Underscores’ last studio album “Wallsocket” leaned in a folk, indietronica direction, with heavy worldbuilding elements and a lot of social commentary. This time, underscores combined her hyper-pop sound from the first album “Fishmonger” with a new energetic and electropop one, making her latest album “U” a “good thesis statement of who I am as an artist”, as stated by Grey in an interview with Vogue.

In that same interview, the musician also talked about her longtime fascination with hotels, airports, and malls from her childhood, especially the way people listen to music while moving through those spaces. This heavily inspired the album and you can certainly notice: from the mall in the cover art to the visuals where she hauls around luggage while dancing with her headphones in. It’s a short, cohesive, and focused record that offers some of the best pop songs this year.

“U” starts off strong with “Tell Me (U Want It),” a beautiful song where underscores first showcases the usage of her breath as an instrument. From the breathy and rhythmic intro we move to soft verses and an exciting chorus. One of the most interesting parts of the song is the outro where she adopts these harsh, robotic whispers as the song fizzles out. It’s an instant classic in her discography and it flows well into the following track “Music,” which had everyone obsessed when it dropped as a single. It was my first underscores song, and I was totally blown away. This beautiful track compares the company of a special someone to the feeling of listening to/making music, incorporating mesmerizing beats and harmonies. The song feels like underscores’ love letter to music and her passion for it really shines through, especially with the breakdown in the bridge where she mentions multiple genres of music that are meaningful to her.

We then move into the first new song for me (since I already knew the singles) called “Hollywood Forever.” The brilliance in this one comes from the switch ups, which make it feel like three songs in one. Following that we have “The Peace,” a song different from everything I’ve heard from the musician. Vocal inflections are chopped up in the beginning and she uses her breath as percussion for the second time. This is actually maintained throughout the whole track, making for a consistent, electronic-heavy song that offers a nice break from the previous three explosive ones.

Next is my personal song of the year (and no, I don’t care that it’s too early to call): “Innuendo (I Get U).” She does get me! Demonstrated by her inclusion of everything I think sounds cool in a song: quick switch ups, intense kicks, well-placed talk singing, a powerful beat drop, and playful lyrics. Underscores uses her whispers and soft register once more, combining them with loud, layered vocals, proving her versatility. 

“Lovefield” is another one of my favorites. Spacious and atmospheric, the track starts off soft and laid back, eventually dissolving into a gorgeous display of underscores’ vocal range as she belts the chorus one last time. “Do It” is a wonderfully produced, quintessential underscores track released as one of the three singles. It’s upbeat and fun, and probably the first song I’d recommend to someone wanting to get into her music. Though there was also a remix of the track featuring Yves before the album dropped, I like this version better (but by a close margin).

“Bodyfeeling” is my least favorite on the record, but still a very good song that became quite popular with the fanbase. This one is more interesting lyrically, with touching verses about ignoring your body and your reality in favor of existing in a fantasy with the person you love. However, the chorus beat felt a little clunky.

The final track “Wish U Well” follows a similar pattern to “Lovefield” in the sense that it’s also laid back, albeit without an explosive bridge or chorus. Again, the lyrics hit me pretty hard and it made for such an emotional and dreamy song that easily slipped into my top 3 (alongside “Innuendo (I Get U)” and “Do It”). Overall, this underscores project is a progressive, hyper-pop, and electronica masterpiece that everyone should check out. Just put on some headphones, find a good mall to wander around in, and lose yourself in the glitchy, maximalist world of “U.”

The post Feeling the BPM with underscores’ third studio album “U” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the contemporary music scene, Björk has an extensive and mesmerizing discography ranging from jazz and experimental to electronic and avant-garde music. She is a major pioneer in her genre-bending productions, and inspired others such as Radiohead, Frank Ocean and Lady Gaga. 

The live album’s opening track “Family Intro” starts us off with bird noises, bubbles, and nature ambience. It’s a shortened version of the original, which used to be heavier and more intense with the soundscape. This new, cut version she performed live seemed lighter, as she highlighted the importance of love throughout the process of healing. It beautifully transitions into “The Gate”, which has interesting synths and flutes chiming in every few lines. This recording of her voice live sounds identical to the studio album, a testament to her wonderful voice. Björk sings about her healing journey after a terrible breakup and how her open wounds transformed into a gate where she now receives love from. It became a place where the “light shines in”.

The next tracks “Utopia” and “Arisen My Senses” demonstrate the common theme of blending nature and technology that is seen throughout her discography, and it’s truly hypnotizing how she represents that with the sounds. They’re lighthearted and spacious but not too interesting. The following “Ovule” is boring when compared to how grandiose her songs often are. The melodies and beats stay roughly the same throughout and it doesn’t have a chorus to break up the verses. “Show Me Forgiveness” is similarly bleak and unimpressive, although her vocals are pretty. Both songs are performed almost identically to their original counterparts. 

“Isobel” is a gorgeous song that maintains a steady, marching beat and displays very evocative imagery. The next track “Blissing me” is a gentle ballad about falling in love with someone by sharing music. Interestingly, the melodies reminded me of the “Minecraft Volume Alpha” soundtrack by C418, being very similar to songs like “Door” and “Wet Hands”. The live version really did it justice. We segue into the “Arpeggio” interlude, where Björk delivers the “It’s an emergency” manifesto, urging us to pay attention to the environment in order to survive as a species. After the inspiring call to action, we move into the grandiose “Body Memory”, which is very vibrant in a live setting. The background vocals are very powerful as we transition beautifully into the second half of the album. 

“Hidden Place”, “Mouth’s Cradle” and “Victimhood” are pretty tracks, but they start to blend together a little, the last one being especially monotonous. The “Cornucopia” live album is fascinating, but from these tracks onward I start feeling the album length a little. It feels too long, and even though the songs are different enough from each other to keep things interesting, I got bored with the last few. “Fossora / Atopos” has a loud and chaotic banging that accompanies the second half, but is overall quite uninteresting, which I can also say about “Features Creatures” and “Courtship”. Their dullness is especially highlighted when contrasted with the beautiful “Pagan Poetry” that comes right after them.

A classic in Björk’s discography, “Pagan Poetry” reflects on the confusion and difficulty of emotional and physical connection with a partner. It’s a shortened version of the original, starting from the repeated line of “I love him” in the outro. The following “Losss” has a stellar electronic soundscape that leads to a tumultuous outro. “Sue Me” is plain boring (sorry) and so is “Tabula Rasa”, although the latter’s title did grab my attention, as I recognized John Locke’s philosophy. The Tabula Rasa refers to the idea that all humans are born with a clean slate and no innate knowledge about the world: we must build that knowledge from scratch. Björk uses this theory to address the new generation and tells us to rebuild the world our way, considering how the previous generations left it to us in such a rough shape. 

“Notget” is a powerful track about a break up, where the drumbeats symbolize the singer’s heartbreaks. And the final song on the album, “Future Forever”, is a hopeful perspective on the future. We hear a choir of child-like voices singing about brighter days ahead, which ends the live album on a high note and an optimistic view of the world and what’s to come. All of these tracks come together to create a performance highlighting environmentalism, female empowerment, hope for the future and humanity, solidarity and the collaboration of nature and technology. Even though Björk can be a challenging artist to get into, “Cornucopia Live Album” is an exceptional project and a must listen for fans of avant-garde music and powerful symbolism.

The post Album Review: An exploration of nature, music, and technology with Björk’s “Cornucopia: Live” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Altar primarily serves as a tribute to NewDad’s Ireland hometown, Galway, with its gloomy weather and quiet lifestyle. After the 2024 release of their debut studio album Madra resulting in their quick rise to popularity, the band promptly relocated to London to pursue music as a full time gig. NewDad saw an opportunity and knew they had to seize it. In hindsight, the band now regrets this sudden and drastic change in scenery, stating in an interview with NME how they would have enjoyed staying home and focusing on enriching their local rock scene. Altar is a simultaneous homage to Ireland and an expression of homesickness and nostalgia, all over the span of 12 tracks. 

NewDad’s Madra took alternative rock by storm with its explosive sound and unapologetic lyrics. The band was influenced by artists like The Pixies, The Cranberries, and Oasis, which shaped lead singer and rhythm guitarist Julie Dawson’s childhood. Altar is showing a departure from the heavier punk inspiration, instead borrowing elements from shoegaze and dream-pop, with most of the tracks more reminiscent powerful ballads seeping with raw emotion. It’s an interesting direction for the band to take their sound in, and it also bodes well with the themes of melancholy and reflection. 

From the very first track “Other Side”, the lyrics already express these deep emotions that permeate the album, as Julie Dawson sings about a noisy place that is killing her dreams and not letting her go. Accompanying Dawson’s soft melodies are simple synths, reminiscent of a lullaby, that build up to a thrilling beat drop with lead guitarist Sean O’Dowd and drummer Fiachra Parslow joining in. The song masterfully sets the tone for the rest of the record. “Heavyweight” maintains a steadier tempo while Dawson scornfully croons about the music industry, which drove the band away from home and thrust them into that harsh reality very early into their career, dripping with cynicism. 

The next track “Pretty” is a dreamy and melodic serenade that really hones in on Galway as the band’s muse: “His medicine has me hypnotized. You look so nice like a dream, swear on my life”. In the following track “Roobosh”, perhaps the most electric song on the album, Dawson’s booming vocal performance during the chorus is perfectly accompanied by her and O’Dowd’s hypnotizing guitar riffs. Parslow’s drumming is also on point, which, along with the other elements, emphasize the track’s vindictive and vitriolic energy. 

“Misery” offers a darker, meaner atmosphere with distorted, grungy guitars and a loaded instrumental. Dawson’s vocals demonstrate pure, raw emotion from someone who is deeply familiar with misery and the nasty way she makes her way into our lives. “Sinking King of Feeling” and “Puzzle” are both tracks that expand on the homesickness of the album, exploring somber feelings of misplacement, unworthiness, and inadequacy. The ballads, with soft, luscious sounds offer evocative imagery and highlight the melancholy that permeates the record. Sounds start to blend together and perhaps the band tried to become a little too cohesive. However, the instrumentation is consistently easy on the ears, despite the air of monotony. 

“Entertainer” is reminiscent of “Sickly Sweet” from the band’s debut album with the guitar riffs. The beat and instrumentation, as well as Dawson’s wildly entertaining vocals illustrate NewDad’s signature sound. “Everything I Wanted” perfectly encapsulates the album’s main thesis of homesickness. After their experience abroad, NewDad realized they had fallen into the trap of jumping ship too early and yearned for their hometown, which they now know could have harbored their dream. The layered soundscape cushions Dawson’s vocals as she introspectively warbles: “I tell myself that it’s everything I wanted/ Lost myself in this city”. The following two tracks “Mr Cold Embrace” and “Vertigo” are also about Galway which, to the band, evokes nostalgia and regret, with airy guitars and hauntingly beautiful vocals. The album ends on a somber note with “Something’s Broken”, as Dawson sings of feeling terrible sadness and fear and looking for intimacy as a way to cope and forget it all. 

Overall, Altar is a beautifully cohesive journey through Galway, the band’s bittersweet relationship with fame, the harshness of the music industry and everything in between. It’s a wonderful album to enjoy as the seasons transition from summer into autumn, with delicate guitars and catchy melodies that solidify the band as one of the best current alternative rock artists. Now, with their new tour around Europe and their freshly announced festival appearance at Primavera Sound ‘26, I’m excited to see what’s next for NewDad. 

The post NewDad on homesickness, fame and sacrifice in their latest album: Altar appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This album grew on me—it wasn’t impressive the first time I popped in my earbuds.  That changed when I put on my headphones and listened through it again (and again).  There are intricacies living explored in the relatable moments which people live through every day.  Lyrics echo within songs, each having a distinct sound while examining all the different feelings accompanying loss. 

Nate starts calmly with “White Hills,” laying out the tensions that the entire album works through, those feelings of belonging, of longing while moving on, and of memories.  You’ll groove a little to “Bleed,” where the build into the chorus goes on just long enough for you to feel that release when he sings, “and I BLEEEEEED MY HEART OUT,” keeping you there for the last minute of the song.  You’ll start tapping your foot on “The Crying Wolf;” you know something interesting is going to happen when the tambourine shows up. Some tracks, like “5^th Avenue,” have long outros that hang on–perhaps too long–while tracks like “Ghost Town” and “I Don’t Belong Here Anymore” have short outros that finish just as intensely.  You’ll tap your foot again on “Let’s Stay In & Put a Dylan Record On.”  You meditate while listening to the calm “Wild Heart” before diving into the folksy “The Tamiami Trail.”  “Farewell, Savannah” and “The Highway” have lighter layers that form a space for Currin’s heartfelt lyrics.

For a post-breakup album, there’s a lot of movement.  On the cover, Currin stares back at where he came from, leaning against a parked Pontiac with the top down. He takes listeners on a physical journey in addition to an emotional one, making stops in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, ultimately ending the album with the command to “Get Back North.” Time doesn’t exist in Ghost Town.  The album lives in the moment straddling memory and feeling. Outros linger, intros build slowly, other voices chime in at the right times, and the last track primes you to start it all over again. 

While this album does not stray too far from his other work, Ghost Town does have a wide range of influences.  “Lover, Don’t Let Me Go” is, at times, slightly reminiscent of 80s pop.  We get Currin’s harmonica stylings on “Let’s Stay In & Put a Dylan Record On.”  There is more than a pinch of honkytonk sprinkled into “The Crying Wolf” (as well as a Lynyrd Skynyrd reference).

It’s a fast-paced world that we live in nowadays, which means there is even more of a place for the winding tunes of Nate Currin, for his thoughtful meditations on what it means to feel and emote, to remember and move on.  Like he says, “There’s so much I wanna say.  No, I’ll never be okay.”  But everything will be okay. And every time you dream about escaping, every time you go through a bad breakup, every time you think about your ex, you can listen to Ghost Town.

Nate Currin’s Ghost Town releases August 1^st on Archaic Cannon Records.

The post Album Review: Nate Currin’s Ghost Town appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I was never much for Midwest Emo before coming to college. The most experience I had with anything by the name of “emo” was the falsely declared pop punk bands of the 2010s. As always, I stumbled head first into the genre by complete accident and ended up loving it, and I wanted more. I felt like the boom of the genre was far too short-lived and then later found out that emo historically came in waves of popularity and resurgence. I absolutely predict that if this band can get big, we’ll see another wave.

@any_two_words

Midnight Doomer Cruise at Subterranean 5/10 @worldrenownfailure on IG #emo #fyp #midwestemo #diy #chicagodiy #music

♬ original sound – any two words

When I saw the TikTok featured above, I was starstruck. It was absolutely haunting to view such a beautiful song, and by complete accident. It almost felt like those religious experiences people say they can feel with live music. For them to capture that on video and still give the same emotional value was so mesmerizing. I needed more of it, and quickly. Luckily for me, they had just so happened to drop an album about a month before.

Any Two Words’ debut album, Double Vision, shares similar themes to most of the genre of Midwest Emo, from its eclectic naming schemes to its upbeat, fast riffs. Within it’s 13 song run is a mass of casual poetry. The album comes alive to an active beat that was insanely reminiscent of early 2000s pop punk. If I had to pick out specific influences, they’d be Pretty Odd by Panic! At The Disco, Analphabetapolothology by Cap’n Jazz, and Joy, Departed by Sorority Noise. It’s something I never knew I needed, but it satisfied completely a taste that I had been craving subconsciously.

I think the best thing about this album is just how satisfying it is to listen to on an end-to-end run. It has shattering lyrics piled onto tracks of varying seriousness. The whole thing is so loud it begs to be heard. No two songs sound exactly the same, yet they all flow so perfectly into each other. They follow different paces and different jumps in time. My favorite of these transitions had to be the end of “The Rock Gets Bottomer” into “Speed Cola”.

Speaking about track, “Speed Cola” has one of the funniest samples I’ve ever heard in a Midwest Emo song, which is a hard title to hold onto. It features a video of a little German boy talking about Fortnite and Coca Cola. You might question why I would bring something so stupid up, but that’s exactly why I brought it up. Any Two Words is a college band. I couldn’t stalk enough to find out which Chicago college they go to, if it’s really in Chicago or if it’s just in a suburb, but point being they’re just young adults. That’s what really brings the authenticity to this album. Being friends and having a fun time making goofy music in a nostalgic genre.

I can say with certainty that this album summed up my first semester of college pretty well. It has been full of living for the first time, creating that future nostalgia and bonds with people that the album captures in essence so, so well. At its core, this is an album about shared experiences and the commonality of Gen Z’s college coming of age experience. It’s about joking around with your friends and falling in love and hating your assignments and hating yourself and learning to grow up. Honestly, the most I can recommend for anyone to do with this album is to sit down and give it your full attention, completely uninterrupted. No screens, no books, no fiddling around with a Rubix Cube, just twiddle your thumbs and let it do its thing. Maybe grab the friends you love the most because they’d probably like to do the same with you.

Any Two Words please come to the University of Iowa next semester. We would really appreciate it. I promise.

The post Seeing Double with Two Words’ Debut Album “Double Vision” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I first came across her album entitled No Home Record, which she released in 2019, when I was in high school. The first song from it that I listened to was “Paprika Pony”, which instantly amazed me by how different it sounded from any Sonic Youth track I’ve ever listened to. It took me time to put together the pieces, in order for it to register that this is the same vocalist who was responsible for the likes of Goo and Daydream Nation. These are albums which I think made an immense cultural impact at the time in underground hardcore punk, alongside the emergence of avant-garde and experimentalism. Now, it only makes sense. I put two and two together, with Gordon’s present affinity for electronica, in an ambient and drone like fashion.

When looking at her newly released album The Collective, it shows that Gordon is a trailblazer in artistic advances within the contemporary world. When it comes to music, she is always looking forward, doing things that have never been done before, with a consistent desire to provoke a certain sensibility toward shock value for how out there it is. In tracks within the new album like “BYE BYE”, “Psychedelic Orgasm”, and “Dream Dollar”, she confronts lyrics and instrumentals that are so daring, bold, and spirited with gutsy spunk that it begins to feel as if an outlandish alien is singing to us from an otherworldly pandemonium.

Brazen with static, edgy vocals, piercing synth lines, crunchy glitches, along with various clinking and clanking, what Gordon tells you through this new album is that she does not give a fuck. It’s a sentiment generally hard to impose on the self within the realms of the music industry’s current disposition. As a handful of musicians now feel more of saturated need to cater to the mainstream, Gordon sets up a path of her own that doesn’t comply or conform to these boundaries and limitations. It only becomes more impressive when we learn that she is age 71. It proves that someone can be 71 and still fiercely and vigorously cool. A few favorites of mine from The Collection consist of “I’m A Man”, “It’s Dark Inside”, “Shelf Warmer”, and “Tree House” which are all tracks that I will be listening to until I’m 71.

The post Kim Gordon Shows that You Can Still be Cool at 71 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On 2093, Yeat throws this previous formula out the window, and decides to show the world his distinct vision of hip-hop’s future. That vision is centered around techno, with trance and industrial influences. While this vision sounds incredible on paper, Yeat doesn’t quite maximize the potential of this sound.

2093 consists of futuristic synths and many other sounds that are associated with genres far out from what has traditionally been seen considered rap. The pulsating base on tracks like “Breathe” and “Riot & Set it off” could have seamlessly fit in on Mandy, Indiana’s I’ve Seen a Way. “1093” has a beautiful melody that wouldn’t sound foreign on a Nine Inch Nails project. Even though “Bought The Earth” is a decent piece of psychedelic hip-hop, but it sounds like a Travis Scott throwaway. Additionally, the 30-second cinematic intros and outros on various tracks across the album reek of musical pseudo-intellectualism. It just comes across as clichéd.

Despite the many creative peaks on the record, proper curation is once again the Yeat’s Achilles heel. In the streaming era, many artists have put out longer projects to boost sales numbers and algorithm interaction. This has dragged down the quality and potential of many projects like Whole Lotta Red or Certified Lover Boy.

Unfortunately, 2093 is the newest member of an exclusive list of “could’ve been” classics. The length of this 22-track behemoth tends to bring down the special qualities of this album and make it drag along. For some reason, this has been a recurring theme in his discography, and it has been quite frustrating to witness. Perhaps he should have taken notes from Ken Carson’s A Great Chaos. If this album could have been cut down to at least 18 tracks, much more of the project’s full potential could have been realized.  

The length of the project is just one amongst various elements that weighed this project down. An aspect worth noting is Yeat’s lethargic delivery throughout the vast majority of this project. One of the most interesting aspects of his music has been his unorthodox and experimental vocals. On Aftërlyfe, it felt like you could never expect what was coming next. That unpredictability resulted in memorable vocal takes such as those on “Heavyweight” and “Split” that are ingrained in my mind to this day. Those unconventional deliveries were strongly needed and would have made 2093 worth its length.

Even though there are some truly incredible moments on this record, the romanticized idea of what this album could have been is much more enthralling than the project we received. Perhaps younger generations may consider the album as a classic, and a blueprint of what’s to come, while I end up on the wrong side of history. In the meantime, until Yeat is able to grasp the depth of his untapped potential over the length of a full project, I am going to have to settle for only adding a select few of his songs to my playlists. 

Official Maurice Crawford Score: 6.4/10

The post Yeat and Flawed Innovation in “2093” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Recently, I had noticed that James had not dropped an album since late June. As it turned out, this was no mere coincidence. He suffered a severe car crash in January that resulted in a broken vertebrae in his neck and multiple fractures in his legs. Even though this injury would keep most artists out of the studio, Boldy decided to push through his injuries and deliver his latest album, Penalty of Leadership. Entirely produced by Nicholas Craven, this project serves as a sequel to the previous LP they collaborated on titled Fair Exchange No Robbery. 

Image via Throw Up Magazine

Penalty of Leadership marks an improvement from both Craven and James. Craven’s production feels more spacious, emotional, and dynamic compared to the repetitive sample loops from Fair Exchange. However, the most noticeable change is in James’ lyricism. The recovery process from the car crash has not only tested his mental fortitude, but seemingly breathed new life into his lyricism. Up to this point, James was known for semi-autobiographical, but heavily exaggerated drug dealing stories.

This album marks a change in this formula as James opens up on the challenging rehab process following his brutal car crash. He also speaks on the current state of affairs for his family on tracks such as “Brand New Chanel Kicks” and “No Pun Intended.” James even flexes that he didn’t “graduate from high school, but [his] daughter got straight As” on the track with a similar name.

Boldy James’ new sense of vulnerability and sincerity since the car crash has added a new aspect to his music, and shows that there is a flawed man behind his cold deadpan delivery. It’s something not often seen from the rapper. The sparse sonic palette provided by Nicholas Craven truly allows James’ heart to shine front and center 

Official Maurice Crawford Score: 7.4/10 

The post Boldy James Embraces Vulnerability with “Penalty of Leadership” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

When I put on sydney mills runner, the artist’s self-titled project, I knew my search hadn’t been for nothing. From that strange album cover blared an equally strange trio of bedroom folk tracks. They proceeded to bury themselves like parasites into my gray matter. This album is a borderline bedroom folk blend. Boasting warm acoustics, minimal drums, and a smattering of digital synthesis, all blanketed in a stunner of a record performance. Their voice is scratching and driven, sung from the rooftops, but most likely recorded on a laptop mic. The album also makes heavy use of vocal ambience, with runner’s harmonies adding lushness to simple tracks.

When the term “amateur” is applied to music it usually comes as an insult, equating lack of skill with lack of quality. Deeming a creative work something “good enough” before being scoffed at. When I call this EP “amateur” I mean nothing of that sort. The project feels unfinished, but in a way that leaves me wanting more from an entity I already felt connected to. I want to see them grow and evolve, knowing from just a three song introduction that runner’s creative voice was something special. Sloppiness adds to the project in its own right. With wrong notes, vocal mistakes, and the song “witch” starting with a 20 second audio test, making this feel like a jam session in the artist’s bedroom. Humanity and messiness, united through melody.

When I dig through lists of music, I never know what I’m in for. Good things aren’t uncommon, but sydney mills runner is different. The project’s pure obscurity (0 Bandcamp supporters, 0 Spotify listeners) leaves me feeling ecstatic over stumbling across it. I am lucky to have found this album and I hope it doesn’t slip through the cracks.

This article was originally written on November 1st, 2023, on the floor of my friend’s dorm room. I think we were listening to the radio. Thank you to anyone and everyone involved with the inspiration and creation of this piece.

The post needle in a haystack: sydney mills runner appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The album opens on the song “Structure” with a roboticized rendition of a flamenco guitar playing throughout the light but dreamy track. It’s sputtering and glitchy with its digital portrayal, along with vocal samples pitched up and down. The song’s title is a very tongue in cheek nod to their previous album of the same name, which unlike all their other full-length albums, lacked a title track. Also, like its predecessor, “Everyone’s Crushed” plays around with an albums structure. 

Near the end of the album is the track “14” which starts out with a shallow rippling ambience, as it builds with the might of an orchestra. Slowly, it crescendos towards a climax filled with sentimentality. Like a sauntering somber walk away from a closing curtain. Reflecting on memories of the good things that have past as it simmers back down.

Water From Your Eyes then follows up the perfect album closer with the song “Buy My Product.” The true closing track is more akin to the quirky dance tracks that show up throughout the duo’s discography. It gives the feeling like it’s there as an afterthought means to cement the vaguely anticapitalistic themes found on the record. However, being familiar with the band would give the listener the feeling that it’s intentional. Another way to have a fun subversion of expectation.  

Though the album does seemingly have more distinctive themes, relating to things like constant repetitive productivity in the corporate world, there’s nothing concrete. Instead, the primary purpose of the words is to use their morphemes to enhance the music and its flow. Like on the track “Out There,” where the chorus is just a string of one syllable words tied together by sheer sound. It’s as Rachel Brown put it in an interview with KRUI, “The lyrics are more about presentation than they are about intention.” 

Two of the most energetic points in “Everyone’s Crushed” come with the singles “True Life” and “Barley.” Both have a very similar song structure, with a first and a second vocal part that perfectly overlay on top of each other to create a claustrophobic swirling effect. Playing over this is the constant hit of a brash sound marking the beat.

Image via Pitchfork

“Barley” in particular is formed exceptionally well. Amos’ No-Wave-esque composition with a shuffling drumbeat and bustling bass line both are put together with a sliding siren like guitar, and warbling synth lead. All of this with the repetitive ring of a discordant phone chime. Brown’s vocals go from a deadpan counting to a staggered resonation. All these cacophonous sounds are organized perfectly together to make one of the most unique, and best tracks of the year.  

This energy isn’t sustained on the album and mellows out on the rest of the tracks, which can hurt how engaging moments on the record are. The songs “Open” and “Remember Not My Name,” both also having a near mirrored song structure, are marked by a driving ambience, blanketed over by a hazy atmosphere. Shredding through this are the searing sounds of sawtooth synths and droning harsh noise. Like bright red flares cutting apart a serene night sky. 

The noisy clamor and abrasive dissonance of sounds are composed into odd yet cohesive pieces. Water From Your Eyes eclecticism and broadening array of sound along with their ability to make it feel genreless is what makes them captivating. “Everyone’s Crushed” is out now on Matador Records. You can listen to it on their Bandcamp and other streaming services.  

The post Water From Your Eyes Shatter Structure on “Everyone’s Crushed” appeared first on KRUI Radio.