Blogs
Cold Specks, "Neuroplasticity" (Mute)
Haunting, folksy soul sung beautifully. This second album from Canadian singer-songwriter is ambitious and intricately assembled, yet stays true to the “doom soul” aesthetic of her past work. In fact, if anything, Neuroplasticity magnifies the doom with richer songs...
Whirr, "Sway" (Graveface)
“World's Loudest Band” isn't so loud right now. Significantly mellowed out and more monotonous than their first two albums, charged, melodic guitars take a back seat to more prominent percussion and drier vocals. Without a doubt the San Francisco shoegaze outfit...
Zella Day, "Zella Day" (B3SCI/Pinetop)
Airy pop for flower-crown wearing Coachella goers. Zella Day may not be a name you are familiar with, but her musical style definitely is. On most of her self-titled EP, Arizona-born now LA-based Day draws striking similarities to well-established pop artists we've...
Redinho, "Redinho" (Numbers)
For those of us here in the US, it seems like every time a UK citizen turns on the radio they get an exclusive new track from an exclusive new producer who defies all genre descriptions. In fact the game of trying to label electronic musicians has become so obtuse and...
Minutia: Storm and Stress, "Under Thunder and Fluorescent Light"
Courtesy of Last.fm Storm and Stress's 2000 release, Under Thunder and Florescent Light, is an album totally unlike anything before or after it. One moment it feels like watching the sun break through a gray mist and the next, being sucked into a void of blinding...
Leading Ladies: 3 Australian Artists Who Are Better than Iggy Azalea
Exhibit One: Tkay Maidza from Adelaide, Australia (Courtesy of Grand Stand) Iggy Azalea is racist (among other things) and I cannot support someone who is so absorbed with her own ego that she cannot see the wrong in her words and actions and who will not afford...
Another Kind of Currency: Prodding at Your Emotions
Courtesy of Clash. When I came up with the idea for this column, I had a few specific pieces in mind, including the one I wrote about last week. Another is the subject of today's analysis, “Poke” by Scottish indie-folk band Frightened Rabbit. One of my favorite...
The Tough Crowd: WVAU Alumni Edition
Two great guys. Picture taken by me!! Rafael Smith and Tyler Osborne are postgrad roomies. They also happen to be WVAU alumni, as well as avid vinyl collectors. But these two aren’t your average 2014 record purchasers. Their apartment is home to a wide variety...
Ambition, Style, and Energy: WVAU talks to Rome Fortune
We sat down with Rome Fortune after his performance at the Black Cat to talk to him about his first ever tour, growing up in Atlanta, and his plans for the future.The interview (audio):Find Rome's just-released mixtape, Small VVorld, here:
Feedback: The Great Twerk Debate
Courtesy of Mastodon's Twitter. I've got a new pleasure, and it's not guilty. The metal band Mastodon's music video for their new song, “MotherloadÛ, started a great twerk debate, and I am in love with all of it. Mastodon is a bit of progressive metal staple....
The Looking Glass: Mr Twin Sister
Courtesy of Pitchfork. In Mr Twin Sister, the former band members of Twin Sister introduce a paradoxical shift in redefining and escaping their former work: a movement forward without hesitation, the inexpressible act of mimicry that persists beyond the circuit of...
Pop Exodus: Valley of the Shadow of the Pop Exodus
Courtesy of Gary Grayson. So, why is this column called “Pop ExodusÛ? It should be pretty self-explanatory, right? I'm probably taking a long journey through the war-torn desert of pop music, already dissected over and over again by self-indulgent critics and...
Vibe of the Week: In the Summertime
Hello all! My name is Kristina Kumpel, aka Tina Turnter, and this is Vibe of the Week. Here you can read about whatever music I’ve been groovin' to this week, from new artists to keep an eye out for to old favorites to revisit. With the arrival of fall comes...
The Current: Alt-J and Assault Rifles
American University is known for being extremely politically active. A great part of this awareness stems from making connections to our daily lives. This column seeks to relate two things I am passionate about: music and a comprehension of the world around me. Alt J,...
King Tuff, "Black Moon Spell" (Sub Pop)
It's safe to say King Tuff takes an adventure and visits new territory in Black Moon Spell.This album has long songs (at least in terms of garage rock); a couple of the songs clock in just under five minutes. The drums sound awesome. They have a great amount of...
Steve Arrington, "Way Out" (Tummy Touch)
If you grew up in an African-American household in the early 2000’s, you have some recollection of Michael Baisden, Steve Harvey and a mixture of old school Rap, R&B, Funk and House, otherwise known as WBLS Kiss FM. The bottom line is that Steve...
Gerard Way, "Hesitant Alien" (WBR)
Let's face it, there is a stigma that comes with Gerard Way as the former frontman of My Chemical Romance. Listening to his solo album you'd obviously brace yourself for songs an emo kid would listen to while waiting for his mom to pick him up from Hot Topic in...
Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), "You Will Eventually Be Forgotten" (Count Your Lucky Stars)
You know those nights where you're lying in bed unable to sleep, and you start remembering specific events from your past that you hadn't thought about in years and get kind of emotional? Fenton, Michigan two-piece Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) has taken...
ODESZA, "In Return" (Self-Released)
ODESZA have been making a name for themselves in the past few years as some of the foremost purveyors of starry eyed, blissful chillwave, a style they stick to with little deviation on their sophomore project, In Return. For fans of this particularly pleasant subgenre...
Ryan Adams, "Ryan Adams" (PAX AM/Blue Note)
Ryan Adams’ newest self-titled album is well-crafted and densely packed with greatness. Album opener “Gimme Something Good” has the melancholy vocals and soulful guitar melodies Ryan Adams has built his discography on. Some of the album is...
Leading Ladies: #POSITIVE
Inspiration: Janelle MonÌÁe being #positive in her music video for “Electric LadyÛ. (Courtesy of Natura) Sometimes a good playlist is all you need to brighten up your day when your inner light is wavering. That's okay! Being genuinely positive all the time is hard....
Keep Ya Head Up: Do You Know the Drill?
Courtesy of Hot New Hip Hop. It's pretty much impossible to separate Chicago from drill music. Drill is Chicago and Chicago is drill, at least when talking about the Southside neighborhoods of Chicago nicknamed Chiraq. It was in these gang ridden parts of the city...
Live in the Hive: Ace Cosgrove
Maryland rapper Ace Cosgrove is no stranger to the come-up-- We sat down with the rapper to talk about his sophomore album Us vs. Robots which is available for download now via Soundcloud (check it below). Here's a couple of videos of the performance: And the audio...
Another Kind of Currency: Do We Paint Our Own Propaganda?
Hi! So, judging by the facts that a.) You've never seen my face or name before, b.) This column is new to WVAU, and c.) I'm currently working on facial hair cultivation, you may have gathered that I am a freshman. You wouldn't be wrong! But enough about that....
The Tough Crowd: Travelin’ Blues
This week’s interviewee. Courtesy of Refinery 29 This week for The Tough Crowd, I talked to AU alumna Carolyn Becker about her show going history. Carolyn graduated last year with a Masters of Science in Marketing after also attending AU for undergrad....
Homemade: District of Columbia
Despite its Etsy-esque sounding title, “Homemade” is not ÛÓ as one might think ÛÓ a DIY crafts column. Instead, each posting explores the developing music scenes of a city, and features its up-and-coming local bands. Each week will be a different city, and will...
Under The Tide: Calvin Harris, "Ready for the Weekend"
Courtesy of EDM South Florida. Before the advent of popular music programs like Spotify and Pandora I had to discover new music through blogs, MTV, the odd song on certain movies that would pique my interest, or through friends' recommendations. It was through the...
Moi Non Plus: Sebastien Tellier
Courtesy of Tumblr. In France, people call one who falls in love very easily or is in love with many people at the same time a “CÒur d'artichaut” (which literally translates to artichoke heart). No one can be blamed of having a cÒur d'artichaut when it comes to...
Porque no los Dos: The Cupid Carla Morrison
Courtesy of Songkick Sometime last year I decided I needed more Latin vibes in my Spotify, so I created a playlist titled “Feelin EthnicÛ, which is a stupid name because we are all ethnic one way or another, but clearly I was thinking more along the lines of “wow...
Coo-Coo Ca-Choo: Paul Simon Honors George Harrison
Homies. Courtesy of When You Awake Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Paul SimonÛÓhence choosing my column’s name from a phrase in the song “Mrs. RobinsonÛ. In fact, Paul Simon resembles a sort of religious figure for me. Maybe it's because I grew up...