By: Music Journalism Club

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.

Blood Wizard, Lucky Life

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Lick The Big Star”, “Scared of the Dark,” “Daydreaming”

GENRE: Indie Rock, Post-Punk

RIYL: Slow Pulp, Fontaines D.C, Lime Garden

Out of South London’s “windmill scene” comes Blood Wizard, a budding quartet refining their sound on this 5-song EP. This record is studded with dreamy guitars and moody vocals — all reflecting the signature post-Brexit malaise of their generation. Lead vocalist and creative firepower Cai Burns swaps between a deep deadpan and airy falsetto, recalling titans of the genre Fontaines D.C. This is a project that can’t wait to hit the stage, slotting perfectly in with some of the most promising up-and-coming acts of the 2020s.

— Adriana Mathiason

Liminal Drifter, Cowboy Pilgrim

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Cowboy Pilgrim”, “Liminal Disco”, “They came in a Spaceship”

GENRE: Ambient Electronica/Dreamtronica, Progressive Electronic, Psybient

RIYL: Carbon Based Lifeforms, DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, 1991, Romare

Building on the chill, spacey sounds of Cortisol 22, Liminal Drifter’s latest album takes us on a cosmic cowboy’s journey through a psychedelic dreamscape—retaining traces of the trip-hop DNA found in their earlier work. The opening track, “Roll the Dice”, has woozy synth chords set a trancelike ambiance, while jangly guitars hint at later tracks’ funkier sounds like those featured in “Liminal Disco,” the album’s energetic high-point. Staying true to the pseudonym, this album vividly captures the idea of drifting through the unknown with its downtempo rhythms, atmospheric vocal samples, and layered electronic textures. 

— Ahillan Mani

They Might Be Giants, The World Is to Dig

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Sleep’s Older Sister”, “Outside Brain”, “Character Flaw”

GENRE: Rock/Alt-Rock

RIYL: Tally Hall, Oingo Boingo, The Radioactive Chicken Heads

TMBG’s most recent album is full of songs that are not very obviously intertwined with each other, following a weird style in some while others are more traditional in the music they play. Some songs have more experimental instrumentals than the others, this is most prominent in “Telescope”, “Slow”, and “Overnight Sensation”. Some tracks like “Hit The Ground” lean towards the sad part while “What the Cat Dragged In” is very emotionally confusing. All of the sudden changes in vibe almost feels like a mood swing, which is a common trope in all of their other albums like Lincoln and Apollo 18. Even with all the sudden changes, the music and melodies all manage to come together nicely in the end. This combined with the amazing vocals done by John L and John F, the album wraps up nicely as a TMBG album.

— Jai Crespo