ACRN.com

Album Review: Kesha – High Road

By Lauren McCain, Contributor [RCA/Kemosabe; 2020] Rating: 6.5/10 Key tracks: “Tonight”, “Kinky (ft. Ke$ha)”, “Summer” Ah, welcome back to the gaudy, paint-splashed, sparkling chaos that is a quintessential Kesha album. Kesha’s fifth studio album, High Road marks a return to the same pop sentiments of her early dollar sign days. And weren’t those the days? …

ACRN Prom 2020 Q&A: Jeremiah Hayes

By Taylor Linzinmeir, Staff Writer Photo by Harley Wince, Visual Media Director Q&A with Athens-based R&B artist Jeremiah Hayes at ACRN Prom 2020. Tell me about where you’re from. JEREMIAH HAYES: I’m from Columbus and moved here [Athens] about two years ago to study music at Hocking [College] and then eventually transfer over to OU….

Album Review: Mac Miller – Circles

By Jessica Jones, Copy Editor [Warner Records Inc; 2020] Rating: 8.5/10 Key tracks: “Circles”, “Blue World”, “Good News”, “Surf” In 2018, shortly before his tragic death, rapper, singer, songwriter and producer Mac Miller left us with Swimming, his final studio album meant to be the first of a three-part project. On Jan. 17, Miller gifted…

Weatherday: Savor the Bittersweet ‘Mumami’ of Swedish Emo Noise-Pop

Three knocks on the door and you’re welcomed with a cacophonous premonition of sweltering melodrama just seconds into Come In—a demanding first encounter that’s equal-parts expressive and enigmatic as the mastermind behind the Swedish emo noise-pop project, Weatherday.

Album Review: Yeule – Serotonin II

By Kiah Easton, Columns Editor [Bayonet; 2019] Rating: 7/10 Key tracks: “Eva”, “Pixel Affection”, “Veil of Darkness” London-based dream-pop artist Yeule’s debut project, Serotonin II, is a product of the digital age that feels like a soft, artificial ambiance dwelling in the recesses of our increasingly digital existence. Whispy vocals sprawl across a host of…

Punk’d: The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico

By Venus Rittenberg, Contributor [Verve Records; March 12, 1967]Genre: Proto-PunkHighlights: “Heroin”, “Sunday Morning”, “I’ll Be Your Mirror” Over 50 years since its release, The Velvet Underground’s debut record remains unique but was received very poorly at first, due to its dark subject matter, such as drugs and bondage, as well as the experimental nature of the…

Contexturally: Grouper – “Headache”

By Kiah Easton, Columns Editor Music is unique when compared to other forms of media in that it has the innate ability to be paired with other experiences separate from what was intended by the artist. Music can always be in the background, bleeding into everything that you do. At least for me, the things…

ACRN Celebrates: Stevie Wonder

By Max Semenczuk, Contributor [Photo via Spotify] Stevie Wonder still holds a surmountable name in the music industry at age 69. His name evokes feelings of nostalgia, hope and longing. Wonder began his professional career during his early teenage years—only going up from there. Read more: ACRN Celebrates: Richie Havens Wonder was born May 13,…

ACRN Celebrates: Richie Havens

By Lauren Patterson, Staff Writer [Photo via Spotify] Woodstock 1969—it’s Friday, Aug. 15 in Bethel, New York. Hundreds of thousands eagerly await the start of the festival, as everyone behind the scenes flusters over the fact that the show was already nearing three hours past its scheduled start time. The crowd was eager; they wanted…

ACRN Celebrates: Diana Ross

By Jessica Jones, Copy Editor [Photo via Spotify] Who did the Guinness Book of World Records declare as the most successful female artist in history? Who has their name on not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Who did Billboard proclaim was the “Entertainer of The Century”? None other than the…

ACRN Celebrates: JPEGMAFIA

By Kiah Easton, Columns Editor [Photo via Spotify] JPEGMAFIA took the alternative rap scene by storm in 2018 with his breakout project Veteran. Elements of political activism, abstract production and shitpost-inspired lyrics brought Peggy critical acclaim within weeks of its release. Read more: ACRN Celebrates: Lizzo Born to Jamaican parents, Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks spent his childhood…

ACRN Celebrates: Lizzo

By Taylor Linzinmeir, Staff Writer [Photo via Spotify] Pop artist and body-positivity advocate Lizzo can do it all. She can twerk, rap, belt out a high note and write a hook that will be stuck in your head for the rest of your life. Oh, and she just so happens to be a classically trained…