WRMC Radio Roundup: spring synths and midnight soundtracks

Have your Spotify playlists become stale? Is your weekly mix just not cutting it? Maybe it’s time to branch out and listen to something new. The Executive Board of WRMC, Middlebury College’s radio station, has selected a wonderfully wide range of albums, spanning time and genre, for your listening pleasure. Check back each week for a new set of recommendations.

 

*RIYL (recommended if you like)

 

Concerts Manager’s Pick — Eric Kapner ’21 

Album: “Do You Wonder About Me?” - Diet Cig

Genre: Indie Rock

RIYL: Great Grandpa, Remember Sports, Charly Bliss

Blurb: I didn’t realize that I managed to miss Diet Cig’s new album until I recently came across “Do You Wonder About Me?” Like Diet Cig’s earlier releases, this album channels punk influences and indie sweetness to create a confessional and honest record. From hard-hitting lyrics to rocking instrumentals, this album is perfect for headbanging (or crying) alone in your room.

 

Studio Manager’s Pick — Lucy Rinzler-Day ’21

Album: “Introverted Romance in Our Troubled Minds” - P.S. Eliot

Genre: Indie Rock/Punk

RIYL: Waxahatchee, Hop Along, Camp Cope, Swearin’

Blurb: “Introverted Romance in Our Troubled Minds” has always hyped me up, from high school morning train commutes to more recent platform-boot-stomps across Battell Beach, as I yearn for the kind of rowdy DIY house show this album can transport you to.  I also love P.S. Eliot for showcasing sister songwriters Katie and Alison Crutchfield’s sonic teenage roots before they moved on to bigger projects: Swearin’ and Waxahatchee. IRIOTM is lyrically captivating and cohesively upbeat, raw and gritty across all tracks, illustrating the nuances of beginning a new relationship through all-too-relatable anecdotes for our generation.

 

Business Manager’s Pick — Maia Sauer ’22

Album: “Underneath the Pine” (Instrumentals) - Toro y Moi

Genre: Synth Pop/Psych Pop/Electronic

RIYL: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Wild Nothing, Tennis 

Blurb: Okay, okay, I know this album came out in 2011, but hear me out. Toro y Moi just released an instrumental version of “Underneath the Pine,” and I’ve been listening to it a lot on my walks around town. It’s a fitting soundtrack to early spring, with a little laid-back groove and some synth-y energy to hype me up for warmer weather and longer days. Give it a listen!

 

Music Director’s Pick — Dan Frazo ’23

Album: “Foam” - Divino Niño

Genre: Indie Pop/Neo-Psychedelia

RIYL: Drugdealer, Chicano Batman, Crumb, Loving, Jerry Paper

Blurb: Divino Niño released “Foam” in 2019 after recording the entire album in frontman Camilo Medina’s Chicago apartment. The album consists of mellow beats, dreamy keyboards and this one stinking guitar riff that I cannot get out of my head (see track 10 if you dare). If you’re like me, and get those occasional weird nights on campus where you don’t feel like doing anything and instead just walk around looking for reasons to feel kind of sad, this one’s definitely for you.

 

Programming Director’s Pick — Micah Raymond ’21

Album: “Under 1 House” (EP) - Blue Hawaii

Genre: House/Techno

RIYL: Four Tet, Jessy Lanza, Braids

Blurb: “Under 1 House” is a quick six-track mixtape released in September 2020 by one of my favorite house music duos: Blue Hawaii. It’s been my go-to pick-me-up album for the past several months. Based in Montreal and Berlin, Blue Hawaii has a trademark blend of clean yet irresistibly fluid house music with soaring vocals that make for total dance-floor euphoria. The album is dedicated to “the spirit of togetherness ... unity achieved through confidence, in the seductive redemption of one’s own sexuality, finding power in feelin’ one’s self.” The album is a much-welcomed feeling in a time of fierce isolation and temporary separation from the nightclub.