WRUV Reviews

Coolzey hails from the Midwest, Dallas Center, Iowa to be exact, where he grew across the street from a cornfield.  Growing up he listened to old school hip hop and later  in the 90s started out as a MC and producer for the Midwest hip hop collective The Sucka MCs.  As a solo artist he’s toured with Brother Ali, Zion I, Pidgeon John and others. The Honey features guest Sadat X, Raashan Ahmad, Copywrite and William Elliot Whitmore.  RIYL: Beck, Atmosphere, Def Jux artists

Dessa is a female MC/spoken word artist out of the Minnapolis, MN.  She has earned praise for her range as an excellent storyteller, fierce MC, and singer with an expressive voice.  Her lyrics are thought provoking and stay with you for a while.   This is my favorite quote about her “Dessa, the only female artist in Doomtree, has the soul of Lauryn Hill and packs prose like Jack Kerouac.”   This is not a typical hip hop release and can easily be embraced by those who like to mix a variety of music styles.

An impressive debut release by local folk/experiemental-rock Burlington band The Crack Up. Filled with emotional, poetic lyrics with Jeff Tweedy-esque vocals. Songs are really elevated by chaotic guitar riffs & drums. Highly recommended!

Play: 1,4*,2,9

FCC: 6,8

http://thecrackup.bandcamp.com/

pretty solid indie rock from Swedish songsters…

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fantastic indie folk!! (more…)

“In Evening Air” is the debut album of the Baltimore-based trio Future Islands. Future Islands is no normal trio basing off of unique, dark soulman vocals, programmed drum patterns and synthesizer, and Bass. Well developed both lyrically and instrumentally, the album hits an emotional pulse as the deep Bowie sounding vocals interject the epic soundscape. A Very consistent and well put together album.

FCC Clean

Check: 3,8 Album in Full

RIYL: David Bowie/Arcade Fire

4/5

The Reluctant Graveyard is a clever and catchy death themed album created by Jeremy Messersmith.  Each song is a story that contributes to the album as a whole.  Messersmith’s vocals and vocal layers are smooth, relaxing and beautiful.  Messersmith’s lyrics are well written, creative, and thoroughly entertaining.  The string arrangements in the majority of the songs are subtle, yet powerful, and evoke an Andrew Bird style melody.  The Reluctant Graveyard has a distinct Beatles sound, but with a much more folk feel, like Cat Stevens.  Messersmith’s influences are pleasantly present in his music, and he also has developed his own, unique, fantastic style.  The album picks up the pace a bit with the song ‘Violet!’ but slows down with the soft melodies of the songs ‘A Girl, A Boy and a Graveyard’ and ‘Repo Man’. ‘Toussaint Grey, First in Life and Death’ has a sweet harmonica solo!  Very witty album that is definitely worth listening to! 

FCC clean!

Recommended Tracks: 1, 3, 4*, 5, 7*, 8, 11

Sew together the twitchy twang of rockabilly with the biggest drool dripping sarcastic snarl you have ever seen.  Makes you want to punch someone in the face!  Dystopian pop punk from New Jersey.  Cousin to the Winter Wedge Compilation.

FCC: 1, 3, 6, 7, 8

Check Out: 2, 6, 7  just bleep those curses outta town!

RIYD: Screaming Females, Black Wine, Hunchback, Dead Milkmen, The Ergs!

Blunt Mechanic’s premiere LP has some catchy points. Ben Barnett has a vaguely happier Elliott Smith-like voice, and puts out a neon beat showing in the second track, “Thrown Out At Third”, one of the album’s highlights. While always listenable, the album for me goes in and out, it has some really catchy songs, and others just fall flat of my attention span. Pretty soft lo-fi indie stylings, nothing ground breaking, but some interesting transitions and arrangements happening here and there. The slight killer for me is that the last track “Get Home Safe” sounds like a weak adaptation of Andrew Jackson Jihad’s “Rejoice” but I don’t know if that was intentional. Check it out, it’s worth a listen. 

FCC: 1, 3, 9

Play: 2, 6, 8, 10

RIYD: Queens of the Stoneage

The Boxer Rebellion is a rising band from London consisting of members from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.  Union, The Boxer Rebellion’s latest album, is well-developed and has a full, complete sound.  The male vocals are confident, smooth, and haunting.  Even though their sound consists merely of bass, drums, keyboard, guitar, and vocals, their songs are very polished.  Union has been announced “Alternative Album of the Year” by ITunes, and has received a lot of attention in the UK.  The Boxer Rebellion is more developed than any old rock band.  Check out their new album Union and their debut album, Exits.

FCC: Disc 1: 12

Recommended Tracks: Disc 1(Union): 1, 3, 4, 5, 7

                                    Disc 2 (Exits): 3, 6, 8