The Sound of The District
BY SARAH SOPHER// Canadian indie pop/rock band, Stars, is bringing their ninth studio album to life on their North American 2018 tour. On April 23 at the 930 Club in Washington DC, fans will be able to experience the relatable and touching performance of this familial band.
BY: SYDNEY SPENCER
On Sunday, April 15th, 2018 I will be seeing my favorite artist in D.C. for the second time. Even with graduation around the corner, nothing else could make me more excited.
Indie solo project, Waxahatchee, has humble beginnings in young Katie Crutchfield’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. In 2010, Katie recorded her first album, American Weekend, in her bedroom of her parent’s house. Its cassette-recorded tracks are laced with the intimacy of the young artist’s personal accounts of recklessness, finding love and losing it. With her honest lyrics and candid acoustic guitar, it’s hard not to feel connected to Katie in someway. The album was quickly discovered and praised by the indie community, its track “Be Good” was listed on NPR’s song of the day playlist and rated as one of the station’s top 50 songs in 2012.
In 2013, Katie released Waxahatchee’s second album – Cerulean Salt. The album (my personal favorite) is less melancholy and more reflective, focusing more on Katie’s experience growing up including insight into her relationship with her twin sister and moving across the country to New York City. I highly recommend checking out “Brother Bryan” or “Dixie Cups and Jars”.
BY SYDNEY SPENCER// Since the debut of their first album, Passover, in 2006, The Black Angels have been revitalizing the psychedelic rock genre. The New York Times described the group as, “playing psychedelic rock as if the 1960s never ended, and they are an absolute master of it.” With colorful influences from Led Zeppelin and The Velvet Underground, The Black Angels dirty guitar riffs and entrancing bass solos bring a unique old-school creativity to the modern rock world.
Establishing their roots in Austin, Texas, The Black Angels gained popularity through their MySpace music page and a psychedelic collaboration album released by Northern Star Records. Their first album, Passover, features their top hit song, Young Men Dead. Similar to the psych-rock movement of the 1960s, many of The Black Angel’s songs contain bold themes questioning government and armed-conflict. The group continues delivering these powerful messages in their newest album, Death Song, their first full-length album in four years. The album is unique and progressive in that it was written and recorded during the 2016 election – as expected, it has a strong emphasis on a political climate dominated by division, anxiety, and unease. Regarding sound, the 11-track collection offers a sharply honed elaboration on their signature sound – menacing fuzz guitar and cutting wordplay, steeped in a murky hallucinatory dream.
BY SAHRA MAXWELL// Cigarettes After Sex is coming to the 9:30 club April 2nd! The group was started in 2008 by Greg Gonzalez. The New York Based group consists of keyboardist Phillip Tubbs, bassist Randy Miller, and drummer Jacob Tomsky. While studying at the University of Texas, he recorded songs in a stairwell. He worked on creating music that replicated a dream and released his first EP, I., in 2012 featuring the two hit songs, “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You” and “Dreaming of You”.
After releasing their EP, the group decided to move to New York to pursue their music career. During the beginning of their career, they mostly released singles and EPs and gained popularity through Youtube clips. They released the song “Affection” in 2015 and “K” in 2016. The band released their first album titled Cigarettes After Sex in 2017.
Continue reading “PREVIEW Cigarettes After Sex at 9:30 Club”
BY ANNA LAROCCO MASI// Iconic indie band Yo La Tengo is heading to the 9:30 Club next Wednesday, April 4. The band is originally from Hoboken, New Jersey, which is claimed to be the birthplace of baseball. Their name, which translates to “I have it” in Spanish, was a phrase used in baseball games in the 60s.
Yo La Tengo is known for their soft and upbeat indie-rock sound, as well as covers of favorites such as Cat Stevens. The group has produced 15 albums, the most recent of which, “There’s a Riot Going On,” was released just last week and has already made the Billboard Top 200. This LP features softer sounds and more lo-fi influences than Yo La Tengo’s traditional fare.