Imagine the waiting room of a hospital. It smells like hand sanitizer, people are impatiently flipping through magazines, and in the corner, there’s Glassmaps frontman Joel Stein. He’s waiting to visit a friend and at the same time, creates the intro to his new single, “My Head My Heart,” using an iPhone app. Glassmaps is
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The Jack Cades formed in the UK when husband and wife duo Mike Whittaker (lead guitar and vocals) and Elsa Whittaker (rhythm guitar and vocals) got together with State Records Studios to record some tracks. The result was a blur of varying groups until finally, the Jack Cades were born. Their sound is highly influenced
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The legendary psychedelic garage band Chocolate Watchband is coming together again to release two new singles. The band formed in 1965 in San Jose and released three LPs. Each came with critical acclaim in the psychedelic scene before the group disbanded in 1970. Since then, they have come back together in the ’90s, but haven’t made any
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The live hip-hop band The Mouse Outfit released their third album, Jagged Tooth Crook. Over 30 different musicians, producers, and vocalists collaborated on the album. The record is a giant melting pot of talent, and centers around the head bopping beats of The Mouse Outfit. Throughout the album, I get a sense of diversity, yet I’m drawn
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The “LA Crunch Rock” band Slowtrip has been working on some new music lately and the result was the release their new album, Blur, on May 18. The album’s first single “Follow,” is a highly confessional song about vocalist/guitarist John Alaimo’s feelings on church. The song struggles with isolation and the idea of faith, while
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With a name like Potatohead People, I hoped to hear music that is fresh, captivating and downright weird. Naturally, Potatohead People give you just that in their new album Nick and Astro’s Guide to the Galaxy. The Canadian duo consists of Nick Wisdom and Astrological, two fresh hip-hop stars taking off on a jazz-filled journey
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Who is Pan Amsterdam and where did he come from? According to Spotify, “We really don’t know exactly where Pan Amsterdam comes from. He was found on the coast of Miami, Florida in a state of apparent amnesia…” I thought I had seen it all. But after listening to Pan Amsterdam and his debut
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Blending fantasy, metal, and heavy rock, Swedish band Spiral Skies blends several influences to create a musical cocktail. The listen is definitely an experience on its own. The occult rock group’s debut EP, A Queendom to Come, received lots of attention on Bandcamp upon release. Now, the full-length album, Blues For a Dying Planet, is out.
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Born in Sleepy Hollow, New York, Greg Jacquin loved music from an early age, even releasing several albums in the early ’90s. After joining law enforcement and starting a family, he didn’t have much time to continue his passion. Jacquin recently retired from law enforcement and has picked his guitar up again, ready to
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In a blend of blues rock and punk, Johnny & the Bootlegs released their new single “Thrift Shop.” The track is the second single from their upcoming EP, NYC Rags. The band is based out of NYC and focus their attitude and sound around the crawling night life of New York. The single itself refers to
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The indie electronic group Half Waif unveiled their new album Lavender on NPR’s First Listen for an exclusive peek at the album. As a first time listener, I was stunned at the experience that came with listening to them. I was enthralled and sucked into the voice and words of vocalist Nandi Rose Plunkett. Plunkett
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You know that music that makes you want to get a little crazy and put your foot through the wall? That’s the type of energy that punk-garage band Stringer brings in their new single “Ghosts.” With a song title like that, I would expect something a little dark and morbid, but “Ghosts” makes me want
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I have a deep admiration for artists who can work with multiple genres. Instrumental artist and producer Paul White is one of those fine examples. He is a multi-instrumentalist, capable of playing bass, keyboard, percussion, and guitar. On top of this, White has produced for many different hip-hop artists including Homeboy Sandman and Open Mike
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Music often has many different purposes. Sometimes, music is meant to send a message, serve as art, or impress an audience. However, music is always used to entertain. Artists like Frequency Drift are able to blend various meanings and purposes together to create a unique musical experience. In their new album, Letters to Maro, Frequency Drift
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Australian songwriter and producer LANKS creates original music, and is a truly talented artist. He blends pop, electronic, and indie together to create a surreal, dreamy atmosphere. Gemma Pike from triple j describes LANKS as being a “triple threat” — a supreme songwriter, vocalist, and producer. LANKS is releasing his new album, twentyseven, on April
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Rock, funk, jazz, all mixed together in a splendid array of musical styles and techniques. This is how I would describe “Smoke Signals,” the latest single from Big Something. The band will be releasing their fifth studio album, The Otherside, on April 20. The album is a conclusion of the album Tumbleweed‘s story of a nomad
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Simple is sometimes better. It seems like the whole music industry is rushing to be bigger, badder, more complex. It seems as if everyone is trying to be profound, have some sort of social commentary, be a voice. Of course, that’s important, but sometimes, it’s nice to just hear music. One of the simplest pleasures
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In a bold, exciting new project, producer, musician, and educator Dana Murray creates an album called The Negro Manifesto. The album is a mixture of jazz, spoken word, and hip-hop, creating a fusion of Black culture and a rejection of “the system.” The Negro Manifesto is more than a clean proclamation of injustice. It delves into
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Music is meant to display emotion. It is an art of self-expression and relating to one another through an audible medium. Because feelings are infinite, therefore, music is infinite. Infinite emotion produces infinite styles, lyrics and compositions. “Delay” by Newmen provides a wide spectrum of emotion that evolves and flows through what seems like a
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In hip-hop, collaboration albums are a huge deal. It’s one of the ultimate signs of intimate creative partnership and experimentation. To trust someone’s creative vision enough to release an entire album with them means trying new styles and ideas, and compromising. That makes each album truly unique, because artists’ styles are always evolving. This
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“Anxiety, nostalgia, minimal electro-pop.” Everything you could want or need in an album. The band TOPICS consists of Evan Tyler and Lauren Fournier, two art students from the University of Regina – Intermedia. TOPICS met and started an art collective and band with a brother/sister vibe. The duo is quirky, unique, and a
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LA singer, rapper, and dancer Neaks is an emerging multi-platform artist. He has secured fashion accounts in LA, and as far away as Tokyo, Japan. On top of that, he is beginning to release singles and music videos for his upcoming debut album. There isn’t much to be known of Neaks’ musical career, although
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In their self-titled EP, the emerging rock group MUFFIN revive the ancient art of grunge. The band exudes a sloppy, punk energy that is dying in the music industry. Though their energy is erratic, their musical execution is electrifying. MUFFIN blends the messiness of grunge and punk and mixes the swagger and attitude of modern
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London MC and producer Last Japan just released his new single for his upcoming EP, LUNA. The EP is the longest project since his 2014 mixtape, Ride With Us. Hip-hop albums are typically appreciated for their beats or flows, but Last Japan focuses on aesthetics in LUNA. Last Japan explains why this EP is different: “This body of work runs
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In anticipation for his new album, Suspect released a new single, “One Way,” following his single “Say It With Your Chest.” “Say It With Your Chest” racked up over 150k views within the first two weeks of release. Suspect is recognized for his curtly aggressive lyrics and a flow spit like bricks. He has a
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Hip-hop artist UnoTheActivist is making huge strides in his career this year. His 2017 mixtape, Live.Shyne.Die, received over 2 million Soundcloud streams within the first 48 hours of release. All 16 songs took a spot on Apple Music’s Top 50, and the album stood on the iTunes Top 20 Hip-Hop/Rap Albums Chart. UnoTheActivist’s song
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The delectably exciting indie-pop group Strange Names released Data, a 10-track album. It was released on Frenchkiss Records, the label responsible for artists such as Local Natives, Passion Pit, and Bloc Party. Data is strange, energetic, and full of lovable personality. Strange Names makes sure that no two songs are the same in the record, and each song has
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Future Jr. debuted in his freshman EP Vacancy and it sounds like he’s been in the music industry for years. The new artist shows off his ethereal style with a combination of pop and chillwave. Future Jr. distinguishes himself from other pop artists with his swirling electronica and shoegaze guitars. Both relaxing and beautiful, Vacancy shows promise emotionally
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George FitzGerald was one of the early dubstep artists in the early 2000s. As a DJ in the club scene, he produced his own music and signed onto Hotflush in Berlin. After signing, FitzGerald moved to Germany’s capital and continued releasing music until recently, when he returned to London after a decade. Upon his
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Alternative and hip-hop are two genres that produce some of the most unique personalities and talents in the music industry. The notion of an alternative/hip-hop artist is honestly a little off-putting. How do two distinct sounds smoothly work together? The band Little Stranger demonstrates how these two disparate genres can be blended together and sound
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Traditional hip-hop and robotic glitch collide in the hands of Dabrye in Three/Three, the Ann Arbor producer’s first full-length album since 2006’s Two/Three and the sonic conclusion to his /Three trilogy. Dabrye spoke on the stylistic contrasts of his typical techno approach to beatmaking and the new album: “I think the biggest difference is the first two albums had
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SHIRT is one artist who should not be taken lightly. He recently released his fourth album, PURE BEAUTY, a skillful blending of hooks and musical finesse. The album tackles an array of hot-button issues while also exhibiting a distinct aesthetic for the album. SHIRT is a Queens-based rapper who dropped out of high-school with his
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What do you think of when you think about summer? Toasty weather, beach days, road trips, bare feet, laughs with your best friends? Imagine wrapping up that feeling and throwing it into a song. What would it sound like? Chances are, you are thinking of a sound resembling “Desert Queen”, the new single by Ecstatic
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“Success to me is when what I love becomes my primary sustenance.” Teck-Zilla Following the release of his newest beat-tape, Jetsoul Musique, Teck-Zilla posted this quote on his Instagram. After giving it a listen, it is easy to see that he truly does love his craft. Teck-Zilla is overflowing with passion and style, a
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There is a certain thrill that comes with fear. If you’re a fan of haunted houses, horror movies, or Halloween, you are going to want to listen to “Esseff,” the new single from the alluring VOWWS. The band claimed that they wanted to make a song that “made you feel like you were being chased
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Busta Rhymes appears to be gearing up for a huge comeback in 2018. The hip-hop veteran has released 9 studio albums in his career, with countless hit singles featuring the best in the business. His most recent album, Year of the Dragon, was released in 2012 — six years later, and he’s ready to jump back
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