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Q&A: Coastal Club

[Photo credit to Julia Weber] By Sophia Hoffman, Promotions Director Coastal Club is an indie surf rock band based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Formed in 2017, the group consists of Alex Mobley, Avery Benter, Alex Hirlinger and David McGuire. The self proclaimed “Queen City Quartet” headlined for the 2022 Lobsterfest season. Amidst sound checks, decorating,…

Leith Ross announced as recipient of John Prine Songwriter Fellowship

The Newport Folk Festival recently announced that Leith Ross will be the first recipient of the John Prine Songwriter Fellowship.

Album Review: Charli XCX – CRASH

By: Ethan Hofer, Staff Writer [Asylum Records UK/Warner Music UK Limited; 2022] Rating: 8/10 Key Tracks: “Crash,” “Lightning,” “Twice” After rising to popularity after 2014’s hit single “Boom Clap” from the Fault in Our Stars soundtrack and “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea, Charli XCX has maintained a huge amount of mainstream success since. CRASH serves as…

Album Review: Wallows – Tell Me That It’s Over

By: Grace Koennecke, Columns Editor Atlantic Records, Warner Music Australia; 2022 Rating: 8/10 Key tracks: “Hard to Believe,” “At the End of the Day,” “Permanent Price,” “Missing Out,” “Hurts Me” Wallows, comprised of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters and Cole Preston, made their mark on the music scene in 2019 with their debut album Nothing Happens,…

Album Review: Oso Oso – sore thumb

By Venus Rittenberg, Editorial Director [Triple Crown; 2022] Rating: 6/10 Key Tracks: “computer exploder,” “nothing to do,” “because i want to“ After 2019’s excellent basking in the glow it was exciting to see what the 5th wave band would cook up next, and it’s a shame that this new project is neither as concise nor…

Movie Review: Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Emma Rickett, Contributor [MAPPA; 2022] Rating: 9/10 Two years after the release of the first season of hit anime, Jujutsu Kaisen, the highly anticipated prequel has come out on the big screen. The film is sort of a stand-alone, as you do not have to watch the anime to understand the plot. If you have…

Album Review: Ghost — IMPERA

By Adrian Woods, Contributor
[Loma Vista Recordings; 2022]
Rating: 5/10
Key tracks: “Kaisarion”, “Call Me Little Sunshine”, “Griftwood”
The heavy and glam metal outfit Ghost is back with their fifth studio album, IMPERA, and when I say “glam metal” for this album, it is total glam metal. A lot of this album feels like a rock opera, and while that may sound like a positive thing, it ends up being a negative. If Ghost were to just make a pure metal album, it would sound so much better. However, the “glam” sound on this album mixed with the heavy metal instrumentation makes this album feel mixed and disjointed, not quite sure of what it exactly wants to be. Glam metal can be done well, with example from bands like Scorpions and Bon Jovi, that have the perfect mix of using that glam sound while the instruments fit in perfectly. Ghost tries to achieve that level of prestige, but falls achingly short.

Lobsterfest 2022 Preview

By Paul Nern, News Editor We’re approaching the end of another school year, and that means that Rock Lobsters everywhere will be making their way to Lobsterfest 2022. After two years without an in-person celebration, it’s back to The Union on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and onto Galbreath Chapel the following Sunday morning. It’s…

Kid Cudi announces his last collaboration with Kanye West

[Image courtesy of Rolling Stone] By Grace Koennecke, Columns Editor On Monday, Pusha T revealed the release date of his upcoming album It’s Almost Dry is this Friday, April 22. The record was produced entirely by Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. The rapper said the album also included a collaboration between West and Kid Cudi…

Album Review: Black Midi — Cavalcovers

By Venus Rittenberg, Editorial Director
[Rough Trade; 2022]
Rating: 8/10
Key tracks: It’s three songs man
When Black Midi announced Cavalcade, they also announced a contest in which they would cover five songs, and depending on who the listeners preordered Cavalcade from, they would receive a 7” vinyl of one of the covers. Three of the five songs appear on this EP, finally added to streaming (sadly missing the excellent “Psycho Killer” cover that features some of the worst French I’ve ever heard).

Album Review: Broken Equipment — Bodega

By Venus Rittenberg, Editorial Director
[What’s Your Rupture?; 2022]
Rating: 8/10
Key tracks: Thrown, Doers, How Can I Help Ya
Broken Equipment sees Bodega improving upon their already noteworthy work from Endless Scroll, an album that emerged amidst a flourishing third wave of post-punk that was sweeping America and Europe with bands like Parquet Courts, IDLES, and many more. There were many incredible bands in this scene, and I went through a huge phase of obsessing over it during Summer 2020 – this is when I discovered Bodega. They were not my favorite band in the scene, but they were doing something unique with their lyrics. There was specificity to them that made them stand out. They were also loaded with references to other music that I was a fan of which also made them noteworthy. Ultimately, they were very catchy, groovy post punk, and at the time, that was what I craved.

Album Review: Reeling — The Mysterines

By Jonah Cashel, Contributor
[Fiction Records; 2022]
Rating: 8/10
Key tracks: “Life’s a Bitch (But I Like it so Much)”, “Hung Up”, “Under Your Skin”, “All These Things”
Liverpool rock group The Mysterines released their debut Album, Reeling this March. The record exploded immediately, reaching top 10 on the UK charts before the end of the month and garnering millions of listeners in weeks. The album captures exactly what rock music today should sound like, perfectly blending a slew of great influences while equally focusing on the unique meta-frustrations of today.