Distracted – Thundercat
Genres: Psychedelic Soul, Neo-Soul, Jazz-Funk
RIYL: Anderson .Paak, Childish Gambino, Parliament
I’ve been excited for this album ever since I heard “I Did This to Myself” with its tight bass licks and a unique Lil Yachty feature, and the funky grooves and charismatic posthumous rap feature from Mac Miller on “She Knows Too Much” raised my expectations even higher. Having now listened to the album, I can say it was a great listen, even if it was different than I expected. Both the breakup tracks and the love songs on this sound great, with Thundercat’s smooth and high-pitched vocals really fitting his funky production and tight bass playing, and there were lots of relaxed and introspective tracks that surprised me, but were executed really well. Though the album did lose some steam toward the end, generally I enjoyed this quite a bit, and I’d recommend it to anyone.
-Brian
Directions – Knumears
Genre: Screamo, Post-Rock
RIYL: Orchid, Jeromes Dream
Knumears is going in a slightly different Direction (see what I did there) with this record, previously more emo and post-hardcore, they are leaning a lot more into a heavier rock/hardcore sound with screams kinda thing. I’m not trying to move them from post-hardcore to hardcore, as I don’t exactly see a change in lyrical focus, but the album is just a lot heavier. If that’s your thing, I definitely recommend checking this out, but for me, I’ll stick to A Shout to See (their 2022 release).
-Z
POMPEII // UTILITY – Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE & Surf Gang
Genres: Plugg, Trap, Abstract Hip Hop
RIYL: billy woods, Mach-Hommy, Aesop Rock
It’s like OutKast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” but for chronically online music nerds. So naturally I enjoyed this album, as both Earl and MIKE bring confident and reflective bars over dreamy and breezy plugg and trap beats courtesy of the collective Surf Gang. It’s a relaxing listen even if not what most would expect from a collab album by this duo, as it’s a switch-up of their typical styles that mostly has Earl and MIKE on separate songs. Though it does get repetitive and starts to drag as it goes on, especially as the beats start to sound similar in tone, there’s enough highlights here if you enjoy this style.
-Brian
“Going Shopping” – The Strokes
Genre: New Wave, Indie Surf
RIYL: Peach Pit, Black Lips
All I really have to say is “why?” Like this song really just isn’t great, and don’t think that I’m stuck to the old The Strokes sound, because I’m really not. Whether you ask me about the heavily, and I mean heavily, auto-tuned vocals, or the milk toast instrumental, this track doesn’t really do anything for me. Should you listen to it? Yes, you should, but not because it’s good, but to know that I’m not lying about this being so bad.
-Z
Prince Daddy & the Hyena Singles (2):
Genre: Pop-Punk, Emo Pop
RIYL: Free Throw, Mom Jeans, PUP
“30days30days30days”:
Not my favorite of the singles they have released for their upcoming album, but I’d say this is my favorite from this release. This song is really fun, giving exactly what I want when listening to pop-punk/emo pop, a fun danceable song with slightly annoying vocals, but in an endearing way. I’m honestly a huge fan of both of these singles, and highly recommend you check them out!
“SH*TSHOW or Boulevard of Soaking Dreams”:
Now that I re-listen, my favorite might have changed. This group of singles is much closer than the last in terms of how much I enjoy them. I’d honestly keep the same description as the last single, but add some pronounced key sections. Still great, and I still recommend checking these out!
-Z
My name is Z Marik, and I am the Digital Media Director at WVUA-FM. I am a Junior, majoring in Operations Management with a minor in Supply Chain Management.
My favorite album is 69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields.
Thanks for reading my articles!
Hello! My name is Brian Mignogna and I'm a freshman majoring in Accounting and Business Cyber Security. I listen to mostly rap and rock but I'm trying to listen to more. My favorite album is Revolver by The Beatles.
