Royel Otis release debut EP “Campus”

Sydney-based duo Royel Otis released their debut EP Campus last week along with a new track titled “Never Been More Sure”. Accompanying their EP, the duo recently released a music video for their track “Without U”.

Group Feature: ACRN’s Live Music Feature

As 2021 comes to a close, it’s starting to look like we’re seeing the resurrection of live music. Here’s ACRN’s list of artists we’ll be rushing out to see as soon as we can.

Album Review: A Great Big Pile of Leaves – Pono

After an eight-year hiatus, A Great Big Pile of Leaves makes a worthy return with their third album Pono. Equal parts past adolescence-laden lyrics and proof of musical growth, the album is a perfect addition to the band’s already strong discography and extends its reach far past their Brooklyn-emo roots. While their other releases are fun to listen to, if not a little naïve, Pono displays the group’s maturity while reminiscing on the same subject they’ve always catered to: the wistful feeling of youth.

Movie Review: Dear Evan Hansen

This year is full of Broadway musical adaptations; there was In The Heights this summer, and West Side Story will premiere at the end of the year. Now, a film adaptation of the 2017 Best Musical Tony winner Dear Evan Hansen has hit the big screen. With film adaptations are on the rise, Dear Evan Hansen is an example of this trend going too far, as the film feels soulless, hollow and ultimately unnecessary.

Album Review: dltzk – dariacore 2: enter here, hell to the left

By Jack Hampton, Contributor[Independent; 2021]Rating: 9/10 Key tracks: “snare of a lifetime”, “the dariacore to YTP pipeline”, “she was a star, now she works in toronto” Dltzk released their first album, Teen Week, on February 26th of 2021, and when I heard that album, I was on my way out of giving a shit about…

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Kacey Musgraves performs “justified” and “camera roll” on SNL

Kacey Musgraves appeared on Saturday Night Live’s 47th season premiere and performed two songs. The tracks, “justified” and “camera roll,” are from her fifth album, star-crossed. During her performance of “Justified,” Musgraves was naked save for a pair of cowboy boots. Check out her performance below.

Album Review: Lil Nas X – MONTERO

Lil Nas X reinvents his sound and lyricism on his first solo album debut, and his charisma and fearlessness, as always, are on full display. He’s not afraid to articulate the struggles he has faced because of his sexuality or the way he has overcome them to embrace his true, authentic self. Much like the success of his first single, “Old Town Road”, this new side of Lil Nas X mixes rap-like verses with tantalizing and upbeat choruses that allow for a smooth and consistent transition from song to song throughout the album.

Album Review: Foxing – Draw Down The Moon

By: Ethan Bloomfield, Staff Writer[Grand Paradise; 2021]Rating: 4/10 Key tracks: “737”, “Speak With The Dead” The indie-rock scene had a rich month. Everyone from The Academic to Deafhaven have dropped new music with no signs of slowing down industry-wide. Within this slew of new albums, St. Louis group Foxing unveiled their latest LP, Draw Down…

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Album Review: DJ Seinfeld – Mirrors

After making a distinct, unique mark on the lofi-house scene back in 2017 with Time Spent Away From U, Swedish house producer DJ Seinfeld, whose real name is Armand Jakobsson, returns after four years to deliver a dance record that follows in the footsteps of other influential deep house producers such as Burial and Disclosure. 

Album Review: Rx Nephews – Crack Dreams 2

By Kwase Lane, Features Editor
[NewBreedTrapperRecords; 2021]
Rating: 7/10
Key tracks: “Who Are They”, “The One”, “Aunty Lip Lock”
Crack Dreams 2, the latest project in Rx Nephew’s endless procession of releases, is a beautiful mishmash of boasts and self-condemnation. If you’re familiar with the New York rapper, you know he has a unique way with words, and if you’ve never heard his work, it doesn’t take long for his inimitable style to register. Rx Nephew’s work is ruled by contradiction. He’ll dedicate several lines to lamenting the tale of Job before irreverently declaring that he wants to “beat the shit out of Eve.” He laments his history of drug use just before criticizing individuals struggling with addiction for not kicking their own habits. Despite the staggering amount of tonal whiplash his pieces share, they are linked by a mutual understanding of pain and a desire to know what it takes to heal that hurt.

Album Review: Lorde – Solar Power

Four years after the release of her sophomore album, Melodrama, Lorde graces us with her presence yet again, with a freshness in her sound that supersedes the melancholy heartbreak anthems of her predecessors. This time, the vocalist has found inspiration both in her home country of New Zealand and in her love of summer; it feels like you’re on a beach somewhere, eyes closed with the sun blazing down on you.