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The Best Releases of August: Music Staff Picks

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Tropical Fuck Storm – Deep States Aussie noise rock band Tropical Fuck Storm’s third album, Deep States, is as messy and disorienting as the doomed political landscape it was birthed out of. Reflecting mind-poisoning social media discourse twisted through the filter of a distortion pedal, vocalists Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin deliver some of their most compelling melodies over lacerating guitar and synth lines. The opening track, “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, writes from the perspective of Jesus’ second coming to Earth to proclaim in a grand chorus “There ain’t no end of days.” Even at its loudest, a sense … Continued

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The Best Releases of June: Music Staff Picks

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Spellling – The Turning Wheel The Turning Wheel, Chrystia Cabral’s third album under the project Spellling, offers bewitchingly captivating progressive folk and neo-soul songs. A shift towards natural instrumentation marks a stark change from 2019’s synth-heavy Mazy Fly, giving these songs a new liveliness, and pushing Cabral’s songwriting towards the theatrical. The sonic palette on its own can be bewildering at first–veering off without warning into performances of soul, hard rock, classical, folk, and of course, synthwave. It’s no surprise that the personnel list reveals more than thirty performers–all of whom sound great. The songs are left with an enchanting … Continued

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Caley Griebenow

Album Review: “Saturn” by Nao

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In my quest to be ahead of the curve in who becomes big in music for once, a friend from home (who has claimed to have liked Young the Giant, Khalid and Tove Lo all before they became “mainstream”) suggested I check out British artist Nao‘s sophomore album, Saturn.  The self-described “wonky funk” artist and East London native is well established in her home country; she performed in the Glastonbury Festival and even earned a Brit nomination in 2017 for Best British Female Solo Artist for her 2016 album For All We Know. I’m hoping Saturn, released on October 26, will put … Continued

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