When I’m faced with a domineering and shapeshifting worry, I tend to escape to music. This is how I found myself watching Adam Melchor perform live on stage. In the days before his performance, I felt burdened by the reminders of all that’s wrong with the world. Not just headlines of climate catastrophe, but also depictions of war, poverty, injustice and monumental suffering.
Ocean Blvd serves as a crash course on the singer, containing modules on her iconography, family history and psyche.
Though Titanic Rising and And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow both have the signature Weyes Blood nostalgic sound, the latter seems to lean more into haunting melodies, frequently leaving me in awe. Mering’s vocals are hypnotic, and they often sound ethereal.
From the album announcement to the listening experience, the journey of Midnights was one of pure enjoyment — always keeping everyone on their toes for what was to come next.
In the dying galaxy of pop music, Maggie Rogers is a radiant star, and it will be a privilege to see what she evolves into next.
Laurel Hell focuses its gaze on indie music celebrity and constant public scrutiny, as well as loneliness, grief, anticapitalism and self-reflection. From unrequited love to fierce anger to all-consuming loneliness, the songs on this album tackle the full range of human feelings — even allegedly shameful ones.
P Daddy celebrates its own absurdity, writing party anthems about feeling inadequate. The music often rejects rumination and accepts a strain of Camus-based-philosophy, asserting that one can find joy by embracing the absurdity of life. It seems that the music is telling you to embrace sorrow, but find joy despite it.
Now, after two years of a global pandemic and the birth of his first child, Earl is back again with his latest album. Sick! feels like a natural step forward, without Earl forgetting what has brought him to this very moment.
Listen along with us as Press and WUSB staff share some of their favorite releases from last year, hosted by music editors Rafael Cruvinel and Lauren Canavan. Guests include Ben Zimmer, Nick Lyons, Ashton Arbus, Matt Hono, Antonio Mochmann, Dylan Gallo and Jayden Feisthamel.