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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

Music
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

Sports
Evan Marquardt

Imagining What’s on Each NFC North Team’s Christmas List

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At this point, everyone has a pretty good feel for each team’s strengths and weaknesses. If the run defense hasn’t been fixed by now, it probably never will be this season – unless of course, Santa comes early. Given that we are approaching the holiday season, I figured it would be a good time to imagine what is at the top of each team’s Christmas list. (Image via Minnesota Vikings)

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NFC North Midseason Superlatives

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Traditionally, superlatives are given out at the end of the year – a fun reflection on the times we had and the people we met. But this year, since nothing has been traditional, I’ve decided to give out superlatives at the halfway point in the season. So without further ado, here are a handful of midseason superlatives for the NFC North. (Image via Chicago Bears)

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