Pig, [Neon; 2021] By Ben Lindner, Staff Writer Michael Sarnoski’s “Pig,” a meditative tale of learning to cope with loss, stands as one of the year’s best films. Nicholas Cage stars as Robin, a former chef who has transitioned out of city life and now lives with his truffle pig in the woods. When his…
Category: Staff
ACRN’s Most Disappointing Albums of 2021
10. Mastodon – Hushed and Grim, [Reprise; 2021] ACRN Contributor Mastodon’s latest project, Hushed and Grim, brings almost nothing to slake fans’ thirst for innovation. The album isn’t terrible, but it is a 90-minute exercise in patience with close to no payoff. Keeping Mastodon’s trend of memorializing loved ones through their projects, Hushed and Grim…
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.
Group Feature: ACRN’s Top 15 Albums of 2020
15. Rico Nasty – Nightmare Vacation, [Sugar Trap; 2020]By Kwase Lane, Features Editor It’s kind of weird how long Rico Nasty’s been around without dropping a debut album. I mean, I’m not complaining; if anything, this is a bonus. Nightmare Vacation encapsulates all of Rico’s growth as an artist and is a pleasure to listen…
Album Review: Ariana Grande – Positions
By Lauren McCain, Columns Editor [Republic Records; 2020]Rating: 7.5/10 Key tracks: “positions”, “34+35”, “safety net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)”, “pov” After the whirlwind of her albums Sweetener and thank u, next less than five months apart in 2019, in 2020, Ariana Grande brings a more intimate, sultry R&B sound to the table with Positions. Positions makes…
Newport Folk Festival limited edition vinyl package sells out within hours
By Ethan Bloomfield, Contributor Attention vinyl fans: another great sale has already come and gone! A pre-order for the limited vinyl release of music-icon collaboration album A Change is Gonna Come sold out within a few hours. The vinyl was released in support of the Newport Festivals Foundation, a charity created in 2010 “to support…
Covers: An Overview of Approaches for Reimagining Pop Music
By Jonah Krueger, News Editor So, you want to cover a song? Wonderful! Let us start by congratulating you for making this tremendous decision and reinforce how excited we are that you chose us™ to help you along this rewarding journey. Legally, we are required to inform you of the potential risks involved with covering…
Preview: ACRN Battle of the Bands with Boy Jorts, Rooftops, Friends for Sale, Velvet Green, Birds with Vertigo
By Kwase Lane, Features Editor Flyer by Olivia Doepke The fates have not been kind to any of us this year, but ACRN’s Battle of the Bands is still happening—albeit in a new, virtual form. There are five bands competing, and every one of them have recorded a 15 minute set for you to watch…
Records I’m Not Ashamed to Own
By RJ Martin, Music Director Within the landscape of mid-to-late-2000s butt-rock and post-hardcore, there are few acts that rose above the rest and created music that had staying power. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, there may only be one that matters: Avenged Sevenfold. After putting out two independent records and rising to major-label…
Run The Jewels releases shirts with a purpose
By Lauren Patterson, Copy Editor Hip-hop duo Run The Jewels have announced a limited edition T-shirt collection, “Hold Our Hands,” with Charitees. The announcement came Monday via Twitter, urging voting and supporting organizations. All proceeds from the tees go to corresponding charities, Brooklyn Vegan reported. Read more: Japanese electronic group Black Boboi announce new album…
Album Review: Touché Amoré – Lament
By Jonah Krueger, News Editor[Epitaph; 2020]Rating: 8.5/10 Key tracks: “Come Heroine”, “Reminders”, “Limelight”, “Deflector” Touché Amoré has rightly become an emo A-lister, managing to vary its approach to songwriting while remaining remarkably consistent in quality with each release. Yet, the glamorous rise of the band was abruptly halted with the release of their fourth album. …
Album Review: A.G. Cook – Apple
By Kiah Easton, Editorial Director[PC Music; 2020]Rating: 6.5/10 Key tracks: “Oh yeah”, “Beautiful Superstar”, “The Darkness” Apple is the second full-length album from PC Music founder A.G. Cook. His first LP, 7G, came out less than two months ago and consisted of 49 songs, lasting more than two and a half hours. Apple fits much…
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