Album Review: The Japanese House – Good At Falling

By Kayla Chanthavong, Contributor [Dirty Hit; 2019] Rating: 6/10 Key tracks: “Maybe You’re the Reason”, “Follow My Girl”, “Worms” British solo artist and indie pop icon Amber Bain, also known as The Japanese House, follows her experience with life-changing events by releasing Good At Falling, her first full-length album. This time around, Bain gives us more…

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Album Review: Marianas Trench – Phantoms

By Kayla Chanthavong, Contributor [604; 2019] Rating: 7.5/10 Key tracks: “Echoes Of You”, “I Knew You When”, “The Killing Kind” Three years after the release of Astoria, Marianas Trench grace us with another full-length album, Phantoms. Before this album release, they teased us with three singles: “Echoes of You”, “I Knew You When”, and “Only…

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Movie Review: Cold War

By Andrew Breazeale, Staff Writer [Amazon Studios; 2018] Rating: 7/10 Paweł Pawlikowski returns to the silver screen with Cold War, a breathtaking look into Eastern Europe during the Cold War and a study of a love that stretches across time and space. Following the lives of Polish musicians Zula (Joanna Kulig) and Wiktor (Tomasz Kot)…

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Album Review: Weezer – Weezer (Black Album)

By Maria Lubanovic, Copy Editor [Crush Music / Atlantic; 2019] Rating: 4/10 Key tracks: “Piece of Cake”, “Byzantine” Weezer already dropped an album less than two months ago. So, why is there suddenly another one? Does Rivers Cuomo have literally nothing better to do than crank out pure cheese and not the kind that anyone…

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Artist Profile: Andrés

By Marvin Dotiyal, Features Editor [Photos by Blacksheep Imaging] “When you’re up on a stage, don’t be the hero that they want, but what they need,” Andrés gracefully sings in the closing lines of his Heroes, Villains, and All That Jazz opener, “Andrespacito”. Reiterating his father’s teachings to be more than just a musical artist but…

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Movie Review: How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

By Ceara Kelly, Staff Writer [DreamWorks; 2019] Rating: 5.5/10 The debate on whether or not children’s movies that also indulge older generations are actually for kids is finally over. It was never a debate; they were always for kids, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World doesn’t change that. In fact, it reaffirms…

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Album Review: Solange – When I Get Home

By Kwase Lane, Staff Writer [Columbia; 2019] Rating: 5/10 Key tracks: “Stay Flo”, “Almeda”, “My Skin My Logo” On When I Get Home, the listener finds Solange in a peculiar position. Her fourth studio album, Solange embarks on a new path, one more stripped back than she previously explored on her earlier project, A Seat…

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Q&A: Machine Girl

By Kiah Easton, Staff Writer [Photo Courtesy of Machine Girl] After only a week off from their mini-tour in Mexico, Machine Girl is back on the road promoting their most ambitious album yet. The Ugly Art combines elements of several genres including house, breakbeat and punk, creating a futuristic, apocalyptic, ear-rupturing experience. After seeing the…

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Dad Rock Bi-Weekly: Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue

By Jessica Jones, Staff Writer [Epic; 1977] Original Release Date: Oct. 3, 1977 Using orchestral instruments and opera influences as the base for a rock album isn’t something most people would think of as being successful, but that wasn’t the case for Electric Light Orchestra frontman, Jeff Lynne. Out of the Blue, ELO ’s seventh…

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Column: 2019 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

By Keri Johnson, Contributor Madre (Spain) is an unnerving, 19-minute exercise in technical expertise. The film is the story of any parent’s nightmare; a mother gets a phone call from her child, who is lost and alone on a far-away beach. The writing drives the film. Viewers hang onto every line, searching for clues or…

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Album Review: Emilie Kahn – Outro

When thinking about the realms and possibilities of pop, indie and even alternative music, the harp is not traditionally considered a regular choice in the ensemble. Fortunately, there is someone out there looking outside of this box, bringing a unique sound to the genre. Formerly known as Emilie and Ogden, Emilie Kahn’s Outro is a gorgeous collection of tracks that masterfully combines the light themes of a harp with hard-hitting synth and breathy tones.