ALL CAMPUS RADIO NETWORK

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [4AD; 2017] Rating: 6/10 Key Tracks: “Signal,” “Dead Wrong,” “Harbour” To freeze in the shadows of giants is a role no one wishes to uptake; although, for giants to exist, there must ants who gaze upward. SOHN is an ant in the self-perfecting realm of R&B, where artists like Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Blood Orange tower over all. Even in the newly popular indie-R&B field, SOHN exists in a musical plane below James Blake and the elusive FKA T

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Capitol; 2016] Rating: 7/10 Key Tracks: “Hide in Plain Sight,” “We Ain’t Getting Any Younger Pt. 2,” “Eternally Even” Subtly placed amongst the storm of the election, Jim James’ second solo album, Eternally Even, turns the volume down and takes aim at the muddled world around. A harmonious blend of pseudo-psychedelic and R&B give James’ latest release just the right amount of dust. The subject matter will be no surprise to long-time fans of

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Terrible; 2016] Rating: 8.5/10 Key Tracks: “This is as Close To Heaven as I Get,” “Never Alone in a Dark Room,” “On the Floor Beneath the Cross” Riding the wave of an incredibly successful musical year, Sam Ray forges onward with a new release from his ambient-experimental project, Ricky Eat Acid. After years of honing a delicate blend of bubble-gum pop samples and stirring soundscapes, Ray gifts us with, perhaps, the most endearing record u

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Run For Cover; 2016] Rating: 8/10 Key Tracks: “There Was a Door,” “Origin,” “Revive” Crying’s unforeseen rise into the chip-tune genre was as strange as it was short-lived. After only one double-EP, the New York-based band has given their, at times, messy sound a complete overhaul. The result is a propulsion in style and maturity: the result is Beyond The Fleeting Gales. Leading up the release of Beyond The Fleeting Gales, Crying released se

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Sire; 2016] Rating: 7/10 Key Tracks: “Bleeding Heart,” “Older and Taller,” “Small Bill$” If eccentricity in pop music, a genre overrun with 4/4 time signatures and elementary storytelling, is a breath of fresh air, then Regina Spektor is the first 50-degree day after a long winter. After gaining a huge fanbase following her appearance on multiple indie rom-com soundtracks, Spektor has remained relevant by never being one to ride the status q

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [429; 2016] Rating: 2.5/10 Key Tracks: “Speaking in Tongues,” “Going All the Way (A Song in 6 Movements)” Meat Loaf's newest, and apparently final release, Braver Than We Are, is reminiscent of playing catch with an aging, sickly dog; he struggles through the entire thing and by the end, everyone in attendance is upset at what they had to witness. It is a bleak record with an aged sound, shaky vocals and the cries of a fallen legend. Braver T

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director Friends, festival culture is upon us; for better or for worse, every mid-sized city in every mid-sized state is almost guaranteed to have a festival to its name. From Bonnaroo to Shrekfest everyone seems to be cashing in on Coachella crazed kids. Whether this is a positive or negative is entirely dependent on whom you ask. What is certain though, is the authenticity of the Nelsonville Music Festival. With helpful volunteers, smiling local ven

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Sub Pop; 2016] Rating: 6.5/10 Key Tracks: “One Way To Pray,” “Chalk It Up to Chi,” “Soft Place to Land” Artist collaborations are a touchy subject. The end result is either fantastic, or a crash and burn (no pun intended). For folk fans, a collab between Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop is a wet dream waiting to happen, and luckily for listeners, Love Letter for Fire doesn’t completely fluster. It doesn’t exactly soar either, however. The equation se

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Reprise; 2016] Rating: 8/10 Key Tracks: “Prayers / Triangles,” “Geometric Headdress,” “Gore” There aren’t many bands around these days like Deftones. The art of guitar-centered pieces, coupled with hammering bass lines and thunderous drums seems to have gone out of style. Luckily though, the band has been on a hot streak these past few years and their newest release, Gore, is here to carry the torch. The Deftones charm comes not only from th

By Sam Tornow, Editorial Director [Dead Oceans; 2016] Rating: 6/10 Key Tracks: “Keep On Keepin’ On,” “Chemical Air” What do you get when you cross Puffy AmiYumi and Joan Jett? The world may never actually know, but Bleached’s new album, Welcome the Worms, may be the closest we ever get to finding out. Welcome the Worms is fast, fun, juvenile and a bit shallow, but still warrants a few spots on any punk’s summer playlist. The opening track, “Keep On Keepin’ On,” is a perfect i