added to my playlists. 

As they performed their closing song, the crew quickly took to the stage to remove some of the instruments and add a few extra lights. I was excited. Coming out of the shadows and taking the first steps to garner audience attention is not that hard, however, making a first good impression is. She greeted the audience and established her presence before letting out that first note and as soon as she did, the tables and chairs that were once blocking my view would not interfere with what was about to happen on stage. Her performance immediately felt like it was directed towards me; there was a feeling that made you feel like the only person in the room, her voice echoing from the stage, and the sounds of synths and experimental beats filling my ears. As she serenaded me along with the audience, I wasn’t able to tell what was real or fake. Easily, what might have been an hour or two felt like an eternity I was not upset about being a part of. Ending with her most emotionally-driven song, “Movies”. The funny part was that right after she performed there were no claps, no one got up, it was just silence, it wasn't until a few minutes after that people started clapping. All in all, fan or not, I think that this performance was one to experience and if the chance to her in concert again appears I will not be one to skip out on it.

Check out Titanic Rising and Purr’s new single “Take You Back” out now on Sub Pop and Anti- Records, respectively.

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A Conversation with Kassie Carlson of Guerilla Toss

By Alex MacLean and Judge Russell On a humid Saturday in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the 2019 Dream Picnic took place at Gateway City Arts. A day festival curated by Brooklyn indie band Rubblebucket, this year featured performances from Western MA acts such as Carinae, Raspberry Jam, and And The Kids, as well as national touring acts STRFKR, Sidney Gish, and Guerilla Toss. 

After Guerilla Toss’s performance, we caught up with the New York dance-punk band’s singer and violinist, Kassie Carlson, and asked her a few questions about movies, restaurants, and inspirations behind the band’s upcoming EP, What Would The Odd Do?, out November 15 on NNA Tapes. The band will be on a US tour starting October 19th.

WMUA: So y’all have a new EP coming out soon, yeah? Kassie Carlson: Yep! What Would The Odd Do?

WMUA: So I was going to ask what some of the inspirations behind the new songs were, in terms of the music and lyrics? KC: What Would The Odd Do? Is kind of, like, all of us, the counterculture people, the weirdos, the freaks. Like instead of asking, “what would Jesus do?,” anyone who has grown up in a religious environment, y’know, and weighing so much on god, this is what would the Odd do! [laughs]

WMUA: and the lyrics?

KC: Mostly just about existential dread and the presence of darkness, and lightness in the world.

WMUA: I feel that. So what was the recording process like?

KC: Well, we recorded at the Outlier Inn in Upstate New York, it’s kind of like a retreat/recording studio that our friend has where you can go and stay there and record a record, but it’s actually near where my house, so I didn’t stay there. My friend Josh has got goats on the property!

WMUA: Goats are so funny, there’s goats by my house and me and my housemates whenever we drive by we yell “GOATS” and they all look at you

KC: I don’t know how true it is, but I read something recently that goats can see facial expressions, and understand them. It’s the eyes, the square pupils.

WMUA: Woah! I’ve never really gotten that close to a goat before.

KC: You should! Y’know, there’s like the cat eye, the goat eye...I was thinking a lot about eyes and perception when I was watching this animal show the other night, about predator and prey, how the prey has eyes on either side, the predator has eyes on the front, and what that does to how you see and interpret things.

WMUA: Wow, what a thought! It’s all in the eyes.

WMUA: So some of the questions I’ve written here have to do with the music but some of them are just fun questions, like if there are any movies you’re loving as of late?

KC: Oh God.

WMUA: Or any movie you’ve seen recently that you liked?

KC: I saw Midsommar in theaters, it was cool, maybe that’s like an obvious thing,

WMUA: That’s the last one I went to see in theaters, I loved it.

KC: There’s lots of people with flower headbands out today, so I was thinking about it. It’s fucked but like, also beautiful. You know our music video for “Plants”?

WMUA: Haven’t seen it yet, no.

KC: Well the editor for Midsommar did that video.

WMUA: Woah, that’s so cool!

KC: Yeah, Max Berger and Jade Goheen. It’s got really cool editing.

WMUA: I’ll have to check that one out!

KC: New song “Plants”!

WMUA: New song “Plants,” it’s great, we’ve been playing it at the station.

KC: Sweet! [laughs]

WMUA: So y’all currently live in New York? KC: I don’t live in NYC anymore, I live upstate in the mountains now.

WMUA: Well, so do you have a favorite place to eat in New York?

KC: I do, of course! It’s called Lupe’s East LA kitchen, it’s in SoHo. It’s amazing, it’s where we have all our band meetings, so if you go there you might see us!

WMUA: What kind of food?

KC: It’s Mexican food.

WMUA: Are there any bands that you’re looking forward to seeing tonight? KC: Oh yeah, well I saw Homebody earlier, amazing band, amazing beats, amazing voice, also Rubblebucket obviously, STRFKR, it was cool to see Toth, all the bands are really specal and curated tonight, so it’s fun.

WMUA: For sure for sure! [laughs] oh this question is kinda goofy, but, I really like your song “Jackie’s Daughter,” yeah, I was wondering how Jackie and her daughter are doing?

KC: They’re doing awesome! Killing it, yeah. That song, people always request it, but it’s kind of hard to do it live, we haven’t really figured it out yet. 

WMUA: I’m really glad you played “Meteorological,” I love that song!

KC: Yeah, that one’s about trying to predict your own feelings and thoughts.

WMUA: Like a meteorologist!

KC: Exactly! But they’re always wrong!

WMUA: I also really like all of the artwork on your records, I was wondering how you go about picking it or designing it if someone in the band does it

KC: It’s actually a lot of different people, Keith Rankin does a lot of our art, he does Orange Milk Tapes, and he does, like, epic airbrush stuff, he’s killing it right now, doing billboards, other albums, stuff for magazines. But GT Ultra, that’s like 70s acid strip paper from Mark McCloud, his house is filled with acid sheets, they all have really interesting designs, and that was one of them. And the new one is Yu Maeda, an artist I found on Instagram who is super amazing.

WMUA: What are you guys listening to in the van? KC: Usually a lot of the Grateful Dead, because it’s something everyone likes, I’m also really obsessed with Emeralds.

KC: Thanks for taking the time to do this, hope the tour goes well!

Guerilla Toss’s new EP What Would The Odd Do? is out now on NNA Tapes.

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SHOW REVIEW: Kelsey Lu is a breath of fresh air at Fabric Arts

By Ariya Sonethavy

You might’ve heard Kelsey Lu’s haunting vocals on Blood Orange’s new mixtape, Angel’s Pulse, or you might’ve heard of her opening for Florence + The Machine. Regardless, her debut record Blood, which came out in April, shines a light on her individuality and captivating artistry. On September 28, she headlined the Fabric Arts Festival, a festival in Fall River, MA that celebrated art, music, and community, specifically engaging with both traditional and new artistic forms. From September 25-28, the city held its first installment of the festival ever, to which Kelsey Lu performed on the final night, along with Lula Pena, Mal Devisa, and Downtown Boys. Fabric Arts’ website says that the festival “proposes to engage the city through a unique and multidisciplinary experience, with an arts circuit stretching over a central area of the city with music concerts, site-specific projects and murals.” The festival will announce their second installment, coming 2020, very soon.

To put it simply, a performance by Kelsey Lu in a small, intimate theater feels like something heavenly where you’re floating in a space-time continuum, in which the only thing that resonates physically is the sonic landscape she creates with her voice, her cello, and her guitar. You feel like the only person in the entire venue. The fluidity in her music transcends genres, dabbling in classical, R&B, and indie while creating a whole new world in itself. Beginning with “Dreams”, a song off of Lu’s 2016 EP Church, the atmosphere is immediately created with the songs samples of birds and the forest, while Lu plucks her cello hauntingly. The layered sound creates a buildup of something ethereal, leading into her stellar vocals. What makes this even more beautiful is her stage presence, her silver dress shining in the light. Her performance unfurls something shapeless and overflowing, a kind of energy that blooms within the audience and all around. 

The intimacy is truly encapsulated in the fact that Lu is the only one on stage, and it’s either the cello and her guitar as her weapons of choice. Even “Due West”, one of her more pop tracks that have been remixed by Skrillex, loses its layers and is stripped down with just the cello and Lu’s evocative vocals. Every movement she makes and every word she sings is intricate and with intent. Before her final song, “Liar”, Lu speaks to the audience about how the song is about home and the continuous search for a home. She emphasizes the difficulty of navigating what home is to her as a black woman in America, and reminds us that we are lucky to be able to have such spaces as the one we were in for Fabric Arts festival, that we must think outside of our contained towns, and that she is grateful to have spent such an intimate night with us. “Liar” is a moving, eight-minute-long testament to allowing yourself to not lose hope in the face of adversity, and that the “most important is that we can't lose focus on what is the key ingredient to everything: LOVE,” as she says in a 2016 interview in NYLON. Kelsey Lu reminds us of the spirit we need to keep inside of us and the beauty of simply persisting.

Photo by Jessica Spinola, courtesy of Fabric Arts Festival.

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Catch it catch it catch it!

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WOW! A video from Bella’s Bartok about there NYE show AND a link to a WMUA interview with them? So much greatness in one place! This must be your lucky day. Or maybe it’s ours. Regardless, something lucky is going on here.

http://wmua.org/podcastgen2/?name=2016-12-19_bella%27s_bartok_mixdown.wav

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Artist Oscar Black stopped by WMUA to talk to Lucy Martirosyan about his tour, new album "Always Wanted," and his dedication to his fans.

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WMUA 91.1 FM’s Misha Damsky interviews Johanne Swanson and Adelyn Strei of Yohuna about their new project, Patientness. Tracks played during the interview: “Patientness,” “Golden Foil,” and “Apart.” You can find the full album and support the artist at yohuna.bandcamp.com.