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REVIEW: RL Grime @ Echo Stage

BY: SYDNEY SPENCER //As my second time seeing RL Grime live, it was obvious that the young DJ was determined to deliver powerful and grimey dubstep as displayed in his past hits. I entered the venue ready to head bang and get down to the dj’s iconically heavy beats. Like most RL Grime shows, the crowd was loud, packed, and ready for anything RL Grime would throw down.

This weekend RL Grime was perched on a tall platform that seemed to loom above the audience. This gave the opening light show a wicked, mysterious and enigmatic vibe. At first, this reflected the presence of a more mature DJ, but as the night went on, RL Grime’s classic sounds shined. It was also apparent that the DJ intended to showcase new mixing styles. While just as intense as his previous shows, the style had more of a “pop” style than past sets.  As much as I love his grimey dubstep, the pop sounds brought through a new energy with tons of dancing and high energy fans. With his latest single, Era, released in October, and a nationwide tour ahead, it’s understandable that RL Grime would want to expand his fan base and engage as many audiences as he can. After witnessing the relentless moshing of my friends and fellow concert-attendees, there was no doubt that RL Grime met that goal in Washington, DC.

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Ivan & Alyosha Album Review: It’s All Just Pretend

Photo Credit: Ivan & Alyosha

If their first album was already a mix between a west coast and southern feel, Ivan & Alyosha’s newest album, Its All Just Pretend, synthesized those themes in a more expressed, driven and full manner. The album retains the band’s lyrically uplifting nature and musically soothing and flowing nature, but delivers it in perhaps a more expressed, confident, and uplifting manner. Lead singer Tim Wilson’s soulful and yearning voice is harnessed in a clearer, more up front manner, commanding the attention of the listener from the first song of the album. The rest of band plays with increased vigor, even during slower songs such as “Tears in Your Eyes” and “Drifting Away,” delivering a more cohesive and substantive record. The album definitively speaks to the growth that the band has undergone, being I&A’s now second full-length album. While the album does have an air of reminiscing and reflection, it seems to have a positive drive to it, emitting a mature, hopeful sound to it.

The album begins with “Something is Wrong,” a steady tune, that synthesizes Wilson’s sustaining vocals with a driving accompaniment of bass, guitar, and drums. The song then melts quietly and slowly into one of the most driving songs of the album, “Bury Me Deep” delivering pounding drums and bass and concise and catchy vocals. The band then grooves straight into “All This Wandering Around” which retains the energy of “Bury Me Deep” with Wilson belting out vocals throughout the song, in perfect pace with the rest of band. The title track of the album, “It’s All Just Pretend” takes on a more reminiscent, somber tone, with soft guitar and percussion and Wilson’s deliberate and calm vocals in the beginning, intertwined and accented by electric guitar riffs and steady drums. The song speaks of bittersweet reflection and contemplation, ending with the guitar anthem fading away in the background.  

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The Magic Whip: An Even More "Universal" Blur

Nostalgic Britpop fans have long been tormented by rumors of an unlikely Oasis reunion. It seems as though every few months either Liam or Noel tweets something that gets picked up by someone like Mirror as a sign of a pending revival for the band that cocained and temper-tantrumed their way out of existence in 2009. The other half of the so called “Battle of Britpop,” Blur, however, has given these nostalgic fans a big reason to rejoice with the April 27th release of The Magic Whip. Continue reading “The Magic Whip: An Even More "Universal" Blur”

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The Wombats' "Glitterbug" – The Third Iteration of a Techno Journey


If The Wombats realized in 2011’s “The Modern Glitch” that they were techno fans, then with their new album “Glitterbug” they have fully embraced the electronic pop first introduced to their catchy UK pop rock sound four years ago. Though a far departure from the drum-driven pop rock of their 2007 international debut album “Tales of Love, Loss, & Desperation” (their technical debut album “Girls Boys & Marsupials” was originally released only in Japan) and certainly not as innovative as “The Modern Glitch,” it is still a fun album that is sure to be a hit among fans of other 80s inspired bands, like the more refined Bleachers or fellow countrymen The 1975.

The album starts out slow with “Emoticons,” a relatable tune for anyone who has dated during the 21st century, however it is a little too mellow as an opening track, especially when compared to “Tales of Girls, Boys, & Marsupials”/”Kill The Director” and “Perfect Disease” from their last two full-lengths. The second track, “Give Me A Try,” would have been a much more compelling opener, especially since it evokes their previous work “Girls/Fast Cars” (I’m on the look out for a mash-up from my musically inclined friends on the internet, so if you’re into remixing hit me up). My personal favorite song, and another track which I think would have been an excellent opener as it sounds new but still catchy, is third track “Greek Tragedy,” which is reminiscent of “1996” but with a darker, heavier twist (check out the music video if you haven’t already, especially if you’ve ever seen “Skins”). It also features harmonizing, which is part of the reason why I originally fell in love with The Wombats’ sound so many years ago (and not just because I have a huge crush on drummer Dan Haggis, but really, I’ll be at your show next week so hit me up).

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Album Review- LOVETAP!

Courtesy of Pop-Break

 

  It’s been a long road for Smallpools leading up to the release of their first full-length album. Their first single, “Dreaming,” from their self-titled EP in 2013 was a smash hit, charting as high as #23 on the Alternative Songs list, and appearing in video games like FIFA 2014. The song led to the quartet touring with and opening for some big name acts, such as Grouplove, MS MR, Walk the Moon, and Neon Trees. On each one of their tours, they would play their four-song EP, and then a taste of what would eventually turn into LOVETAP! promising that a new album was on the way.

With many of the songs on the album having been out for over a year, the true shining moments come in the form of new material from the band. Songs like “American Love,” the first track off the album, “Lovetap!” the moniker of the LP, and “What’s That A Picture Of?” serve as fun and dancy alt-pop hits. The group stays true to their own original Californian sound, while also exploring sounds and riffs that come from other alternative and pop inspirations. The song, “9 to 5,” for instance, sounds very much like a track that could come from the likes of Vampire Weekend.

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