Review: Mar, The Silence

 Mar

The Silence

B 

 

If you want to get the full effect of this album, turn of all the lights in your room, maybe light a candle and listen to the whole thing in it’s entirety.  Because Mar’s The Silence is incredibly creepy and strange and Dark-Side-of-the-Moon-esque, and it deserves an appropriate listening setting.   Not going to lie, it kind of freaked me out a bit when I first started listening to it, but in a good way.  Mar’s sound is low and full of minor chords and extremely slow drum beats, and it’s kind of funky.  If you like Animal Collective or Pink Floyd, or if you’re just into weird experimental music in general, you would like this album.  Beware, though – there is a track called “Red Rum” (a reference to the movie The Shining), if that gives you any clue into its creepiness.  Mar is a collective of a bunch of different musicians hailing all the way from Arkansas to make you feel uncomfortable with their unsettling tunes, and they will probably succeed in doing so.  So sit back, put this album on in your tiny dorm room, and contemplate the awesome crazy things you can do with music if you’re willing to engage in a little experimentation....

 -- Elena Solli

Host, "Fun Dip and Cherry Coke," Thursdays 10 pm - 12 AM on WGTB

Review: Jonsi, Go

 Jonsi

Go

A-  

 

In the midst of the toil and stress that accompanies final month of the semester, few things can lift your (re: my) spirits like a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk ice cream. But as you (see also: I) put down your spoon after killing the entire damn cylinder of frozen dairy goodness, nothing else stands between you and that 17-page research paper. All seems lost.  But wait!  A heavenly voice from your computer beckons your ears, delivering a smile and a refreshing sigh of brief relief.  Perhaps Jónsi can make everything better.

            The lead singer from the lovely Icelandic band Sigur Rós, Jónsi released his debut solo album Go earlier this month. Anyone accustomed to Sigur Rós’s consistently ethereal sound should not be all too surprised by Jónsi’s newest work, and yet such familiarity doesn’t dull the warmly emotive reaction that Go elicits.  With Go, Jónsi maintains his wonderful sense of pacing that he has exhibited with Sigur Rós, but instead of falling in and out of earshot with textured instrumentals building and then releasing, Jónsi asserts the soft, resounding power of his own voice as the foundation for one of the year’s best records thus far.

            Jónsi opted to sing the majority of his debut album in English rather than his usual fictional Vonleska (“Hopelandic”), but truthfully, understanding the lyrics matters little in appreciating this offering.  Jónsi’s falsetto dominates the entire record, occasionally in moments beautiful melancholy, but primarily with inspiring crescendos directed at no one in particular.  Go is equally dramatic as Jónsi’s past efforts, but with greater accessibility and a heightened sense of wonder (if that’s possible).  Album highlight “Boy Lilikoi” will surely test your heart’s ability to flutter, and take flight it will.  “Tornado” takes a darker turn, as Jónsi whispers “You grow from the inside/Destroy everything through,” balancing out an otherwise life-affirming album.

Strings, woodwind, piano, and all flavors of percussive goodies form complex layers in support of Jónsi’s voice, all of which meld into a fantastically produced album. The record easily could have fallen flat with shoddy studio work, but Go proves to have just enough polish to tap the potential of Jónsi’s skyward sound while not hampering the Icelander’s sonically evasive nature.  Go pulses, drives, sinks, but only briefly, recovering quickly to rise above cloud cover.  Allow yourself to coo throughout, even if finals bear down your newly goosebumped neck.

Highlights: “Go Do”; “Boy Lilikoi”; “Around Us”

 

-- Scott Lensing

Play What? Play This Playlist: Georgetown Day

Forget FratMusic.com; we've assembled this playlist for you, carefully comprised of the MOST feel-good sunny-day songs ever, plus some recent releases we just wanted to include. Blast this playlist on the lawn on Georgetown Day, if you can manage to even hear your own music over the DJs and bands playing. Enjoy the weekend, and remember to keep up with all of the great things going on with WGTB-- our concerts, our events, our coming-website and current blog, and of COURSE our programming which is about to wrap up for the semester, so listen in while you still can.

Your favorite college radio station,
We Got The Beat

Review: Inlets, Inter Arbiter

 Inlets

Inter Arbiter

 Artistic Merit: B+

Enjoyment After One Week Of Listening: D-
Enjoyment After Two Weeks Of Listening: B

At first glance, the album, Sebastien Krueger’s debut full-length Inter Arbiter, following up his critically acclaimed EP The Vestibule, looks like it will undoubtedly be amazing. Yes, physically looks. The inside cover of the album itself won me over, I was and still am tempted to figure out a way to wallpaper a room in this print. Further exploration of the album cover led me to the track details––and who should I see featured on Track 6 but Zach Condon, golden god of music behind Beirut, man of my heart? I was on board. I proceeded to play Inter Arbiter with only the highest expectations––but was, surprisingly enough, absolutely, overwhelmingly, sorely disappointed.

I spent a week’s time being absolutely vexed at how much buzz Inter Arbiter was getting while I was busy hating (yes, unfortunately hating) it. For a variety of reasons, Krueger’s dissonant, complex instrumental arrangements and husky croon just make me wholly uncomfortable. However, both conceptually and artistically, the album is fairly brilliant, I (grudgingly) must admit. These same off-putting, complex instrumental orchestrations speak for themselves, chapeau, Krueger, you multi-instrumentalist, you. Krueger also has some of the most amazing friends in music, and many of them are unsurprisingly featured on Inter Arbiter. Dirty Projectors fans will note Angel Deradoorian’s appearance, a perfect fit in a world of dissonance. Lyrically, Krueger is lack-luster––he seems to be crooning every word out of the muffled corner of his mouth. Further on Krueger’s instrumental arrangements, I noticed on first listen (while I wasn’t busy squirming) that tracks such as “Bells and Whistles” (the track I tolerated best) sound similar to Andrew Bird or Owen Pallett's intricacy––key here is that these are both artists I coincidentally like very much. Going back to the album details that earlier left me flummoxed, however, “Bells and Whistles” is the track that features Zach Condon’s instrumentals...so my taking to this track in particular of course made perfect sense. My dislike of the album, on the other hand, still does not, though an appreciation for this unique artist’s debut is unavoidable.

Tracks You’ll Like If You’re Not Named Fiona: Bright Orange Air, Bells and Whistles

-- Fiona Hanly

"Sweet 'n' Flo," Mondays 12-1 pm on WGTB

WGTB Election Results

WGTB held elections for the fall semester last night. Below are the results for the available positions:

Programming: Alexa West
Tech: Alex Podkul
Events: Thayer Frechette (joining Ben Wormald)
Promotions: Maricruz Luna (joining Mark Waterman)
Music Board: Catherine DeGennaro, Tiare Dunlap (joining Igor German)
Sports: John Kenchelian (re-elected)
DJ Services: Tom Kelly (re-elected)

Other positions-- Business Director, General Manager-- were not up for election.

WWYC of the Week

Before you ask yourself, "Does this really count?" Ask yourself, "Does it really matter?" The answer is, "No, it doesn't matter that this isn't really a cover of Nirvana's song, it's pathetic artistic vision makes it worthy of this week's worlds worst youtube cover. To be fair, you don't know what the inspiration for Beverley Knight was when she sings, "Ooooh, Summer has begun!" I mean, maybe it is a cover of Cobain's distraught, tense song about emotional identity. A cover not in words, but in sentiment. Kurt would be proud.





Believe it or not, embedding has been disabled by request (by plea?). That will not stop us from perusing the darkened depths of youtube covers. ctrl+click through!



Next up for Beverly Knight: An angry letter from Courtney Love.

Review: Avi Buffalo, Avi Buffalo

Music Directors' note: Avi Buffalo was our Artist of the Week this past week here at WGTB. We can't seem to get enough of this album!

 Avi Buffalo

Avi Buffalo

A 

Remember that girl you liked freshman year of high school? Yeah, that one who sat two rows in front of you in Honors English. You thought she would never go out with a loser like you, but then one day one of her friends told you she was into you too- Avi Buffalo’s album feels like that moment of revelation. The album’s lyrical content picks up at that precise instant, delving into the tribulations of love, romance and relationships. The songwriting on this self-titled debut is complex in thought, but not in words, meaning you get a simple-to-understand yet staggeringly layered listening experience. With phrases like “should I take you to more functions/or would you rather be lonely,” don’t be surprised if you find yourself thinking about that person you really liked who dumped you, the one that got away, that someone you always wanted to be with but never were, etc. as you listen. Complimenting the amazingly mature lyrics are incredible guitar solos. It’s no surprise that Nels Cline, guitarist of Wilco, is one of lead guitarist Avi Zahner-Isenberg’s influences. The tone and feel of guitar on tracks like “Remember Last Time” and “Can’t I Know” could fit just as easily into Cline’s rendition of “I’m the Man who Loves You,” on Wilco’s famous album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. What Avi Buffalo have created here is a work that combines amazing instrumental parts with songwriting. In uniting those two components, the band seems as if they are fully grown, not just putting out their first album. Go out and get your hands and ears on this album, and join Zahner-Isenberg’s band on an exploration of the ups and downs of love and lust. Or, rather than projecting my own neuroses onto Avi Buffalo, go listen to it and explore your own.

Key Tracks: Remember Last Time, What’s in it For?, Can’t I Know, Whole Damn Record

-- Josh Smith

"Artists in Exile," Sundays 2-4 pm on WGTB