Blogs
WVAU’s #7 Album of 2014: Mac DeMarco – Salad Days
Courtesy of Captured Tracks. While an album called Salad Days may seem like it'd leave you hungry, in reality it fills you up like you just ate a three course meal. Between Mac DeMarco's soft vocals, chill rhythms, and gentle guitar-laced beats, Salad Days has a...
WVAU’s #7 Song of 2014: FKA twigs – "Lights On"
Courtesy of Complex.Sex is weird. It is full of awkwardness, anticipation, and - sometimes - ecstasy. The first full song on FKA twigs' LP1 establishes all of these things and more. It builds gradually, from bizarre background patterns of...
WVAU’s #8 Album of 2014: Perfume Genius – Too Bright
Courtesy of Matador Records. The cliche line about Too Bright is that after two albums of the saddest, most beautifully gut-wrenching music ever made, Mike Hadreas finally let his anger out. While it's true that Too Bright is angrier than anything Hadreas has ever...
WVAU’s #8 Song of 2014: Banks – "Alibi"
Courtesy of BANKS' Soundcloud. “Alibi” is the perfect build-up song for a crowd; it's the beat-driven first minute, produced by SOHN, where BANKS' blurred words become a mysterious tale we yearn to know more of. This dark-haired valley girl has a...
WVAU’s #9 Album of 2014: Caribou – Our Love
Courtesy of Merge Records. 2014 was, undoubtedly, the year of the “feels.” Suffice it to say, the "feels" encompasses being emotionally connected, engaging in meaningful interpersonal interactions and absorbing one's environment. These days, it's a...
WVAU’s #9 song of 2014: Cloud Nothings – "I’m Not Part of Me"
Courtesy of Stereogum. A refrain that repeats “I'm not telling you all I'm going through” sounds like something you might find in a Papa Roach song, an unpolished, unambitious exercise in wallowing in one's own misery. But in “I'm Not Part of Me,Û ...
WVAU’s #10 Album of 2014: Caddywhompus – Feathering A Nest
Courtesy of Community Records. Despite their makeup of mere guitar, drums, and vocals, New Orleans duo Caddywhompus covers a jaw-dropping amount of sonic and structural ground in six songs. The pair can sustain musical movements such as...
WVAU’s #10 song of 2014: Ty Segall – "Feel"
Courtesy of Stereogum. Ty Segall's last full length, 2013's Sleeper, was an acoustic album, a departure from his usual heavily distorted guitars. Well for those out there who missed the electric guitar, it returned on "Feel," but keeping some...
Live in the Hive: Strand of Oaks
Rock musician Strand of Oaks, otherwise known as Timothy Showalter, stopped by WVAU on his way to DC9 during his tour with Christopher Denny back in September. He played songs from his latest album, Heal, and a track from his debut album. Listen to his in-studio...
WVAU 2014: Most Underexposed Albums of the Year
These are our top three underexposed albums of 2014 (sort of an oxymoron, but w/e). In other words, these are the three albums that our DJs felt that deserved far more attention, promotion, and hype than they got. Furthermore, they deserved more attention than lesser...
WVAU 2014: Best Album Covers of the Year
Album cover art has always been an essential aspect of the way we perceive a musical artist's being. Certain albums have burned their way into society's brain with instantly iconic art, while others showcase cover images that are beautiful approximations of...
Live in the Hive: Ruby Fray
Ruby Fray stopped by the WVAU studio to talk “would you rather” before a show at Comet Ping Pong. Check out the new album Crackle, and preview standout tracks “Barabara” and “Photograph” off the record. Listen to their in-studio performance: Check out their ...
WVAU 2014: Style Icons
Continuing the fun activity of ranking musical artists on a completely non-musical basis, here are our top three style icons of 2014. While an artist's clothing style may have nothing to do with their music, it is indeed a major part of their perception and often...
WVAU 2014: Best Twitter Presence
#best #twitter #presence (Twitter please sponsor us)3.Patrick Stickles (@TitusAndronicus)+@ An intense and deeply troubled young artist +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ +@ Hey, everyone. It's me, Twitter. You have a good 2014? Mine's been pretty great. Not sure if...
WVAU 2014: Best Live Acts
An essential part of the enjoyment of a band is their live show. If they can express and enhance the feeling of their recorded work, then they've succeeded. WVAU voted and our top three choices came to three very different acts, who share little but an amazing ability...
WVAU 2014: Best Music Videos
Music videos have come a long way from the hair metal days. Musicians use their videos to explore new sides of their artistic persona, adding visuals to an already formed sound. Our top five videos span genres and moods, from goofy to surreal to sexual (guess who). 5....
WVAU 2014: Best Newcomer
This year, we're going to have a whole week of 2014 retrospective pieces covering such topics as our DJs' favorite music videos, live shows, twitter presences, album covers, and more! Our first post in this vein, fittingly, is the 'Best Newcomer'...
Is It Publishable? A Conversation with Two Inch Astronaut
Courtesy of NPR. In step with many of the best bands of today, Two Inch Astronaut take their already immaculate sound and find ways to push it further and further into greatness. The songs on their latest record Foulbrood are filled with immediately...
WVAU Reviews: Ariel Pink, "pom pom"
Courtesy of Tumblr. RIP the Haunted Graffiti. It's sad to accept, but Ariel Rosenberg's decade long project, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, takes a tiny hiatus for his new solo album, pom pom. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti gave us great party/karaoke classics like...
Vibe of the Week: The Thanksgiving Jam
Courtesy of Neil Young Official Store. Thanksgiving, the holiday we celebrate, but often overlook. For a day that we set aside for the sole purpose of reflection and gratitude, there is never quite as much hype for good old Turkey Day than there is for Christmas or...
Porque no los Dos: Why I am Scared to See My Favorite Artists in Concert
Courtesy of Huffington Post. Much of what gets me through college, through the stresses of a social and academic life and the amount of expectations placed upon me, is music. I'm an avid music fan, and I'm not the only one. There are hundreds of college...
The Current: Why Music Needs More Female Role Models
Courtesy of eurweb. This past week I had the inspiring experience of volunteering at the De Pizan Honors Gala for the National Women's History Museum. The event takes place annually as a fundraiser for lobbying efforts to get a National Women's History...
Keep Ya Head Up: Rap in 2014
Courtesy of World Star Hip Hop.I recently read an article declaring 2014 as one of the worst years for rap ever. It is not surprising fans felt this way coming on the heels of a red hot year for hip hop in 2013. JAY Z, Eminem, and Kanye all dropped albums last...
Minutia: Data, Democracy, Music & the Perpetual Race to the Bottom
Courtesy of Intelligence Aerospace.What better way to bring music to the masses than the Internet? There's never been a time when you could hear more music from the comfort of, well, anywhere. On top of that, what better way to serve the purposes of populism and...
Saint Saviour, "In the Seams" (Surface Area)
A real test for your eyelids.English singer-songwriter Becky Jones has come a long way from her start with electro pop band The RGB's and Groove Armada. After co-writing Groove Armada's Grammy-nominated album Black Light in 2010, Jones has shifted her attention to...
Arca, "Xen" (Mute)
Revolutionary, contemporary, Venezuelan producer Arca comes through with a record recorded from the deepest labyrinths of identity and solace.“You jump off a cliff because you know that when you land, and you crash like a bunch of Legos and you fall apart, you'll...
Dwarves, "The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll" (Burger)
Loud, outrageous punk rock.If you do not like punk rock, do not listen to The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll. The album is the band's Burger Records debut. After years of hiatus, incredible amounts of drug abuse, and a reputation of terrorizing live shows the band has...
Manchester Orchestra, "HOPE" (Loma Vista/Concord)
“Simplicity is the glory of expression.ÛManchester Orchestra released their fourth full-length album, Cope, in April of this past year. It fell in line with the progression of the band into a louder, more rock-driven style that made itself prominent on their latter...
Rose’s Pawn Shop, "Gravity Well" (Self-Released)
Energetic, creative Americana.Americana favorites Rose's Pawn Shop bring a rocking, rootsy masterpiece with their newest release Gravity Well. High-energy banjo melodies and deep bass played slap-style are the highlights of the album opener, and set an upbeat vibe...
Flake Music, "When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return"
JAMES MERCER I LOVE YOUR WORK.Before I exalt the worthiness of this album to the highest degree, let's quickly clarify: This isn't new. Released in 1997, When You Land Here, It's Time to Return is the holy grail of Flake Music, James Mercer's (pre-Shins) creation,...