Soil Compilation

Music
KRUI’s Riot Fest 2025 Recap

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A celebration took place in Chicago this September. The 20th edition of Riot Fest has come and passed, and while still covered in a layer of dirt and sweat, next year’s edition can’t come soon enough.

Sports
Chicago Bears Extend Win Streak to Four with 26-14 Victory Over Saints

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Soldier Field finally had something to celebrate again, as the Chicago Bears snapped their eight-game losing streak to the New Orleans Saints with a 26-14 win. Powered by a dominant defense and resurgent run game, the Bears overcame offensive struggles to notch their fourth straight win and move to 4-2 on the season.

Music
When We Were Young in Las Vegas, 2025 Festival Preview

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This weekend, Las Vegas will host the fourth edition of When We Were Young. A festival celebrating the scene out in the desert holds more than you’ve bargained for as 53 bands take on 4 stages in 1 day. A whirlwind for every pair of vans and fishnets in the pit, it’s Christmas in October for many. Here is your stage by stage preview of When We Were Young 2025.

Music
album review

Album Review: Grizzly Bear – Shields

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Grizzly Bear is one of those bands that continue to stand out by creating an engaging auditory experience. Their breakout album Veckatimist was lauded by music fans and critics alike, and it is probably safe to say Shields will follow suit. Shields is unique in that it doesn’t have a standout track, the quality is inherent in every song; each has its own handsome virtues. The single “Yet Again” is arguably the most accessible song on the album, but it still maintains the haunting aura the album strives for. From the moment the album begins with “Sleeping Ute,” it is … Continued

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Album Review: Ion – Coordinates

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By Christian Craig Hip hop has, in recent years, evolved into a beast of over-accessibility. The fabled street corner has been replaced by a SoundCloud account and it often seems that anyone with a Logic torrent is busy tweeting about their upcoming mixtape. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – Odd Future, Main Attrakionz and A$AP Rocky all owe their fame to the Internet and it’s becoming increasingly easier to suss out the next big thing. It’s also getting harder to keep up – trends in sub-genres have the shelf life of about an hour and whether you’re a fan … Continued

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Album Review: Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All – The OF Tape Volume 2

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By Christian Craig Collaborative rap crew albums are a tricky thing to get right – We Are Young Money was laughable, Wu-Tang hasn’t done anything worth talking about since 8 Diagrams, and if you know of a Dipset tape that you’ve made it through without your finger on the skip button, I’d love to hear about it. Collab albums have listeners wading track after track, waiting for a heavy hitter and suffering through Lil Twist and Cappadonna in the meantime. So, coming into The OF Tape Volume 2, some skepticism is a warranted. It’s been almost impossible to avoid at … Continued

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Review: Chiddy Bang – Breakfast

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By Keith Evanson Hip-hop duo, Chiddy Bang, have taken their underground hype into the mainstream. After nonstop touring, mixtape releases, and record label signings, they have now settled down to release an official album. Band members, Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon” Jones Beresin, use a successful formula to stimulate the ears of as many listeners as possible. Combining elements of hip-hop, electronica, and indie, they have displayed how versatile rap music can be. Xaphoon Jones shows a lot promise as a producer, there is no doubt about that. He has made a lot of interesting choices in the samples … Continued

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Review: A Place to Bury Strangers – Onwards To The Wall

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By Gabrielle Pawlikowski A Place To Bury Strangers’ eighth EP, Onwards To The Wall, is a fifteen minute maelstrom of industrial noise. Against a percussive backdrop of repetitive pummeling, distorted guitars ferociously wail and Oliver Ackermann croons of lost love in a manner so bleak it is almost deadpan. The result: a visceral unleashing of emotion that is both defiant and triumphant. The EP is drenched with the band’s characteristic use of feedback and reverb, stemming from effect petals custom made by Ackermann. The innovative effects are tightly coiled to create five nuggets of post-punk inspired melodies wrapped in an … Continued

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APTBS

Review: High Highs- High Highs EP

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By Keith Evanson If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Lately, this has been the case in the indie world. Musical acts Rubblebucket, Cults, and Battles can all testify to this statement, as they have gone from dominating the New York City music scene to now conquering the rest of the country, as well as the blogosphere. High Highs have a lot to be happy about. The past couple of years they have taken over the New York underground music scene. At SXSW last year, they completely killed their set. Now they have just … Continued

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Review: Bright Giant – Kings & Queens of Air

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By Keith Evanson Straight outta Des Moines, Iowa, Bright Giant exists to fill your ears with fuzzy distortion and crunchy guitar licks. Front man Josh Davis, who founded The Josh Davis Band, an alt-country band active in the early 2000s, has now broken out of his country shell (mostly), and created a new monster: Bright Giant. The local band released a 5 track EP in the summer of 2010, and since then they have been writing new material for their breakout album, “Kings and Queens of Air.” I can’t really describe the LP more accurately then by simply stating the … Continued

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Bright Giant

Review: The Gimps – Bath Salts

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By Keith Evanson Methamphetamine, heartbreak, and crime. The second LP from the country/folk/southern rock-inspired band, The Gimps, invites you to the depressing world of the rural south. Band members Johnny Nova and Chris Matule don’t even live in the same region of the U.S (Nova lives in Atlanta, Matule lives in San Francisco.) They record music in their own home studios, and send each other mixes via FTP. The large distance between the two band mates can be easily heard within the mostly muddled mixes of ideas and sounds. The band has yet to find a distinguished sound. “If Had … Continued

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The Gimps Bath Salts