Tag: podcasts

Hozier’s Long Awaited Return

Hozier. Image courtesy of the artist.

Five years after his acclaimed debut album, Hozier has returned. If you listen to the internet, he has spent these last five years journeying the Earth to bring us the sounds of the forest and show us the melodies of our deepest, hidden emotions. Wasteland, Baby! is the haunting result.

Women in Music: Soccer Mommy

Sophie Allison, also known as Soccer Mommy, has emerged as an intensely creative and moving female artist in the last few years. At only 21 years old, Soccer Mommy is already extremely accomplished: since 2016, she has released three albums including her debut album proper, CleanClean is a massive critical success and is cited as one of the best albums of 2018 by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NME, and Noisey, among others.

King Princess Reigns Over Nashville

Credit: Dylan DePriest

Last week, King Princess graced us with a stop on her “Pussy is God” tour in Nashville. Debuting in 2018 with her ep, Make My Bed, King Princess is already cementing her reign as one of the premiere rising pop stars. Make My Bed is a masterful blend of catchy hooks, emotional, and self-aware digs, backed by a strong queer identity, and earned her an almost cultish following. Exit/In was a surprising venue given her popularity, and sold out nearly instantly. The intimacy of the venue, this venue was the perfect place to stage her show.

Goes West – An Instrumental Odyssey from William Tyler

The worlds of folk and Americana music are, at best, in constant struggle between the future and the past.  While some folk bands cling to what is familiar, the finest artists see the past as a springboard into fresh new sounds.  This was the case with Bob Dylan’s iconic Newport Folk Festival controversy, as it was the case with Fleet Foxes’s breathtaking 2017 album, Crack-UpGoes West by William Tyler joins this pantheon by continuing not only to push the envelope, but also to open it and slide a letter of his own inside.

Ghost: Growing Beyond Novelty

Prequelle by Ghost

Earlier this year, Ghost released Prequelle, a near-perfect arena rock record dripping with the band’s classic satanic doom-metal aesthetic and dashes of really fun pop glimmer.  Every song on the album fits ingeniously and further establishes the band’s repertoire of new rock classics.  Even the two instrumental pieces continue the energy of the other songs seamlessly, creating a beautifully cohesive album.  Some tracks have lush orchestral intros and outros which act as gorgeous reprises or previews of other melodies on the album and enhance the overall flow.  Somehow, amidst our current music climate of the widespread reappropriation of the sounds and textures of the 1980s, the clear 80s influence on Prequelle still feels fresh and exciting, balanced perfectly against 70s hard rock and 21st century dance sensibilities.  Thematically, the album perfectly intertwines deliciously cheesy imagery of the Black Death with entertaining and incisive disses on some of the former members of the band who levied a lawsuit against the frontman.  At a fairly concise 41 minutes long, Prequelle doesn’t squander a second; every moment on the album feels important.  It’s a strong top 5 contender for my AOTY, and so I had very high hopes for the tour.

Lucy DK’s Premier Music Video is just as Dramatic as its Name

Dropping at this very moment, WRVU has the great pleasure of releasing Lucy DK’s premiere music video, “Drama”! Inspired by the stigma that surrounds women who challenge problematic aspects of relationships, this song encompasses the frustration women experience when labeled as “drama queen,” “crazy ex,” and “psycho bitch.” Especially prevalent for women of color, this stigma reduces the autonomy individuals have over their own relationships and image in society. This song serves as a rejection of toxic individuals from one’s life, and as an acceptance of one’s own emotions, experiences, and identity. The video takes features a dual narrative, encompassing how women who face this stigma are viewed in society. One narrative stars Lucy as an actress in staged production, where she is portrayed as psycho and met with audience disapproval. The second serves as a parallel to the first, but in a completely unstated setting. It stars her trying to navigate her own life and relationships in a completely real and vulnerable fashion.