I certainly had specific expectations going into the reading, but at same time I was excited as I had never gone to a poetry reading before or something related to it like a slam poetry night. I’d assumed that the poetry read aloud would contain somber themes and the whole thing would be defined by a seriousness to it. However, Smith made the whole ordeal feel more like an they were the energetic opener that was getting us ready for the act after them, which was a performance from the Branford Marsalis Quartet. 

Smith started off with (and retained really) a cheerful attitude and surprisingly wanted the audience to react loudly. They started off with the classic “Hello, Iowa City!” expecting we would cheer loudly back. Of course when that didn’t happen, they demanded we do try again. Naturally, the audience (and myself) did cheer louder, and Smith remarked on how that was an improvement. I found myself shocked as I didn’t think you were even allowed to cheer at a poetry reading. I never thought I’d see a poet actively wanting to hype up their audience. Nevertheless it was a pleasant surprise and made me intrigued into what was coming next.

For the poems themselves, I really admire the selection Smith had gone with. The first poem was about Sioux City, another city in Iowa that was a nice way of adding something special for the Iowa City audience. I liked how the poem used the location to discuss something more serious like colonialism, which didn’t feel unnatural in the overall poem. Certain lines that stuck with me were “naked strangers,” and “evidence of evil,” just to name a couple. 

Smith followed those poems with a few love poems as well, I remember one was dedicated to their husband which of course when Smith mentioned that made me and some audience members audibly go “aww!” and of course Smith followed it up with a joke. I also recollect that Smith shared a poem which detailed how their barber had found out they were queer, which I found impactful and well well written. 

This reading if anything at points did feel like a stand-up show of sorts, Smith wasn’t afraid to crack jokes every now and then. Some that really stuck with me and had me laughing was their joke regarding the recent revelation made about former Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s husband, and one later that came when Smith had asked the lesbians in the crowd to cheer and unfortunately no one had cheered. I remembered Smith’s exaggerated shock and reminded the audience we should love lesbians before they moved on to reading a poem about lesbians. 

Overall, I would say Danez Smith’s poetry reading was quite literally the most memorable fifteen minutes I’ve experienced thus far. Smith’s poetry reading really showed that poetry readings don’t always have to maintain its serious flair and can be lighthearted. After the reading had ended, it definitely sparked an interest in checking out more of Smith’s work and maybe even attend another poetry reading in the possible future. I can only hope they can capture my attention that Smith did but as of right now, that’s gonna be pretty tough to beat.

The post Playful Poetry, Danez Smith Reading from Stop/Time Festival appeared first on KRUI Radio.

My day at Stop/Time actually started with a completely separate event. Waking up and knowing I had a few hours to kill before my sets started, I decided to check out Public Space One’s Ice Cream Zine Fair. Even as someone who rarely engages with art in this medium and actively avoids anything resembling a crafts show or farmers market, I thoroughly enjoyed sifting through the various tents and seeing so many different unique and talented artists captivating work. From diy magazines, to more traditional printed art, to experimental short film video compilations, this was living proof of the depth of quality and variety living within Iowa City’s vibrant arts community. And I’m more than happy that I got to experience this the same day as another fantastic arts festival. 

Unfortunately during the zine fair, I misplaced my Stop/Time badge which led into a minor panic. Frantically searching my whole dorm and car with 30 minutes left on the clock before Evicshen began, I ended up biting the bullet and returning to the festival’s headquarters at The Graduate hotel and begged them for another one. Thankfully they abided and graciously gave me another one before I could miss more than I already did.

Evicshen

Walking in a few minutes late I immediately took in the piercing buzz saw like noise and pulsating energy even from outside Gabes’ building. This enticing feeling carried on as I walked upstairs to the dark flickering lights shining on a crowd of people completely entranced by something completely alien in sound and performance.

As mentioned in my preview, Evicshen can be better described as a performance artist instead of the more conventional musician. She focused more on creating these extremely enthralling atmospheres using various sound distortion techniques and visual experiments. These techniques included bending records, scratching them with blades, and outright spinning them building into the occasional moments of harmony and rhythm. She created such an unpredictable environment, anytime I thought I had her next move pinpointed, I was sidestepped. 

After a shockingly beautiful moment of horn playing during her set, we returned back to the full-effect harsh noise as her body became wrapped in a tangled mess of cords, torn up records, and recording equipment scattered across the dance floor. Finally, the set ended with possibly her most shocking act: a large strong twirling of a real whip in the middle of the audience floor. It twirled only inches away from the closest audience members (myself included) as the distortion blared at its highest. With one final splitting crack of her whip, the distortion stopped and the lights turned on, capping off an incredible performance.

Sharp Pins

Coming into the next set I was already extremely excited, I’ve been a regular listener of Sharp Pins and the Kai Slater canon ever since discovering a Lifeguard track on our lovely KRUI music staff new-adds back in September. It’s very easy to get drawn into his catchy songwriting and quirky 60s aesthetic (both musically and visually), but the band keeps you staying with consistently great music. I had high hopes for their performance and was more than pleased for those to be completely fulfilled.

The three piece started their performance with Every Time I Hear, one of their most popular songs off of my personal favorite album of theirs, Radio DDR. The song perfectly kicked off the set with this gorgeous twangling guitar riff and simple but effective drum pattern, coming at a modest volume, but not enough to completely drown out the band’s beautiful three part harmonies. Almost instantly after the song ended, the band transitioned into You Turned off the Light, another catchy lo-fi pop rock banger off of their debut Turtle Rock record. The repeating bar chords and “girl, oh girl,” during the chorus continued to raise the light, abrasive energy of the concert into new heights while Kai Slater does his classic little rock kicks and jumps. 

As Sharp Pins seamlessly shifted from song after song of warm, lush musicals textures and lovable songwriting I realized I was losing myself in the performance, not wanting it to end. Unfortunately, as all good things do, it had to. They ended the setlist with I Can’t Stop, undoubtedly one of their best works. Their usual soft yet gorgeous sonic palette is no different on this track with the repeated lines “when I think of you don’t forget it,” tickling my eardrums in the best possible way. The song finishes with little instrumentation and the layered chanted chorus graciously fading into the background, ending a phenomenal concert experience.

From the loud and visceral Evicshen to the warm and soft Sharp Pins to even the Zine Fair, it was truly incredible getting to see such a unique and strong array of artistry across Iowa City that day. A true testament to this city’s talent and commitment to all forms of art. Thank you Hancher for bringing all these talented artists to Iowa, and thank you Stop/Time for a great first year.

The post Evicshen & Sharp Pins at Stop/Time Festival, April 4th appeared first on KRUI Radio.

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.

Friday at Hancher Auditorium

Donika Kelly, 6:30pm

A fitting opener for a festival about exploration and discovery, poet and University of Iowa English professor Donika Kelly will kick off the Stop/Time festival with a short, fifteen-minute reading at Hancher. Kelly’s poetry is reflective and expansive, covering themes from consuming love to blinding pain and everything in between. Her first book of poetry, Bestiary, won the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and her most current book, The Natural Order of Things, was released in October 2025 to positive reviews. Many of her individual poems have been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review.

–Bailey Vergara

Ambrose Akinmusire, 6:45pm

Hey, you. Do you like jazz? Let’s hope so, because renowned trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is coming to Hancher Up Close to bless your ears with musings that combine avant-garde jazz, post-bop, hip-hop, and more. With music, Akinmusire hopes to break down the educational barriers surrounding classical jazz and uplift community stories; he borrows from tradition, but is not constrained by it. His newest record, “honey from a winter stone,” is an exploratory journey through a variety of moods, from slow and meandering to restless and lively. And in case you aren’t already sold on his talent, his 2023 album “Owl Song” was nominated for a 2025 Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

–Bailey Vergara

Mei Semones, 8:45pm

24-year-old guitarist and singer Mei Semones will bring her technical talent and playful songwriting personality to Club Hancher in Strauss Hall of Hancher on Friday. Her songs blend indie rock, bossa nova, jazz, and dreamy pop, with lyrics in both English and Japanese. Despite their intricate layering, you’ll still find them easy to hum along to, and you may not be able to stop. Semones’ newest full album, “Animaru,” is dedicated to her trust in her own instincts, built through years of practice and demonstrated by ornate guitar riffs and refined, breathy vocals. Her upcoming EP “Kurage” — which features Liana Flores, John Roseboro, and her own dad — releases April 10th.

–Bailey Vergara

Saturday across Iowa City

Evicshen, 4:30pm at Gabe’s

Tapping into the weirder side of the Iowa City music community, Hancher brought in San Francisco based experimental noise artist Victoria Shen. Performing under the name Evicshen for the past eight years, her music uses powerful walls of sound and intense textures that assault your sonic palette. This often is used with extremely creative ways of bending or playing her records, such as comb filtering and folding records with her nails. 
Within her live shows, she combines this extremely well with creative art installations, and the use of weaponry and other eccentric performance antics to create a vibrant visual experience, and assault on the senses. Watching some of the recorded concerts was a beyond fascinating experience, and something I hope a lot of you guys can enjoy. 
Artists like her aren’t interested in growing a large audience, or mass producing their music. They’re interested in performing for a niche crowd who understand their artistic version, and are open to hearing music on the more experimental and macabre side of the isle. If this intrigues you, she’s playing at Gabe’s at 4:30PM, come with ear plugs.

–Tarik Krob

Sharp Pins, 6:00pm at Gabe’s

Sharp Pins, an exciting new voice in the music underground, is a one man band combining elements of classic rock with more modern indie and alternative stylizations. The side project of Kai Slater, lead singer of fellow Chicago band Lifeguard, has been picking up steam in the last few years with some incredibly unique and high quality albums.
His most recent album Balloon Balloon Balloon is a jangly hallucinatory odyssey connected by three different tracks simply labeled Balloon 1-3. Wearing his influences off his back with zero shame, the album takes the trippy, other worldly sounds of psychedelic bands of the 60s like The Beatles and The Zombies with a more stripped back DIY sound, similar to post punk bands like Joy Division and The Velvet Underground. Their previous release Radio DDR has a similar vibe, but with a more varied song lineup and more pop-centered approach to songwriting. If Balloon Balloon Balloon felt like listening to your grandparents old low fidelity radio, then Radio DDR feels like sifting through random singles in their vinyl collection. 
If any of this at all sounds interesting to you, check them out at 6PM at Gabe’s. Start listening before it’s cool to say you’re a fan.

–Tarik Krob

Danez Smith, 6:45pm at the Englert Theatre

On April 4th, queer, non-binary poet and performer Danez Smith will return to Iowa City to perform at The Englert Theatre for the Stop/Time festival. Smith previously led a workshop and hosted the Writers of Color Reading series in 2017, which was also produced by The Englert. Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and later earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan. They’re best known for their poetry collections Boy (2014), Don’t Call Us Dead (2017), and Bluff (2024). Their work has won multiple awards, such as the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, just to name a few. Smith has also performed with rapper Macklemore, back in 2016 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, along with Chicago-based poet Jamila Woods. 
For those interested in attending a poetry reading or specifically in Smith’s poetry, they will also being hosting a reading at Prairie Lights at 3:15 pm that same day. This reading is presented by Stop/Time Festival, but entry at Prairie Lights is free for all.

–Ria Das

The Branford Marsalis Quartet, 7:00pm at the Englert Theatre

The Branford Marsalis Quartet is a jazz band, closer described as a chamber group, headed by American saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Marsalis is a composer and the leader of the band. He has played with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Sting, the Grateful Dead, and Dizzy Gillespie. He has been playing the saxophone in bands and solo since the 1980s. The quartet officially formed in 1986 with members Kenny Kirkland on the piano, Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, and Robert Hurst on bass. Pianist Kenny Kirkland died in the 90’s and was replaced by Joey Calderazzo and Robert Hurst was replaced by Eric Revis on bass. Later Tain left the band and was replaced by Justin Faulkner. On Saturday night they will be featuring their newly released album Belonging, which came out last March. Expect an experimental yet classic jazz sound from this quartet. As Marsalis notes, “it doesn’t really matter where our journey goes, as long as we keep the dance going.”

–Moira Grant

Golomb, 8:00pm at Gabe’s

Golomb is a alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio and are made up of three members, two of which are married (members Mickey and Xenia Shuman). The third member is Xenia’s brother, Hawken Holm who plays drums while Xenia and Mickey sing and play bass and guitar. They have a dream-like/indie sound, leaning into noise and experimental rock. They write their own songs and were formed in 2018. Expect a lively show with folksy-sounding guitar riffs and country elements such as a pedal-steel guitar, especially in the song “Sweet Release (Ain’t No Devil)” but also a loud, lively, and heavy sound from the song “The Beat Goes On.” This band is experimental as well. The lead singer Mickey sounds just like Stephen Malkmus, the lead singer of Pavement. Xenia often does the background vocals and harmonizes excellently with Mickey. Perhaps being unified in marriage also transfers to being unified in sound and music? Find out this Saturday.

–Moira Grant

Tortoise, 9:15pm at The Englert Theatre

The post-rock Chicago legends Tortoise join us in Iowa City to close out The Englert Theatre’s share of events this weekend. This is one of those bands that people on the internet debate about at such a mighty length that this discourse can only be achieved through the means of doctorate dissertations or through Reddit. But at their core, they’re a rock band built from atmosphere. Influenced by electronica, krautrock, and jazz, their music is this kind of eclectic and wondrous mish-mash. It feels a stretch to call it “rock,” the sound is so minimal yet so captivating in how it pulls a listener directly into this world they’re creating. They’re current tour follows the release of Torch, their newest album from last year released after nearly a decade record hiatus, yet still ringing out the same quality as their 1998 landmark TNT album. I’d truly recommend seeing this band, they’ve played such a major part of the post-rock foundation and seeing them at this festival really encapsulates the exact artistry that Stop/Time Festival is creating space for.

–Pauly

Frankie and the Witch Fingers, 10:30pm at Gabe’s

Punk-rock band Frankie and The Witch Fingers performs at Gabe’s for Stop/Time Festival and as part of their tour for their newest album, Trash Classic. The band was originally formed in Indiana by founding member Dylan Sizemore, the band’s vocalist and rhythm guitarist, and later relocated to Los Angeles. Currently, the band consists of Josh Menashe (vocalist, lead guitarist, and synthesizer), Nikki Pickle (bassist), Nick Aguilar (drummer), and Jon Modaff (synths). Frankie and the Witch Fingers evolved from Sizemore’s original solo act into a band, signing to record labels such as Permanent Records, and released their self-titled first album in 2015 with their psych-pop/acid-rock second album Heavy Roller out a year later. The band has since released more albums, with their most recent Trash Classic in 2025, described as plunging, “into a sewer-slick fusion of proto-punk venom, fractured new wave, and industrial grime. Brimming with wiry synths, angular melodies, and grooves that squirm and bite.” If any of that sounds interesting to you, consider attending their show for the chance to rock out with them live!

–Ria Das

There’s plenty more to see at Iowa City’s first Stop/Time Festival this weekend, with a huge spread of incredible local and touring artists, authors, and poets presented by Hancher Auditorium. For more information on further events and to purchase tickets, check the Stop/Time website here.

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Wednesday evening was exactly what I wanted, a rock and roll show. Isbell and his band did not hold back throughout the evening, and without an opener there was no time to blink. Touching on four records with The 400 Unit and all four solo LP’s, this was a career spanning performance for the group. Through Isbell’s first solo hits like “Dress Blues” from 2007’s Sirens of the Ditch through his latest record Foxes in the Snow with the tune “Bury Me,” it all felt as though these musicians had all been playing these tunes for decades.  

This concert was an approachable and engaging performance as someone who has never seen Isbell before, showing me a mix of the entry points I knew, and the deeper cuts that kept fans coming back. The show felt close, as though you were in the same rehearsal space as the band as they discussed the ever-changing setlist on this tour. Iowa City was treated to a heavy dose of Weathervanes with five tracks making an appearance compared to a few nights before in Pittsburgh where they received only 3 in exchange for some more Drive-By Truckers tracks. Isbell recently reunited with the Truckers for a performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after his departure in 2007, and showing even more love as every night on his recent leg covering “Decoration Day.”  Near the end of the set, the icing on this very sweet cake was a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It'” which fit The 400 Unit’s voices nicely, echoing the same force The Wings had when it released in 1973. This was the first time Isbell and The 400 Unit have ever played this live, but it sounded like a classic from the cabinets of their discography.

The casual and laid back approach Isbell and company had is what I loved so much about this gig, as they dabbled in more jam band tendencies than most. Songs with solos lasting upwards of 3 minutes as the musicians on stage traded bars back and forth. Jason Isbell taking plenty of solos for himself, sauntering around the stage with a rotation of a red Fender Telecaster, gold Gibson Les Paul, and a sunburst Gibson ES-335. While these beautiful instruments made the soundtrack to the evening, an circular gold plate caught the attention of most. Multi-instrumentalist WIll Johnson, Isbell’s latest edition to the band, was shadowed by a gong for the show. While jumping between drums, guitar, and whatever else the band needed, the gong remained untouched. That was until the back half of the setlist, when Johnson graced bronze ring to the satisfaction of the crowd and band alike. Isbell went on to calm and hopes that this would be a recurring instrument stating “if you hit the gong more than once, you’re not hitting the gong, you’re playing the gong.” I can’t fight that logic. 

Headlining the 1,800 seat palace was not the only feather in Isbell’s cap during his time in Iowa City as he spoke of his placing third in Tuesday Night Trivia at Joe’s Place. He let out some frustration that bronze was all they got, claiming a few folks may have been googling answerers on competing teams. These are serious allegations leveled to the patrons of Tuesday Night Trivia, but I can confirm there were far too many phones out for a fair competition. Nevertheless, trivia and a headlining gig sounds like a good 48 hours to me. Isbell and his band were electric in Iowa City once again, and I hope its much less than 30 months before we see his return. Jason Isbell is touring throughout the rest of the year, you can find tickets here.  

The post Jason Isbell’s Loud Return to Hancher, and His Bronze Medal in Trivia appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Iowa City Starbucks strike, which began in early December of 2025, ended on December 24 of 2025, making it the longest strike in the store’s history. While the store re-opened its doors following the strike, the workers are still fighting and encouraging consumer participation to ensure Starbucks meets their demands.

“We started a new campaign called Delete the App,” said Scheppmann, offering one way consumers can help support baristas. “So we’re asking people to delete the Starbucks app from their phone.”

By deleting the app, Starbucks customers affect the company’s revenue while not directly harming the workers.

There are plenty of other ways to support the strikes, too. The Starbucks Workers United website— which provides plenty of useful information on the strikes and how to get involved– encourages consumers to sign the “No Contract, No Coffee” pledge and boycott Starbucks until the workers’ demands are met.

Even though the practices causing the strikes remain, Starbucks workers maintain high morale. For one thing, workers know they have been noticed. With hundreds of stores closed for weeks (if not months), Starbucks cannot remain unaware of the situation.

Many of the strikes have also set records. The Iowa City strike lasted three weeks, making it the longest strike in the store’s history. For workers like Scheppmann, this record is a point of pride.

 “It feels good,” Scheppmann said. “My grandpa was a teamster, so he always had a healthy love for striking. I definitely feel that as well.”

And if there is no progress? Then the strikes will continue. But Scheppmann doesn’t worry about that– the community will support the striking baristas no matter what.

“The Union community in Iowa City is always down for a strike, whoever it is,” said Schepmann. “They’re always ready to support someone exercising their rights.”

The post Iowa City Starbucks Keeps Fighting Back with Open Doors appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Collaborating with University of Iowa’s Scope Productions, The Englert Theater brought Lip Critic back to Iowa City as a part of their Track Zero series. With the band’s unique and unconventional blend of various music styles and this being their second visit to the world city, it’s no surprise that they’ve quickly gained the cult following of punks, raver’s, alt kids, hip hop heads and music lovers alike all across Iowa. Joined by local powerviolence act Recess and punk rockers Ascended Master, it was bound to be a great show.  

Recess was the first opener and started the night off with some incredible energy. Lead singer Sir Anne Wrappe has dipped their toes in several forms of performance art including drag and burlesque acts which makes them a very unique but exciting hardcore front-man. This juxtaposes perfectly with Powerviolence’s usual style of fast paced, aggressive guitar solos and murky, sludgy bass riffs to make Recess really stand out amongst a sea of copy-cat metal bands. Another highlight of their performances for me was their undeniable chemistry as a group, from the consistent swap of vocalists to the way the drum fills compliment the guitarists, you can tell this is a group of highly skilled and experienced musicians. Excellent set and I can’t wait to see more from Recess, they don’t have any released music so make sure to check out a show from these rising stars in the Iowa City music scene!

Next up was Ascended Master, the “unc band” of the lineup. Due to how strong their performance was, I was surprised to find out that they’ve only been playing shows for the past few months, but it made more sense knowing how stacked the group was with music scene veterans. Namely their lead singer Oliver Weilein of City Council and BOOTCAMP fame. At one point in between songs he went around the crowd asking people what they would want to change about Iowa City and actually listening to their responses. It’s really great to see a local musician who’s so dedicated to uplifting their own community and just goes on to show why Oliver is such a local legend.

Even speaking exclusively about music, the set was such a blast, just punk bangers back to back with such a keen understanding of performance and crowd control. I think my favorite was a cover of Descendents iconic song Hope, with some really fun mic grabs and crowd pile ons throughout the track. Unfortunately they have no social media, so make sure to continue looking out for them popping up on some local flyers!

The simplest and most accurate way to describe Lip Critic’s music is experimental. The eccentric four man multi instrumentalist group combines elements of rock, hip hop, punk, electronic, and industrial music to make these incredibly produced tracks that are equally aggressive as they are danceable. This was reflected perfectly within this show’s moshpit which ebb and flowed between rave style dances and more traditional push pit moshing. 

You can’t help but shake ass to the grooveable rhythms of Toxin Dodger, thrash your head to The Heart and sing your lungs out to the choruses of Milky Max and In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God). And none of this would be possible without the band’s incredible stage presence. Their lead singer Bret Kaser is an absolute maniac who will do anything to bring up the crowd’s energy whether that’s running into the pit, bringing people on stage or screaming random things between sets. With such high energy performers it’s hard to not reciprocate that energy and want to move with them, which I believe everyone in the audience (me included) felt for the whole set. If you want to hear more about specific tracks, check out my review of their latest album Hex Dealer. If you love what you hear, definitely anticipate the group’s upcoming album Theft World, out on April 30th. But for now, thank you Lip Critic, for an amazing performance.

While not available for a full interview after the show, I did get the really great opportunity to have a conversation with the lead singer at the merch booth and here’s some of what he had to say.

Tarik: Hey thanks for a great set, really loved it.

Bret: Thank you man, thanks for the energy.

Tarik: Did you actually meet your wife in Iowa? (Referring to earlier in the show when he shouted between songs that he met his wife at Gabe’s)

Bret: Nah I don’t even have a wife.

Tarik: Wait what, why’d you say that then?

Bret: I don’t know, I just thought it’d make people excited.

Tarik: Do you always make up stuff like that during shows?

Bret: Yeah, just something funny that gets people going.

Tarik: I was gonna say, cause I think last time you were here you said you were going through a divorce.

Bret: Haha yeah, did you come to our show here with White Reaper?

Tarik: Yeah no it was so fun. I didn’t know who y’all were before the concert, and I came and you guys put on such a great show I had to come see you guys again.

Bret: Do a lot of people around here just kinda like coming to shows, even if they don’t know the artists?

Tarik: Yeah, a good amount of people, we got a pretty solid music scene.

Bret: Yeah that’s sick man, we really didn’t know Iowa City was like that before our first show here, but we were really sleeping on it, you guys go crazy.

Tarik: Thanks, y’all should come back.

Bret: Yeah, we definitely will next tour.

Tarik: When’s that gonna be?

Bret: Probably around fall after we release our new album. This was kind of just a mini tour to test out new songs live and create some hype around the album.

Tarik: Well I’ll definitely show up man, see y’all next time.

Bret: Yeah thank you!

And this conversation is where I found my story. I thought back on October 4th my first time seeing Lip Critic, and what I initially thought was gonna be an average night out with some fun music, but what turned into one of my favorite live music experiences and a newfound love for an extremely talented emerging group. All resulting from me just choosing to take a chance on seeing a lineup of bands I knew next to nothing of. Like Bret stated “People here just kind of like coming to shows, even if they don’t know the artists.” Similar to how Lip Critic took a chance on playing in Iowa City for the first time and now it’s becoming a tour staple for them.

I talk to music fans on a daily basis, many of which you would almost never catch at a local show. Usually saying something along the lines of “Well how do I know if I’ll like it if I don’t know the artists?” Well my question is what if you DO love it? It’s a common trend to see online music lovers post performances from their favorite artists at the dawn of their career. Playing to small crowds at local restaurants, venues and basements. A far cry from their later critical acclaim and global success. You’ll see these comments flooded with people talking about how much they wish they could’ve been there to see these amazing acts for cheap in such an intimate environment. Well what’s stopping you from doing that now? Every city is flooded with performances from talented, hungry young artists looking to make something special and one of them might just be a new favorite of yours. I found that with Lip Critic, and you can too.

The post Concert Review: Lip Critic, Ascended Master, Recess, and why you should go to local shows. February 19th at Gabe’s. appeared first on KRUI Radio.

My day started at North Hall, where me and two other students, Julia and Sierra, were primed for some university transport, provided by MSW Program Director Stephen Cummings and Assistant Professor Aynsley Scheffert. We depart at 8:20, and Julia, Sierra and I get cracking about our plans for the future. Aynsley was loading us with information on her life trajectory and tips for work after graduating as a social worker, and Stephen gave me the lowdown on his experience teaching overseas.

It was 10:20 when we arrived at the Iowa State Historical Society building, or museum, really. The hanging biplanes and enormous mammoth skeleton made it seem that way. The place is packed with students, some I recognized and most I did not. A desk is set for us to check-in, and as we go through we are set up with nametags. There I find Rigby, a good friend I’ve had a couple classes with.

After a half-hour wait and a good deal of chit-chat, we are all ushered into a big lecture room. The smell could only be described as a used litterbox. Many struggle to hold their laughter, especially me, as a speaker tries to pull up their email, with increasingly less success. It’s kind of sad that in a room full of social workers, no one gets up on stage to help, but it was too funny. At one point the app-store was pulled up… Anyways, Dana Wickwire Cheek takes the stage, the Northeast Branch Chair for NASW Iowa, alongside Peggy Trosper, the Southeast Branch Chair, and Denise Rathman, the Executive Director for both the NASW Iowa and NASW Kansas Chapters. We get a good lecture on proper communication with legislators, which in the way they described it seems more like gambling than fruitful communication.

Here comes Ross Wilburn, a social work alumni of the University of Iowa and House Representative for the Story County District, alongside Johnson County Representative Adam Zabner. They’re here to answer questions, and oh boy are there a lot of them. I question Zabner about the progress of Senate File 2293 regarding the abolishment of the Iowa City Historical Society Building, asking “Where are the court proceedings and decisions at, and when can we expect the day for voting,” and though he gives a very descriptive assessment of the bill and what his future plans are, I don’t actually get a direct answer to my question. Should have been an easy one, considering Zabner is on the board supporting the continued funding of the Iowa City location.

I make it out of the lecture hall with a mild headache, courtesy of the litterbox smell, and grab my lunch. From there we set off to the capitol.

Iowa’s capitol is a great reason to be proud of our state. It’s consistently voted the most beautiful state capitol building in the states, and for good reason. Its massive golden dome is reason enough, but getting inside reveals its true beauty. Giant pillars made of scagliola stretch towards the ceiling, with capitals decorated by golden white oak leaves. Enormous murals depict settlers making their way into the west, religious imagery, native plants, and esoteric symbols, such as the roman god Mercury. Inside the senate chamber are four enormous chandeliers, each highly geometrical yet still so intricate I find them hard to describe. The ceiling is covered in more murals depicting flowers and leaves, with a stained glass window at the center.

By 1:15, we’ve made our way into the Senate chamber to watch the debate. We find
good spots in the gallery, and wait for the debate to begin. Senate files 2263 and 2280 are first up for debate. One senator uses hypothetical scenarios to defend his point, which becomes a theme for this senator. This is evident in the next file, which is refuted by another senator with concrete questioning and reasoning, making a very good case against the bill, but then our first senator stands up and goes on a rampage. He’s smacking his desk and practically screaming. I get so annoyed I decide it better to go explore the capitol.

I find the capitol library, a breathtaking space with books going up four floors flanking the walls. Aynsley finds me there and encourages me to write a message to a senator, but I just want to get up another floor, so I find a spiral staircase and ask two girls taking, suggestive pictures, and ask if I can go up. I’m good to go, so I walk through a gate I don’t notice and make my way around the first floor. I notice that I have to pass through an office to continue, until I find a woman in the second office. She immediately chastizes me and escorts me down, along with the two girls.

I figure it’s a sign to fill out a message, but I’ve forgotten my clipboard with all my notes in the senate gallery. I pull out the fastest speedwalk I can manage and make the confusing there and back. I address mine to the senator with the concrete argument. I wait and wait, but I am not offered the chance to go speak with him, cut short possibly by my previous effort to retrieve the clipboard and more probably by the picture scheduled on the main staircase at 3:00.

Just like that, the day is over. We file back into the van and I have a good nap on the way back, reflecting on how amazed I was at the capitol building, and conversely disappointed with the conduct of the senate chamber.

The post First Person POV of NASW “Legislative Day on the Hill,” February 24, 2026 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Video Game: Dispatch

I have a lot to say about Dispatch but for conciseness’s sake and honest niceties, I’ll be frank. I didn’t think much about this game from the getgo when my manager at work started barking funny little references I didn’t understand, but when I went home, I caved and found something pretty nice. While there are a lot of narrative options I heavily disagree with, that’s the point of the game. Adopting the developers from Telltale Games, AdHoc Studios put together similar “choose your own adventure” elements in this superhero story from titles like The Wolf Among Us and Batman: the Telltale Series. What was put together, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful games to release in the last few years. The art direction is gorgeous and has this great comic book feel that most Telltale titles share, but Dispatch is so bright and colorful and lively like vintage superheroes. There are so many layers to the game and its characters that replaying even with roughly 12 hours worth of content feels new and fresh down to the third or fourth route.

Going online and seeing feedback on this game doesn’t do it justice, because the only way people know how to talk about Dispatch is by saying it isn’t dark enough to be profound like the inverted superhero tropes of Invincible or The Boys. But not everything needs to be dark and scary to have an impact on people. The speculative fiction aspect of Dispatch is meant more to reflect the everyman playing the game rather than be a massive political commentary. The characters act like your average coworkers, and the protagonist, Robert Robertson III (yes, that is seriously what they called him), is just some guy in his early thirties going through a transitional period in his life as he is essentially disabled out of being a superhero. There’s a lot of themes of grief, moving on, and finding peace through either contentment, or malice and revenge. Overall, a beautiful experience, would recommend playing it not only once, but a few times just to surprise yourself by making the “wrong” choices.

-Lee Nienhaus

TV Series: Peacemaker, Season 2

Peacemaker season two released at the tail end of the year, and was a sensation that built off the first season in amazing ways. They developed characters, expanded the DC Universe, and allowed for characters to take on heavy issues while still keeping that comedic element to the show. They pick up after the events of season one, with many members of the 11th Street Kids looking for new work, and trying to discover themselves in their professional and personal lives. The show faces various issues head-on, including themes of belonging, guilt, privilege, forgiveness, and grief. This show is set apart from other superhero media with how it handles its characters. They show honest growth throughout the series, with the start of this season focusing on Harcourt’s growth following the death of her ex, Chris’ dedication to become a ‘real’ hero, and Adebayo’s dedication to be taken seriously in her new job. Overall, the season is done well, with key comedic action and emotions always the centering point of the show. The one critique for the show held by many, is that the ending is seen as anti-climactic and boring. I personally disagree with this. I see the ending as a way to set up the future of the DC universe, and was a great way to wrap up the series.

-Will Clair

DJ Set: HOOCHIE MAMA MIX OF GHETTOTECH JUNGLE BALTIMORE CLUB JERSEY CLUB MIAMI BASS by girlypop princess

Ever had a bad day? I’ve got something to make sure you don’t have any more of those. 

In the year of our lord 2025, following the path set for me by many a screwtape, not to mention a growing fascination with DJ Kicks, Elevator Music, and NTS, DJ Sets occupied a considerable slice of my overall music listening. The internet is truly a wonder in running across such things, the vast expanses of SoundCloud proving my personal favorite- the depths from which this particular gem fell into my possession. An hour of lush, blissful ghettotech to keep your head high and your booty bouncing. I mean, really, what more could one ask? My favorite stretch goes around the 23-minute mark, featuring an absolutely electric jungle remix of Ciara’s Get Up that had me… well, getting up. A wise man once said, “The DJ got us fallin’ in love again,” and I live by that. In 2026, may a DJ help you fall in love again. Thank you, girlypop princess.

-Evan Raefield

Movie: Sinners

Released in April of 2025, Sinners took the film industry by storm, impressing both critics and audiences alike, rated with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. And its reputation precedes itself. The movie is a vampire tale, blending southern gothic horror, drama and musical elements. It explores themes of racial oppression, ancestry, colonization, culture assimilation and spirituality. The film follows main character, Sammie as he abandons his duties as the preacher’s son and runs off to join his cousins, the Smokestack Twins, who want to open a juke joint of their very own. The twins are war veterans and gangsters who return to Mississippi in the hopes of giving back to their community. 

“Stack”, also known as Elias, is the approachable and outgoing brother, often depicted in red. Elijah, whose nickname is “Smoke”, is the serious and cynical brother, dressed in shades of blue. Together, they purchase a venue, gather materials and recruit musicians, cooks and dancers. During the opening night however, Sammie’s musical talent, which is so powerful it can transcend time and connect ancestors, attracts the attention of bloodsucking vampires who seek to harness that power. Therefore, the main characters must come up with a plan to survive the night or die at the hands of the supernatural evil that needs nothing but an invite to ruin their lives. 

Coogler really nails this film as both a horror and a well-developed drama: the characters are realistic and complex, the premise is simple yet effective, the vampire folklore is handled with expertise, and the cinematography is gorgeous. A standout moment in the film is when Sammie’s performance invokes different generations of musicians/performers, and as they join the fun, the screen extends beyond the standard widescreen and envelops the entire picture. It marks the transition to the second half of the movie and raises the stakes and horror elements without us even noticing it. Additionally, Sinner’s casting was exceptional, with the actors all giving award-worthy performances. Overall, it’s a beautifully crafted vampiric horror movie that is absolutely worth the watch.

-Clara Carrion

Video Game: No, I’m Not a Human

This year, I seem to have become the de facto video game journalist for the KRUI website. If you know me at all, you know I’m woefully unqualified for the position. I have no reputation as a gamer, having only started getting into gaming this year, and I’ve only played a measly few games that I got for free on Steam. In fact, my favorite game of the year, Trioskaz’s No, I’m Not A Human, is one I haven’t even played myself. I’ve only seen it played, over and over, by various streamers.

For those not familiar, No, I’m Not A Human centers around a dreary apocalypse: the sun is moving closer to the Earth, making daytime unbearably hot. Simultaneously, strange beings dressed in human skin (called Visitors) are emerging from the ground, trying to gain entry into people’s homes and murdering anyone they find alone. You just so happen to live alone. So, against your better judgement, you start accepting people in off the street who are searching for shelter from the sun. Except some of those people might not be people. So now you’re an investigator, trying to determine whether the people you let in at night are actually human or an alien Visitor in disguise. This is the main mechanic of the game, listening to your companions’ stories and checking them for signs that they might be Visitors. But the information you’re getting about what makes someone a Visitor is shaky at best. Visitors allegedly have red eyes, dirty fingernails, and perfectly straight teeth. But what if a human spent the night crying? What if a Visitor washed their hands? What if a human recently went to the dentist? There’s no foolproof way to tell if someone’s a Visitor, meaning you’re often forced to convict without enough evidence. Either that, or you let more innocents die.

The game’s art style and writing only heightens the tension of its premise. It’s tempting to decide who to let in based on looks alone, or maybe their general attitude. But, in this game, everyone who approaches your door, Visitor or human, looks uncanny. Not even humans look human, meaning your gut instincts on who to trust will often lead you astray. It’s hard to tell who’s honestly being nice and who’s faking it; every character has unique and well-written quirks, regardless of whether they’re human or Visitor.
When creating any piece of media, it’s hard to make your audience feel the specific emotion that you want them to feel. But I and every other person who has played or watched this game knows exactly the strain of paranoia that No, I’m Not A Human depicts so well. This is a game that will make you question everything. It will give you a piece of information, then immediately contradict it. It will introduce you to a sweet, lovable character, then force you to shoot them in the face before they kill again. In times of true unprecedented crisis, the only choices you can really make are shots in the dark. But who are the stray bullets going to hit?

Can you deal with the consequences?

-Bailey Vergara

World Cup Qualifier Match: Hungary v. Ireland, Nov. 16th

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is taking place across 16 cities in North America this upcoming summer, and boy am I excited. One of the final rounds of qualifiers for the UEFA (European) teams occurred this past November, where 12 nations have fully qualified, 26 have been eliminated, and 16 will continue to the vicious UEFA playoffs in March to compete for the 4 final available slots. Hungary hosted the final match for both Hungary and Ireland on November 16, 2025, neither team able to fully qualify, but both contending here for the playoffs. Hungary needed only a draw to move on, while Ireland needed a win.

At just 3 minutes, Hungary scored the first goal to set their immediate daunting lead. The match continued scrappy from that point on, high energy and desperation from both teams charging their playing. Neither country is favored to make it into The World Cup, with Ireland’s most recent appearance in 2002, and Hungary’s in 1986. This time around, both teams have strong players carrying national hopes on each side, Ireland’s hero with two goals against Portugal just three days prior, Troy Parrot, and Hungary’s captain the Liverpool star, Dominik Szoboszlai. The qualifiers are an incredible series of matches to see these fierce teams as they scrap it out, and play with a kind of energy and madness that really makes the game special. It’s not a clean or perfect match from either team, but that kind of toe-to-toe brawl into a last minute, game-deciding hattrick goal is the pure vision of drama that’s special to The World Cup.

Ireland will continue to the playoffs after the unbelievable last minute score from Troy Parrot crushed Hungarian dreams 2-3. They will face The Czech Republic on March 26, 2026. If they win, Ireland will need to beat Denmark or North Macedonia during the playoff final to finally advance to The World Cup

-Pauly

The post KRUI Staff Picks our Favorite Media of 2025 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Addison Rae, ‘Addison’

There was no other album I was more excited to make fun of this year than Addison Rae’s self-titled Addison. Yet, despite all odds and precedents, the TikTok-star-turned-singer-songwriter has deservedly etched a space for herself in the pop star landscape despite following one of the most pivotal years in the genre. In an interview on the Popcast podcast, Rae quotes, “taste is a luxury,” in reference to her own tastes in music and fashion. She credits her success on TikTok and her public as the reason she is now able to pursue her more genuine interest in music. This philosophy becomes very evident within the first few seconds on the album, with the song, New York. A familiar, yet unconventional, pop track opens with a rapid electronic pan and escalates to a breathy Max-Martin-esque dance beat that screams 2000s Britney. It feels nostalgic, yet new. The album is immediately rewarding, offering a fun and campy surface appeal on tracks like Money is Everything and High Fashion. Yet, the listener is often gifted with deeper lyrical focus on songs such as Times Like These and Headphones On. With an entirely female produced record, Addison feels in complete control of the feminine sexuality that underlies the album, reminiscent of her fellow recent breakthrough superstars like Sabrina, Chappell, and Charli XCX. Addison is an incredibly impressive debut project that makes me very excited for her career, and the future of pop music.

-Becca Warfield

Don’t Tap the Glass – Tyler the Creator

DON’T TAP THE GLASS by Tyler, The Creator is a shorter album, running just 29 minutes throughout its ten tracks. Released on July 21, just less than 9 months after the release of his last album, this
album is an outlier in his discography. Tyler’s known for his writing style which (lately) tends to be more
confessional and narrates the personal themes in his life. Instead, this album was written purely to make people move. When he released the album, he was open about this switch and told fans “yall better get them expectations and hopes down this aint no concept nothing” on Twitter. This tweet severely downplayed how strong this album stands out in his discography. While nothing conceptually profound, the album is one of his most upbeat and engaging. Every song builds off of the energy from the one before. Some standout tracks include Sugar on My Tongue, Big Poe, and Ring Ring Ring, which all experienced a lot of hype online. My own personal favorite is Sucka Free. Overall, this album is definitely worth a listen, especially if you need something carefree and upbeat, or just want a good beat to dance to.

-Will Clair

Ethel Cain, ‘Perverts’

Ever since its release back in January, Ethel Cain’s new project Perverts entranced me. This EP represents a drastic tonal and thematic departure from Cain’s debut album, Preachers Daughter, which built a southern gothic narrative from a mix of folk, slowcore, and elements of dream pop. This time around, Ethel Cain completely switched gears and opted for a dark ambient project composed of drone music, unsettling sounds, a near complete lack of lyrics, and a oppressively haunting atmosphere. With Perverts, we are taken on a journey of transcendence to explore the different manifestations of perversion in all its forms. From the opening title track, we are immediately thrust into this world Cain experiences, which transports us to decrepit basements, vast stretches of woods, industrial power plants, and this esoteric divine theatre. 

Songs explore twisted depictions of desire, with kick drums, delicate piano and fragile vocals in Punish, and the terrifying howling over continuous murmurings of “i love you’s” in Housofpsychoticwomn. The album touches on the perversions of pleasure with my personal favorite, Onanist, creating its perversion with whispers, powerful bass, and building crescendos. The rest of the soundscape is a combination of heavy instrumentals, drones, distorted vocals, drums, lap steels and the hurdy-gurdy as Ethel Cain represents lustful experiences in Vascillator, proximity and abandonment from God in Thatorchia, and self-destructive within Amber Waves.

In just nine songs, she explores themes of guilt, shame, eroticism, resentment, faith, transcendence and corruption of self, with a soundscape akin to a horror movie soundtrack. It is best challenging for a casual listener, and at worst downright terrifying to anyone curious enough to peek into her veil. But I would be remiss if I didn’t insist that this project is worth the listen, if only to experience the journey of sonic transcendence Ethel Cain drags us through within her perversions.

-Clara Carrion

Westside Gunn, ’12’

Westside had a big year in 2025 with 3 full-length albums, 2 EPs, and multiple singles, including crossovers with JID, Cookin’ Soul, Karriem Riggins, and Doechii, who just received the Grammy for Best Rap Album of the Year last February. 12 is the newest installment of Westside Gunn’s long-running Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series, which feels less like a batch of individual songs and more like a cohesive project than any Griselda releases this decade.  Amidst all the deluge of content from the Griselda label this year, 12 went under the radar and underappreciated, even by fans. While the album doesn’t experiment or break new ground sonically, it’s my favorite this year merely for the penmanship and lyrical delivery from all parties involved. 

The best RYM review I’ve ever seen noted, “Westside Gunn is the moment hip-hop goes post-hip-hop—transforming the MC into an echo, the beat into a museum piece, and the genre’s symbols (luxury, violence, nostalgia) into looped artifacts”. Almost nowhere is that more clear than on tracks like Vert and Bury Me with a Stove, where the essential hip-hop drums are replaced with droning ad-libs and grainy phonographic samples: Creating Giselle’s trademark haunting and lavish atmosphere. The tracklist, however, diversifies, with the gritty hardcore boom bap posse cut that is Boswell and Tom Sos’s featherlight voice and rhymes on tracks like Gumbo Yaya and Health Sciences offering a ray of light in 12’s nocturnal atmosphere.

Though technically under the name Westside Gunn, spiritually, this is Stove God Cooks’ masterpiece. He features on almost the entire first leg of the tracklist and steals the show in the album’s drumless outro, Dump World. StoveGod sounds more at home on an altar than in the studio, bringing unflinchingly egotistical lyrics and drumless gospel hymns to create a liturgy of the self, demanding the listener bend the knee and pray. Bars like “The Virgil Rug say rug, the plug name in my phone say plug” or “YOU EVER COOK HALF A BRICK IN DA AIR FRYER”  puts the entire Western literary canon to shame. Stove God features on this project more than any other Westside release. So if you’re looking for the most lavish bars in hip hop today, this project is for you.

-Amman Hassan

PinkPantheress, ‘Fancy That?’

It’s a Pink sweep. This music video for Stateside was shot outside a JCPenny, and really I think that’s all you need to know to truly get what this album’s all about. Music and fashion trends have been dominated by this idea of “Y2K” for the past few years, what initially began as unique and inspired 2000s throwbacks quickly turned into force-fed slop and algorithmic nostalgia regurgitated back at us from every corner Tiktok could touch. This year–praise god!–we’ve maybe started resisting crap in a low-rise bow, and with projects like Addison, Essex Honey, and cheetah print, we’re finally seeing a rise of Y2K nostalgia that is not only hopes to remind, but to inspire.

I hate to laud a southern, but anyone who can flaunt ultra-high rise capris is committed to this Y2K shit. It might as well be 2006 for PinkPantheress as she’s tapping into her U.K. jungle and D&B roots right from the opening beats of Fancy That’s first track, Illegal, with a complete embrace of a nostalgia that doesn’t stale or pull superficial. From Tonight to Romeo, this is neither her most emotional nor ambitious release, but I’d say it’s by far her most stylistically unique and coherent project by far. With this mixtape, Pink’s solidified her image. She’s drawing influences from around the world into her Brit tartan aesthetics, and creates tracks out of it that are so fresh & fit, it’s actually a no-skip record. Whether I was fucking about in Scandinavia or stateside, Fancy That? has been my dearest friend this year. This mixtape is sweet, sexy, and just pure fun with a bassline, it’s everything that this vague memory of an animal-printed and velour-clad 2000s embodies. Nostalgia is a tool, and Pink wields it with her iron-plaid fist. like what!?

-Pauly

Sudan Archives, ‘The BPM’

“An artist’s foray into a “Gadget Girl” persona in the year 2025 may verge on cliche and could even be banal, but with Sudan Archives it just feels so right. Following the acclaimed 2022 album Natural Brown Prom Queen, on this new record, The BPM, Sudan Archives leans even heavier into the (dare I say) archive of dance beats she intricately weaves together to explore the relationship amongst technology, body, and identity. With fifteen songs and clocking in at just under an hour, the album never feels bloated or rushed. The songs, which pull on club beats inspired by Midwest cities like Chicago and Detroit, flow from one to the other to explore Gadget Girl’s sci-fi persona and life. “MY TYPE” is a notable standout, with a racing beat, quick lyrics, and a chorus that is an instant club classic. On the album opener “DEAD” she sings: “Where my old self at? / Where my new self at? / Where my light side at? / Where my dark side at?” with a chorus of “right here, right here” reassuring herself after every line. Gadget Girl can go everywhere and be everything, as she sings on “A BUG’S LIFE,” another album standout, “’cause she never looks back / and she can’t go home.” With Sudan Archives and The BPM, I don’t think we even want to anymore.”

-Corrine

Frost Children, ‘SISTER’

SISTER, the latest Frost Children album, was released on September 12th of this year, which perfectly blends genres to create a timeless electronic-hyperpop-indiepop-EDM album that will be played for years to come. The two siblings, Lulu and Angel Prost, began making music together in 2020, leading them to release 5 albums from 2020-2023. After a 2 year break, they returned and released what is, in my opinion, their best album yet.

SISTER builds upon the electro-punk and indie-sleaze style of hyperpop they employed in the albums SPEED RUN and Hearth Room, but turn the EDM knob up slightly. This gives the album an inherently nostalgic quality that I haven’t heard from a new release ever in recent memory. They perfectly encapsulate the energy of 2010s pop hits but build upon them with their already established abrasive style of hyperpop, to not only draw from the past but to innovate a new style of electronic music all together. Songs like Falling and Position Famous perfectly illustrate this push and pull – they sound at points deeply nostalgic and also very innovative, creating for a sound I haven’t heard before and a mix of genres that I’m sure will influence the next wave of electronic music for years to come.

-Chase

MIKE, ‘Showbiz!’

I, like many others, was introduced to MIKE by his long term friend, collaborator and fellow abstract hip hop artist Earl Sweatshirt. Mainly from a line off his 2018 single The Mint, “I was in the kitchen with that nigga Mike”. Curious, I decided to check out his 2019 album tears of joy, and since then I’ve gotten to experience one of the best and most unique modern hip hop discographies unravel with Showbiz! being no exception. 

With 24 tracks, you’d think MIKE’s signature laid back, monotone delivery would get repetitive or boring but far from it. Combined with the sample heavy jazz & soul inspired production it creates a very relaxed, meditative feeling to the album that makes it feel more dream-like than sleepy. His lyrical ability has also never been sharper with tracks such as Lucky and When it Rains featuring bar after bar of creative and well delivered lyrics. 

But what really holds this album together and makes it my favorite release of the year is its common thread of family, reflection of one’s past and the path ahead of him. On one of its standout tracks What U Boutta Do?/A Star was Born he professes “I’m the living proof, I’m my parent’s child. Put you in my shoes, it’s a scary route”. Since a lot of MIKE’s work revolves around mental health and personal struggles, seeing him be able to so honestly reflect on some of what’s led to these issues discussed on other tracks is very fascinating. On the albums most popular track man in the mirror it begins with a sample of a man discussing the pressure of his job and how “showing off” has almost become a requirement, but also a huge cause of pain in his life. As MIKE has continued to see growth and recognition it’s fascinating to see how this has affected his perception of himself and “the man in the mirror”.

With such a consistent album that I’ve been replaying since its release I’m excited to see where the career of one of hip hop’s best working rappers is gonna continue to lead us toward. And if it’s to more amazing albums like this one. Then I’m pretty happy with the trajectory.

-Tarik Krob

Kevin Atwater, ‘Achilles’

Once again, Kevin Atwater manages to break my heart yet simultaneously make me sing along. His first album, Achilles managed to be in my constant rotation year round. Despite his soft voice, Atwater with each song, manages to illustrate his emotions so impactfully. Atwater has been hurt before and much of that gets channeled in crushing lyrics that paired with intense instrumentals. That’s what I like about Atwater and this album. It wears its heart on a sleeve and inspires a sort of connection with Atwater in a sense. Atwater bares his soul for the album and as a listener I feel appreciative he’s willing to share it all with me. Most of songs come from Atwater’s personal experiences and it’s clear that he’s laying all his cards on the table. I don’t just admire that Atwater’s is willing to get vulnerable, it’s also that I think he’s able to tell the stories in these songs quite beautifully. That’s what got me to got me to come back to this album numerous times this year. Some of my favorite tracks of this album include “Jamie’s Daydreams” and “the cage”, as they show Atwater at his angriest and hurt. Even though Atwater never raises his voice in either song, his anger is palpable and visceral through lyrics that pack a punch. achilles has showed me that Kevin Atwater is still manages capitivate me with his stellar songwriting and has me excited to see what he has in store for the future.

-Ria Das

the side peices (heavensouls x stickerbrush), ‘darkskin n****s with lightskin problems’

Prolific avant-rap producer-mcs stickerbrush and heavensouls more than eke out a place for themselves within an ever-expanding universe of deepweb art. Teaming up for a second time after their initial inverted skintone collaboration, 2024’s lightskin n****s with darkskin problems, 2025 sees the two solidifying their artistic connection in a fragmented and frenetic auditory experience often as multifaceted as everyday life in 2025 feels, an unpredictable world of extremes, liable at any moment to turn on a dime to a polar opposite. Expansive, enveloping sound collages initially cloying in their sweetness give way to harsh staticky bursts, overlapping vocal shards and textures swirling- one moment cacophonous, the next, breathtaking. Any artist that can transition from a verse about zero star yelp reviews to one of the best Jersey Club beats I’ve heard all year surely has a grasp of what exactly they are doing.

While both artists are by no means household names, the sheer quality of this project has caused a slow but steady expansion of their profiles throughout the year, setting the stage for their anticipated third project dropping next year.

-Evan Raefield

Sam Fender, ‘People Watching’

For 2,603 minutes this past year, I was listening to Sam Fender. In November of last year Fender announced his third studio album “People Watching” would be released on February 21st and the anticipation only built until then. Some singles to try and calm the excitement only led to the expansion of this desire to hear the whole thing. The record opens with the title track, my 13th most listened to song this year, and for good reason. Its bright instrumentation, a collection of acoustic and electric guitars brought along with a dancing bassline and much more, welcome you into this reflective and beautiful record.

One of Fender’s greatest skills is making you feel like you’re next to him at a pub talking. These songs trace all the things that have made him who he is to their origin. A disruption of faith on “Little Bit Closer” is written as a confession of confusion from a man who is lost in his relationship with god, or whatever else is up there. It’s not often a younger artist, 31, can be so honest about his worries about death and what will happen to him and his loved ones when that day arrives. A plea for not even an answer, but guidance, placed along with an outro that rivals any contemporaries is something that will rattle around the ears after a listen.

“Arms’ Length” is another favorite of mine, with a riff that made me find the nearest guitar and play along. Fender’s voice is an instrument in and of itself. His tenor range cuts like a silver bullet through his guitars, with a sturdiness that anchors each tune to the stories he is so good at telling. “Rein Me In” has gotten a lot of attention recently too with Fender inviting fellow rising star Olivia Dean along for the tune. “Something Heavy” is another honest reflection on the loss of friends, even if they are still alive. It drips in heartbreak for those who’ve fallen to substances and is an extension of the hand to those trying to make it out the other end. This album is a no skip for me, but these songs in particular have etched their way into my mind.

Fender rightfully so has a stranglehold across the pond, selling out three nights at St. James Park in Newcastle this past June. These annual homecoming gigs in Newcastle keep getting bigger and bigger, and rightfully so. His live shows are an explosion of joy and vulnerability. I had the privilege of seeing him in a much more intimate setting than those in England at The Aragon Ballroom in September. Hitting six songs off “People Watching”, Sam and his band have written their names on this historic venue. Accompanied by a stellar live band that brought my favorite record of the year to life, the closing tune of “Hypersonic Missiles” left me hugging my brother and strangers alike. There was a communal feeling in that room, knowing this was the smallest venue we will ever see Fender in as his conquering of the States will require a much larger space the next time he comes our way.

“People Watching” has not left the rotation and will not any time soon. An open book with a golden voice, Sam Fender is here to stay.

-Logan Melia

Thanks for rocking with college radio in 2025, stick with us here at KRUI in lovely 2026 and beyond<3.

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