Top 5 of February 2-8, 2014

By: Abbie Doyle, Copy Editor

1. Cities Aviv: Come to Life

by Sam Kayuha

Cities Aviv has to know that Come to Life is not coming anywhere near the Billboard charts—it is not going to earn him a seat next to Bey and Jay at next year’s Grammys, either. And after the fiasco that was this year’s The Heist over Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City for rap album of the year, that is a good thing--an album as creative and ahead of its time as Come to Life would never be in contention. Stocked full of heavily layered synth and sample-driven beats, Come to Life seems to predict what rap will sound like in ten years. Well aware that he is better known for his airy, atmospheric instrumentals than his lyrics, Cities drops his vocals low in the mix, so this LP can be enjoyed as much more than just a rap record. Cities Aviv’s music exists almost exclusively on the Internet—who knew such good music existed on this thing called the World Wide Web.

2. Isaiah Rashad: Cilvia Demo

by Xavier Veccia

This writer is about five minutes away from getting “TDE” tattooed on his rib cage. It was one thing when Top Dawg Entertainment had the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock on the label. But now that it’s evident that their two newest signees, Isaiah Rashad and SZA, are just as good as the rest of the label, there’s no ceiling for the group.

Cilvia Demo is Rashad’s first release with TDE and it did not disappoint. The youngster of the litter fits right in, with mellow, jazzy beats and deep, personal lyrics. Songs like “West Savannah” and “Heavenly Father,” which both feature fellow newbie SZA, deal with topics like suicide and masculinity that one would be hard-pressed to find in many rap songs. Screw Southernplayalistic, like Rashad mentions in “West Savannah,” I want to fall in love with Cilvia Demo playing through the night.

3. DMX vs. George Zimmerman

The trial of George Zimmerman, alleged murderer of the now famous Trayvon Martin, garnered a huge amount of press coverage in 2013. Nearly all corners of the United States were following this trial, hoping to whatever deities that may be out there that Zimmerman would receive just punishment. When Zimmerman was found innocent, outrage was everywhere. The trial is just another example of the injustice prevalent in the US’s judicial system, so rapper DMX is serving his own form of just punishment: he’s entering the boxing ring with Zimmerman and he’s out for blood. For some completely asinine reason (Guilt? Has his conscience finally awoken?), Zimmerman issued an open challenge against anyone who wanted to take him down, and DMX was selected from 15,000 eager applicants. Just Google the two men and place your bets, please. It’s a bit unorthodox, but hey, if the American “justice” system isn’t going to hand Zimmerman’s ass to him, someone else definitely should.

4. Sasquatch!’s tear-inducing lineup

Man oh man would it be unbelievably rad to live in the state of Washington. The Sasquatch! Music Festival, which occurs over Memorial Day weekend and Fourth of July weekend, just released its line-up and, like almost all music festival lineups, it hurts the souls of those who are unable to attend (such as myself). Outkast, The National, M.I.A., Soundgarden, and Queens of the Stone Age will all be playing the festival, along with Broken Bells, Neutral Milk Hotel, Tegan and Sara, Local Natives, Spoon and Mutual Benefit, an Athens favorite. It’s going to be rad as hell in Washington and a hell of a bummer to remain in Ohio, watching all the shows on the interweb instead of in real life. But you can’t always get what you want, so I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be happy for (but actually secretly jealous of) those who will attend. If you are one of the lucky ones who is able to go, tickets are on sale now!

5. Illmatic is back in season!

Nas recently revealed that he's going to reissue his classic debut, Illmatic. Now this is an album nestling comfortably in my iTunes, but I'd never given it a listen until I heard he was reissuing it (I have an incredible knack for jumping on bandwagons about 20 years late), and hot damn. Not the style I typically indulge in, but this is only because I am a fool. The reissue is set to include previously unreleased songs and bonus tracks, and to promote it, Nas is heading for the road. Old and new fans may find it in their best interests to scope out a nearby venue that will be hosting the rapper, because this is an event you're not going to want to miss.

Top 4 of January 26 - February 1, 2014

By: Marlena Scott, News Editor

1. Ricky Eat Acid: Three Love Songs

By Zack Baker 

Sam Ray makes music. He makes pop-punk, shimmering indie-pop, ambient electronic, songs that border on house--I could keep going. It's insane that he does it all so well. Three Love Songs is his "debut" album under the Ricky Eat Acid moniker, although he's already pumped out dozens of songs and a handful of releases under that name. Three Love Songs is sporadic, doesn't flow all that well and (intentionally) low-fidelity, but it still manages to hook you. You may not be putting it on repeat after your first listen, but it won't be long before you're going back for more.

2. Slowdive Reconvenes

The dreamy shoegaze staple is reuniting and while I'm thrilled for new music and possibly catching a show, I'm hardly surprised. The genre has gained a strong young adult cult following and there's a huge allure to reliving the fuzz of the '90s. I'm glad Slowdive is coming back for the people and they'll probably make some good money all the while. Maybe Lush and the Cocteau Twins will get the hint and we can save all of our dough for a fuzzy dream-pop summer festival.

3. Yeezianity

I'm sure by labeling himself "Yeezus" Kanye West did not realize this was an open invitation for a 23-year-old privileged dude from Westchester County, NY to build a religion around him. This same guy takes shirtless mirror selfies. He created what is possibly the most uncomfortable video I have ever watched highlighting his religion.

4. Macklemore Wins Best Rap Album

Who the hell votes for the Grammys? Who on earth was the deciding group that shifted the vote to The Heist winning best rap album? This guy is an absolute turd. I think taking a public stance on gay rights is fantastic, especially in such a highly publicized, mainstream position, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. There are plenty of movers and shakers in the gay rights movement that don't wear ridiculous, gaudy coats.

What about The Heist was rap? I remember hearing "Thrift Shop" once and thinking it was a parody. I would consider "Same Love" to be pretty poppy. Just because a guy is speaking into a microphone rather than singing doesn't mean he's rapping..

Top 5 of January 19-25, 2014

(Editor's note: The format of ACRN's Drop It Like It's Hot has changed! Instead of posting only about the week's latest releases, ACRN's editors will incorporate the latest music news and two of the highest-rated albums on the website. The highest-rated album sections are written by the original reviewers. Drop It Like It's Hot will now be updated on Saturdays.)

By: Xavier Veccia, Features Editor

1. Damien Jurado: Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son 

By Sammi Nelson

"Seattle is undoubtedly the center for all things indie-folk. With an insane amount of musicians hailing from this Pacific-Northwest metropolis, an artist from the city has to have a significant influential impact on the music industry to be deemed as one of the kings.

Damien Jurado rightfully belongs in this category. His most recent album, Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son, has an incredibly distinct sound that reflects the genre the 41-year-old musician has established for himself, yet it is so incredibly unique from all of his other albums." Read more at ACRN.com

2. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra: Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything
By Justin Silk

If Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything had been released in 2013, it would have at least hit number four on my top ten list of albums of the year. I really am a total sucker for Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra’s style of experimental post rock. In my defense, music like this is just so unbelievably engaging. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra doesn’t simply “write songs.” The band creates compositions--brilliant musical compositions that are long, but never dull. Each track on Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything has an immense amount of depth to it, and will take a lot of time to fully absorb. Therefore, it was great that an album with such profundity was released so early in the year. It gives listeners time to really contemplate the record. By December, placing it on an End of the Year list will be an easy thing to do. Music lovers of all kinds really owe it to themselves to give Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything a listen. The album definitely has its faults, but the incredible quality of its music will make them almost completely ignorable. 

3. Outkast Rumors

Outkast is everywhere and I could not be more excited about this. Whether it be on the Coachella lineup or on the Governor's Ball lineup or...okay, most of this Outkast news is for headlining gigs at insert festival here. But none of the concrete Outkast news has really gotten out of the touring stage. That didn't quite change this week, but us ATLien fans are getting somewhere with Big Boi's announcement of a solo LP dropping this year. He dodged any confirmation of an Outkast album, but with Mr. DJ, the longtime Outkast disc jockey, confirming in that same story that both Big Boi and Andre 3000 were working a lot in the studio, there's at least some sense of hope for us. At the very least, we're getting a new Big Boi album and, after his Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors release in 2012, that's more than enough.

4. Rap Genius Makes Some Friends

I don't care what any hater says--Rap Genius is one of the greatest things in the music bizz. But they've been getting in a lot of trouble lately. From getting targeted for possible copyright infringement to Google demoting them on search pages, things weren't looking up for the geniuses behind Rap Genius. But all that changed with Universal Music Publishing granting the site permission to print their artists' lyrics. With a massive amount of talent on the Universal roster, this was a huge win for Rap Genius.

5. Justin Bieber's Collapse

I've never been a huge fan of the Biebs. Yeah, I low-key loved "As Long As You Love Me," and sure, I was pretty psyched when I saw he did a song with Chance. But other than that, I thought as much about him as any other pop artist. Until this. If you were too lazy to follow that link (I mean, it's the Internet age. We're better than links), I'll try to give this story the justice it deserves. Justin Bieber was caught drag racing in his Lambo while under the influence of weed, beer and antidepressants. The "Baby" singer was charged with drag racing and a DUI. A slow collapse for a child star is never a surprise, but not many reach this level of insanity. Hopefully, this is the last DUI for Biebs because, I mean, driving under the influence is a pretty shitty thing to do. But I'm not against him continuing to be this entertaining of a celebrity.

November 26 Releases, 2013

By: Megan Fair, Copy Editor

The dreary drudge of sludge and sleet has thrust itself upon us, leaving a desire for homemade food and endless naps. Likewise, this week did not offer many big releases in the industry, so bear with me as I scrounge up my very scattered thoughts about this week’s big releases. What can I say? My brain is craving tryptophan, so if it’s not turkey, my brain doesn’t care.

First up to bat is the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack. The last Hunger Games Soundtrack featured artists such as Arcade Fire, Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars. This soundtrack is stacked with even more big name, exciting artists expressing their take on feelings and scenes from the blockbuster. This team has heavy hitters all around ranging from Ellie Goulding to Coldplay to the Lumineers.

Patti Smith’s soulful “Capitol Letter” has a Johnny Cash-does-“Hurt” vibe, which is pretty cool. “Devil May Cry” is The Weeknd’s smooth track. The floating falsetto vocals are pretty rad, and The Weeknd’s signature sound is ever present. Santigold’s contribution, “Shooting Arrows at the Sky,” is spunky and cool, and “Atlas” is a Coldplay track that doesn’t do anything crazy, but it is Coldplay, so... 

Possibly the coolest track on this soundtrack is Lorde’s eerie cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” The youngster’s caramelized voice drips over martial pounding and ambient background music until a blasting build at the end. 

Closing out this week’s Drop It Like It’s Hot is One Direction. Oh, those cheeky boys with such charming accents. From what I hear, everyone’s still creamin’, especially with the tracks on Midnight Memories. As much as one may be inclined to hate, the boys do have great pipes, and their music is intended to be very fun. This album is definitely edgier, but it continually expresses their fun side while emphasizing the fact that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Also, you can’t deny that you definitely sing “Best Song Ever” when you’re alone in your car. 

In a slow sea of mostly nobodies, these are the albums that stuck out this week. I couldn’t even tell you one artist who dropped an album today that more than 50 people care about. At least you can rest easy knowing that those food comas aren’t keeping you from missing any important album releases. 

October 22 Releases, 2013

By: Colin Roose, Album Reviews Editor

I think it says something about our culture when a week with nearly two-dozen major-label releases is considered disappointing. Think about it: how many new albums are you going to listen to this week? I can't claim to know you, sir or madam, but probably not anywhere close to all of them. Do you know what that means? It means that you, me and the rest of America have come to expect a level of music production far greater than our capacity to consume. Oh, capitalism.

Anyway, you're probably not going to sell many albums this week if you're not Katy Perry. Prism is guaranteed to smash all the records when it descends upon the FM-listening public this week, and will probably be number one for about ten bazillion weeks. 

If you've been breathing air for the last month, you're 200% likely to have heard the lead single "Roar." It's stuffed with big, obvious hooks, hacky, clichéd lines like "I've earned my stripes," and was accompanied with an equally tacky music video. And I love every second of it.

No, no, don't roll your eyes. I'll talk about good music in a second here, after I sift through all the names I've never heard of on the list of releases.

Aha! Best Coast, with its EP Fade Away. Original surf-rock may have lost its relevance the moment The Beach Boys made Pet Sounds, but all those punks picked it back up and kicked it around for a while in the early '80s. And now we have this band to give the California beaches a nice jangly indie sheen. You can almost see the waves cresting and crashing on the guitar reverb and singer Bethany Cosentino yelling from across the sand. I miss summer already.

There's Motörhead too, who, according to metalhead extraordinaire/my roommate Justin, have put out the same album over and over since the '90s. I think it's understandable, though. I wouldn't know how to top "Ace of Spades" either. Lemmy still somehow sounds like a car trying to start, and the guitars have a modern flavor of angry.

Ducktails! Woo-oo! Continuing the trend of "one guy trying to pass himself off as a band," Matthew Mondanile makes music lonely dudes tend to create: vaguely psychedelic, very-produced indie rock. The style of his new EP Wish Hotel has been christened with the name "hypnagogic pop." Dream-pop is already sleepy enough, so apparently hypnagogic pop is indie's equivalent of Ambien. If you have a tolerance for the blurry-eyed wonder mood, you may enjoy this children's cartoon-loving hypnotist.

Aaaand…yep, that's everyone you're going to care about in music this week. No, we are not talking about Ted Nugent. Ever. No, we are not talking about a band called "Gringo Star." I wish we could talk about Donna Summer, but she only has a remix album out this week. Pity. But stay tuned until next week, when Arcade Fire will reflekt some sunlight onto the dim light shone by this week's album releases.

September 24 Releases, 2013

By: Zack Baker, Copy Editor

New releases are on the light side this week, but that doesn't mean there isn't any great music dropping. Everyone seems to have jumped out of the way this week to make room for the OVO-headmaster himself (Drake), but a few other upstarts are on the calendar with our Canadian friend. 

Obviously, the most talked-about album hitting shelves today is Nothing Was The Same, Drake's latest full-length. The album's been pulling hype for the past few months with consistent lead-up singles spanning the genre grab bag that Drake occupies. There's radio-banger "Started From The Bottom," R&B-Drake classic "Hold On We're Going Home" and the controversially named "Wu-Tang Forever." 

Drake isn't breaking new ground with NWTS, but the production has been stepped up a level and Drake has a more consistent flow than on his past two albums. If you're a Drake hater, I doubt this release will convert you to The Church Of Drake™, but it's the best Drake album that Drake has ever made. Drake.

Odd Future-affiliated neo-soul duo The Internet dropped Feel Good today, and it's a marked improvement over their debut, Purple Naked Ladies. Fresh off a nationwide tour supporting Mac Miller, The Internet have put together a fantastic jazz-funk-soul-R&B-vibey-whatever album that doesn't sound like anything else out at the moment. 

Delicate chords tumble precariously over snappy basslines and fantastic drums, creating music that doesn't need to get into your face to prove its worth. Early single "Dontcha" and late album cut "Shadow Dance" are the best of the bunch here--they exemplify the fantastically aimless feel of the music and Syd's vocals drape perfectly over the chilled out instrumentals.

Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches also have a new effort out this week, and it's an album that I'm sure to be listening to through the end of the year. The Bones Of What You Believe is the culmination of almost two years of hype-building and scattershot releases from the group, and while many tracks have been kicking around the blogosphere for some time, the album still feels remarkably fresh.

Since the band caught some attention with "The Mother We Share" in late 2011, it has been expanding on what fans can expect from a Chvrches release. "Lies," "Gun," "Recover" and the subsequent Recover EP established the band's core sound, and thankfully The Bones of What You Believe reaches beyond those expectations. From the hard-hitting "Lungs" to the drifting "You Caught The Light," Chvrches prove that there was a reason behind all of its buzz.

Apart from these releases, the week is pretty sparse. There's a new Kings of Leon album, which I assume sounds like a Kings of Leon album, and a fantastic new Mazzy Star release to give a little more competition to the great Northern radio savior. Not the most amazing week for new releases, but plenty to keep you busy until Danny Brown's Old on September 30th.

September 17 Releases, 2013

By Rachel Haas, Managing Editor

For me, this week is kind of an exciting week for music. Not only is MGMT’s self-titled third release finally coming out, but Mr. VanWyngarden and Mr. Goldwasser are accompanied by Nick Thorburn’s Islands, Grouplove and a band that I interviewed over the summer, Royal Bangs.

Like I said, you should start getting a little pumped.

Connecticut’s psychedelic rock duo is back with MGMT, an album that seemed to be pushed back for, like, ever. The follow-up to 2010’s Congratulations has been steadily building up buzz with the band's usual vague interviews and oddly wonderful musings. More recently, they put out the album’s first single, “Alien Days,” with live appearances on late-night TV not far behind. Many MGMT fans were disappointed with the outfit’s last release since, you know, the band didn’t have a thousand carbon copies of “Kids” and “Electric Feel.” Judging by “Alien Days,” don’t expect VanWynGarden and Goldwasser to return to the realms of Oracular Spectacular just yet.

Congratulations grew on me after a few listens, and I learned to love it like I love Oracular. I have no doubt that even if MGMT’s album is another deviation of their sound and skills, it’ll be hella fun, and I am so stoked.

OK, now that I’m done fangirling over that, let’s move on to Islands. Last year (Feb. 14, to be exact), former-Unicorn Nicholas Thorburn dropped A Sleep & A Forgetting. Thorburn told us that album was “centered more on life and things that happen while you are alive. It's kind of a dark sort of outlook on how life really is,” and the product of a very personal breakup. This time around, the singer says the band's upcoming release Ski Mask is all about being angry. After listening to the single “Becoming the Gunship,” I can’t wait to see where Thorburn’s anger takes him.

Grouplove makes some really top-notch catchy dance hits that are part of the handful of songs I actually don’t hate when the band comes on the radio. “Colours,” “Tongue Tied” and “Itchin’ on a Photograph” were so much fun and these guys put on one ultra-fun live show. I have a fondness for them in my soul, and my fingers are crossed for some more sing-alongs.

And finally, Brass is also set to drop courtesy of Knoxville, Tenn. band Royal Bangs, a rock outfit discovered by The Black Keys’ Pat Carney and formerly signed to Audio Eagle Records. They’re fun.

Oh, and a shout-out to Elton John. You little tiny wonderful dancer, you.