By: Music Journalism Club

Get excited, Music Journalism Club is back! Every week our Music Director, Allison, chooses new releases to add to our music library. Here are some of the recent highlights, presented to you by WSUM’s Music Journalism Club.

Softcult, When a Flower Doesn’t Grow

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Pill To Swallow”, “Queen of Nothing”, “Not Sorry”

GENRE: Shoegaze, Alternative Rock, Indie

RIYL: Slow Pulp, Momma, Runo Plum

The latest release from Softcult, When a Flower Doesn’t Grow, is a perfect February listen. The album starts out mellow and then turns a bit darker and more intense in the middle, and finally mellowing out again towards the end. Softcult creates a dreamlike feeling through soft vocals, deep guitar sounds, and soft drums. In the more intense songs the vocals and guitar are still soft, however the drums pick up speed and volume, giving a feeling of frustration that is conveyed in the lyrics. This is especially apparent in “16/25”, “She Said, He Said”, as well as “Hurt Me”. This album is a roller coaster of emotions which is perfectly reflected through the instrumentation as well as the lyrics. When a Flower Doesn’t Grow is a great album for any shoegaze or indie rock enthusiast.

— Christine VanDen Heuvel

By Storm, Injury Reserve, My Ghosts Go Ghost

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Dead Weight”, “Grapefruit”, “Zig Zag”, “And I Dance”, “GGG”

GENRE: Avant Garde Hip-Hop, Experimental Hip-Hop, Experimental

RIYL: billy woods, Armand Hammer, Floating Points, Moore Mother

The genre-pushing, innovative, experimental legacy of Injury Reserve is honed and furthered by rapper Nathaniel Ritchie and producer Parker Corey under their new pseudonym, By Storm, on this debut full length album. When compared to the vibrant, boisterous energy of Injury Reserve, By Storm’s sound exists in a darker, more mournful, and if not tortured realm, which is a description that should not surprise the listener when told that Ritchie and Corey developed this new project after the sudden and tragic death of their Injury Reserve bandmate, Stepa J. Groggs, in June of 2020. My Ghosts GoGhost pulses frantically with sorrow, anxiety, and slowly, finally acceptance, trailing the emotional journey of their artistic career. As drums racket, synths stumble, 808s march, pianos croon, Ritchie’s voice stays clear and pure as if soliloquizing within a glass case protecting him from the storm whipping around him. Ritchie tumbles around fighting, relenting, then escaping entrapping cycles be they indecision or injustice, growing angry on “Dead Weight” and finding a childlike ease on “Zig Zag.” A sense of triumph appears on “Double Trio 2” as Ritchie reenlivens with hope and power supported by radiating, whistling synths exploding with fresh energy. Triumph runs liberated on “And I Dance,” reveling in joy found beyond the pain endured, the trials survived. On the final track, “GGG,” Ritchie speaks with a tone so gentle and earnest heard in each breath he sneaks, in every subtle click of his ‘k’s, in every parched vowel. I am left with tears tickling the back of my throat. My Ghosts Go Ghost is avant garde–a black silk type of grotesque–but it manages to take the hand of the listener in its warm, worn palm and profess wisdom and hope. The project is brilliant, an opus affirmed.

— Dasha Berezhanskiy

Jane Remover, <3 EP

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Magic I Want U”, “So What?”, and “Flash in the Pan”

GENRE: Experimental Pop, Alternative Rock, RnB

RIYL: underscores, yeule

In 2024, Jane Remover was in the process of rolling out a pop record with the release of singles Flash in the Pan / Dream Sequence and Magic I Want U/ How To Teleport. This album was ultimately scrapped, but after releasing her third full length project Revengeseekerz to positive critic and fan reception, she released <3 (Heart) EP on December 5th, 2025, which included the four singles from her scrapped album along with two extras, So What? and Music Baby. This EP is hard to describe, with Jane pulling from various influences throughout. For example, Music Baby features a Jersey Club beat while How To Teleport has a bachata inspired groove. Overall, the album has an alt-rock feel mixed with Jane’s more experimental electronic pop sound, and lyrically the album explores the different emotions involved when falling in and out of love with someone, hence the name of the EP. <3 EP clocks in at just under a half hour, but the songs have a depth that makes it feel like a full length album, and the project’s energy is definitely one you won’t find anywhere else.

— Henry Wolfe

Yumi Zouma, No Love Lost to Kindness

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Bashville on the Sugar” , “Phoebe’s Song”

GENRE: Indie-Pop, Alternative 

RIYL: Soccer Mommy, Men I Trust 

The recent album by Yumi Zouma, No Love Lost to Kindness, offers a unique perspective to many dimensions of life. From the first chord that’s played on track one, “Cross My Heart and Hope to Die,” Yumi Zouma grasps the listener’s attention through their groovy, unique style. This tone is reinforced with the band’s powerful guitar riffs and complex lyrics throughout. In particular, “Bashville on the Sugar” touches on relationship dynamics, while being reinforced by percussion elements and soft vocals. The lyrics throughout the album are also worth noting, with one metaphorically-packed line being, “cause I think it sucks, that I’m all dressed up, but I’m still a bag of bones.” In all, Yumi Zouma’s No Love Lost to Kindness is an enjoyable performance that I hope every music-enthusiast has the opportunity to hear. 

— Lillian Hescheles

Joyce Manor, I Used To Go To This Bar

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “All my Friends are so Depressed”, “After All You Put Me Through”, “Grey Guitar”

GENRE: Indie-Rock, Pop-Punk

RIYL: The Strokes, The Red Hot Chili Peppers

I Used to go to This Bar captures the indie rock feeling of the early 2000s and 1990s in a way that evokes feelings of nostalgia for a time that I wasn’t alive. It sounds like the soundtrack to a coming of age movie, capturing all the feelings of trying new things for the first time and taking risks that your parents might not approve of. Bary Johnson’s voice has a raw sound to it, however, his clean vocals make for a finished sound to the music without it sounding overly produced. The instrumentation drives the music forward with the drums’ fast and impactful rhythms, while the bass adds depth to the music making a grungier sound. This is a great album that will make any listener feel as if they’ve been transported to their very own coming of age movie with a nostalgic yet lively feel. I highly recommend this album to anyone looking to expand their indie rock or pop-punk repertoire!

— Christine VanDen Heuvel