ALBUM OF THE YEAR PICK:

"BLUE REV" BY ALVVAYS

The last time I wrote about Alvvays was in the fall of 2017; I was a Junior in College and they had just released their second album. I was working at the student radio station and wrote a piece for their website. I'm a little out of practice on music writing, but I figure it's mostly just for me anyway. A way to remember who I am at this moment and why my favorite band in my twenties is this one.

I first heard them at the radio station, after my show one night, and was immediately captured. I ran back into the studio to turn up the song and write down some of the lyrics so I could look it up later. It was, unsurprisingly, 'Archie, Marry Me'; their debut single and one of the most listened to in their repertoire. Any fan of indie/alt pop is no stranger to this tune but at the time it was new to me, and I had never heard anything like it before. It felt like a moment out of a film and I was right at the center listening with every fiber; soaking it in. So many times I had felt out-of-place and unsure of where I fit but right then, listening to that song, I felt like someone who was right where they were supposed to be. That was Spring of 2016, and I was 18.

The very next year they released their sophomore album, 'Antisocialites', and I wrote about it having "something tangible, something that makes you want to go on living this life as freely and wildly as possible, with as much feeling as one can muster" (from https://kure.stuorg.iastate.edu/antisocialites-by-alvvays/). I was very emotional because for the first time in my life I had a group of friends and I wasn't used to that much love; I remember feeling it pour over me at times and being overwhelmed by it. The night the album came out was one of those moments; "it was midnight, 'Antisocialites' had just dropped, and I was listening to it alone in my room. It so perfectly captured everything I had wanted it to. I felt that I needed to share it" with people who would get it, and as if on cue "some of my friends walked through the front door". They had all been out to the bars and I couldn't go because I wasn't yet 21; I'd been feeling a bit down about it before I remembered Alvvays' new album was coming out. When they arrived, I had just finished listening to it through a second time, and "we jumped up and down in the hallway". The songs off that album were on every party playlist for the rest of the semester and into the next.

I got lucky, discovering my favourite band and them releasing another album just 18 months later. It was perfect for college; linking up with the moments I wanted to celebrate and remember, for the most part anyway. There was a time during the last year and a half of college when I didn't want to remember how I felt; so I stopped listening. I didn't listen to them for years; from 2019, when I graduated, all through grad school and into my living back at home phase at 23. I couldn't listen because it reminded me so viscerally of heartache and at the time I thought that was the worst there was to feel. Soon after my 24th birthday I learned that was not true. Loss is a different kind of heartache; it isn't about not being good enough for someone, it's not about you at all. There is just nothing there, they're just gone, and along with them everything you admired and wanted to say. This is the worst thing a person can feel; the absence of someone. Nothing makes it stop hurting, but time acts as a buffer.

A year passed and another birthday, I'm 25 now and still living at home. I'm ready to leave, now that I'm feeling a little better. I made friends at the office that I get to see every day and I'm getting back to that feeling I had at the radio station; of belonging and fullness. I miss home though, the place I've always felt the most me; I'm moving back up there in February, to be closer to my college friends and settle in the area I've wanted to live in for years. Another big transition and finally a time I do want to remember again, a time when I'm getting back to myself. And just like that…

'Blue Rev' finally dropped in October; I'd been waiting with bated breath ever since 'Pharmacist' came out earlier this year, and it did not disappoint. I can't believe I'm saying this because I never thought they'd actually outdo their first two albums, but this is my favorite Alvvays album yet. It is literal perfection and there isn't a bad track on it. They have put out three perfect albums though and I always get this excited, so maybe I'm just biased in the moment and will feel like they are more even later on. It might just be the newness of it, but I honestly don't think so. I think they have been honing their craft, taking their time on this one, even more than the others, and waiting to put it out until they were ready. It always shows, the care these musicians put into their music, and the truth they write about. Their songs are from the heart and they speak to yours. That is why Alvvays is and will always be the soundtrack to my twenties, and maybe thirties and forties, and so on.

Promise me you will give it a chance and I promise you it won't disappoint: Blue Rev

https://www.instagram.com/alvvaysband/

New Roundtable for June is up now! Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

No Longer Invited by Poor Sports. (2021) EP Review

6.5/10

Poor Sports. fuse the pop punk and Midwest emo aesthetics to create their own space. This album is full of self-loathing and existential crises energy, so be prepared for that, but it brings you back up by the end; with songs like 'Nate's Song' proclaiming "I'm okay, I'm okay", and carrying your sadness away with that soulful ending guitar, into the final "I'll be fine one day". It has some really great moments that get you moving too, with inspired guitar riffs and designated drum parts; like on 'Yellow Crocs'. It has a stuck in-between phases of life dissonance that colors in the empty spaces and leaves you wanting more in the best way.

RIYL: Remo Drive, Ratboys, Gulfer (Blink 182, American Football)

Favorites: Yellow Crocs, Nate's Song, I-33, Karl Marxial Arts

The LUMR POD is back with the band Currls from Brighton, UK! They were lovely to speak with and I can’t wait to see what they do next. #brightonuk #brightonmusic #indiemusic #altrock #glamrock #girlband #currls #empowerment #musicpodcast

Interview with Gorf Girlz from Atlanta, GA is up now on Spotify! You can view the highlight video on our YouTube channel. #podcast #gorfgirlz #lumrpod #musicdiscovery #musicpodcast #newmusic

New Roundtable is up now wherever you listen to your podcasts! 

The newest LUMR POD features indie punk rock band Cheerbleederz from London, UK. We talked about their first live performances, experiences as an all-female band, and their processes for making music. Enjoy!

Wishing on One by Stephanie Campbell EP Review

6.5/10

Stephanie Campbell is a promising young singer songwriter from Philadelphia, PA in the USA; only 19 and already releasing music beyond her years, as demonstrated by the recent Wishing on One EP. It features five easy listening songs that all possess a timeless quality about them; stemming from the melodic majesty of Campbell’s vocal parts. 

I encourage any and all to give this EP a listen; it’s great on a sunny, rainy, or any kind of day. I personally can’t wait to here what else Campbell has to offer us in time; assuredly it will be pithy and original. 

RIYL: Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Amy Winehouse Favorites: Wishing on One, My Way Around, You Could Show Me

Listen to the EP here: https://stephaniecampbell.hearnow.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniecampbellmusic/

NEW PODCAST HIGHLIGHT! Full episode out now on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. 

https://open.spotify.com/show/5ByJK0p1qO4gUfvbqbpm4i?si=cAKOCgo-T1ya0tguCUreTw

New Roundtable Out Today! Featuring some lovely music appreciators and friends. We talked about the new Shame album, Drunk Tank Pink: https://open.spotify.com/album/7hl54HF6Nykh5IDrbqhiJX?si=8RRA9WZYQfWWPzVFEPiMEw

Episode Three feat. Winkler from Boston, MA is up now! 

Full Podcast Here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ByJK0p1qO4gUfvbqbpm4i?si=Ty0C0yLSRuuThv53O5Ybkw

The Static That Carries Over by Julien’s Daughter EP Review

8/10

In the early hours there is a stillness, the world not having awoken to the day, and within the void of 4am one can be whatever they want; create whatever atmosphere they crave. This is when I find it most impactful to listen to new music, because there is nothing to interfere with the nature of the tracks. I too am unmoved, unchanged by the day at hand, so as to better fit the mold of what I’m listening to; I can immerse myself in the scenario, the tone of what it is they are saying. 

The Static That Carries Over is filled with lines that carry over into the light of day and into conversations we would have about our friends, our jobs, our lives; it’s a rushing tumbler of slow truths. I found a favorite lyric in every song, and there was always at least a moment that felt like me; that resonated with something I’d felt, or even said, before. 

They don’t say too much or feel too little; when words are unnecessary they leave them out and just jam, but when they are---they pick the right ones. Pairing the right words is just one element though, and for the most part this band gets every other part right too; the leading bass lines and moody guitar, the driving drums and vocals that leave you wanting to hear them again...it’s all there. 

Favorites: The Prince, Coffee, Kitty Oxford, Barb 217

RIYL: The Red Pears, Mourn, Pynch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliensdaughter/

Somebody Else by Pynch Single Review

Written by Karina Abbott

9/10

‘Somebody Else’ has this unfaltering bass line, drum beat, and key progression just sitting in the background throughout the entire song; while the guitars and vocals dance all over it, adding color to the story that the lyrics lay out for us.

The song follows the monotonous life of a young adult living for other people by doing what their told: going to school, getting a job that pays well, etc. Living for yourself can be a really hard thing to do, because it’s scary knowing there is a possibility for failure. So many people would rather not even try, and just live the life they are ‘supposed to’; a stable and predictable one in the eyes of their peers and parents. The protagonist of this story reflects the feelings of many a young person, if not every single one throughout history, because this song is essentially an ode to the ‘quarter-life crisis’. No one wants to fade into the abyss, no one wants to “lead a life half lived”, and everyone wants to “really know [they] exist”. 

This song is subtly restless; it’s targeting the uninspired and desperate youths trying to figure out how to survive in our rapidly changing world, while somehow staying true to themselves and their dreams. It feels especially relevant with how the last year has been for so many people: a monotonous nightmare with no end in sight that you just have to take day-by-day to get through as it persists like the consistent driving backbeat of this song. 

During the climax of the song they reference the classically reckless nature of being in your 20s; with all this uncertainty and placelessness creating some pretty serious anxieties that just keep mounting until you feel like you want to “drive a car into the sun”, "feel everything at once”, “quit [your] job and move to japan”, or just "stay in bed as long as [you] can”. 

In the falling action of the song there is this statement: “I wanna die doing what I love, I wanna feel like I'm doing enough”; so simple, yet it nearly brought me to tears, because many people, including myself, do not see this as a guarantee. This is something we might have to really fight and even face ridicule for, but it’s such a basic request; like the line about wanting to “feel something real”. We should be able to have lives that make us feel purposeful and fulfilled everyday! We should be able to relax enough to feel things other than anxiety. 

Anyway, it’s a beautiful song and I’m super in love with it. Hope you enjoy it!

RIYL: Attawalpa, Youth Sector, Drug Store Romeos

Bandcamp: https://pynch.bandcamp.com/album/somebody-else-the-whole-worlds-going-crazy-for-love-double-a-side

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pynchband/

K.G. by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Album Review

Written by Brady Nickel

9/10

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's sixteenth studio album, K.G., sees the band making its second full-time foray into micro-tonal music. Listeners familiar with the band's catalog will recognize ideas off of the many of the record's tracks, both musically and lyrically. "K.G.L.W." opens the album with a familiar blowing wind and an ominous melody reminiscent of their previous song, "Billabong Valley." Though the album begins with a reminder of what the band has already explored, it demonstrates that they don't need to break new ground to make something worth listening to. 

As the title implies, K.G. is a very King Gizzard album; it has all the hallmarks of their music. It's dynamic, jumping genres every few minutes, yet transitions like one incredibly long and diverse song. Lyrics are characteristically difficult to parse, and through much abstraction appear to carry ideas about current events (Rigor mortis, fossil tortoise/ Remains dormant underneath everything/ Ageless microbes reveal xenophobes/ Endless plague thus infecting everything). Most of the songs begin with and build around a simple instrumental motif, finding a dozen different ways to build on it. Vocals often have a guitar matching their pitch. Most importantly,  Stu Mackenzie goes "Woo!"

It's hard to talk about all the sounds on K.G. with a single breath; the album's dynamism is easily its greatest strength. "Automation" and "Minimum Brain Size" kick the fun off with some good, if straightforward, riff-heavy rock. While there's nothing wrong with the two songs, their driving guitar melodies are markedly similar, making the start the weakest part of the album. "Straws In The Wind" strips instrumentation down to drums and a guitar, and manages to make interesting solos out of mass repetition of a single note. It's spectacular. Similarly spectacular is its transition to "Some Of Us," where the entire band is reintroduced to the picture in explosive fashion. "Ontology" cranks up the pace and takes a trip through Northern Africa, guitars burning the house down as it closes with a minute long instrumental. With just a moment to pick your face back up off the floor, "Intrasport" demands you move your feet to King Gizzard's brand of... disco. "Ontology" into "Intrasport" is probably one of the band's weirdest outputs, and one of the best. Things quiet down and sound unusually personal for this band as the album nears its close. I think "Oddlife" and "Honey" are victims to the loud strength of the three songs before them, but it's worth acknowledging that the songs have unusually personal lyrics. "Oddlife" talks about being in a touring band (All this rock and roll is bad for my ears/ Let me tell you one thing about my life, it's weird) over fast-paced psychedelic guitar work that would have fit in on Polygondwanaland. Things take a turn for the acoustic again at "Honey" as lyrics turn saccharine (You taste like honey, all warm and funny/ Kinder than a candy, effervescent shandy/ Days are ever sweeter when I wake up near ya/ The world we're in is broken and you're the magic potion). To close the album, "The Hungry Wolf Of Fate" once again explosively reintroduces the full band, but this time in the form of downtuned, sludgy, Sabbath-esque metal. 

In a sentence: this album does a lot of things, and it does them well.

It's a rare band that can bring novel ideas to nearly every album without compromising its identity. Rarer still is a band that can maintain momentum into double digits of studio album releases without sounding tired. On K.G., King Gizzard gives yet another reminder that they can do both. RIYL: Any band on Flightless Records, Thee Oh Sees, Frank Zappa

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6XYvaoDGE0VmRt83Jss9Sn?si=QQs7Y2BGSY-mDPl4GYrheA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinggizzard/?hl=en

@kinggizzrd​ @kinggizzard​ @kinggizzard-blog-blog​

Full LUMR Podcast Episodes from Series One