WRMC Radio Roundup: Midterm music check-in

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)

 

Music Director’s Pick - Dan Frazo ’23

Album: “The Mighty Project” — Total Football

Genre: Indie Pop, Surf Rock, Dream Pop

RIYL: Beach Fossils, Real Estate, Woods, Vundabar

Blurb: “The Mighty Project” is a six-piece band of fun-lovers from Beppu, Japan. Influenced by the sounds of American indie pop, frontman Keito Otsuka gathered up a group of his childhood friends to try his own hand at making music in 2018. Since then, the band has been busy crafting simple, atmospheric tunes that bridge dream pop and surf rock, all the while performing at local venues in Beppu. 

 

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

Album: “Amiture” – The Beach

Genre: Dance, Electronica, New Wave

RIYL: New Order, Spelling, Drab Majesty, TR/ST, Pet Shop Boys, Bronski Beat, Choir Boy

Blurb: This album instantly transported me back to last spring, briefly abroad in Prague, at a low-ceilinged, hole-in-the-wall nightclub during its ’80s night, where dark, pulsing beats reverberated through the purple smoke. If you think “Blue Monday'' by New Order goes hard, try this. Whether cleaning my room or putting on silver eyeshadow for a small get-together this past weekend, “The Beach” did the trick. (Also, one of WRMC’s official additions last week, so we encourage you to play it on your show to support emerging artists like this!) Amiture’s gorgeously smooth, tenor/contralto vocals are reminiscent of the bands who pioneered ’80s New Wave, while his instrumentals are smooth, danceable and incredibly well-produced. Viiiibes. 

 

Music Director’s Pick – George Werner ’21

Album: “Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle” –  The Olivia Tremor Control 

Genre: Neo-psychedelic Rock, Experimental

RIYL: The Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thee Oh Sees

Blurb: The Olivia Tremor Control — a member of the Elephant 6 Collective that produced Neutral Milk Hotel and The Apples in Stereo — were part of a resurgence of interest in the songwriting and production practices of the 1960s, those which were used to produce albums like the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.” The album ranges from pleasing-to-the-ear retro pop like “Jumping Fences” to the bizarre — and occasionally haunting — soundscapes of the ten successive tracks titled “Green Typewriters.” A great album to listen to all the way through, it interweaves familiar notes and experimental music together seamlessly. 

 

Creative Director’s Pick - Chad Kim ’23.5

Album: “Nico and Her Psychedelic Subconscious” – Mr. Elevator

Genre: Jazz Band, Psychedelia, Rock 

RIYL: Mdou Moctar, Beyond the Seasons, KGLW

Blurb: As the name of the album suggests, “Nico and Her Psychedelic Subconscious” features a series of jam sessions punctuated with moments of calmness that act as a chance for the listener to catch their breath. The evolution of each track allows an exploration of a broad gamut of genres —  from experimental to more classic psych rock. If you’re the kind that enjoys having your senses knocked around in the presence of novelty, then this is the perfect album for you.

 

Programming Director’s Pick - Micah Raymond ’21

Album: “Stay in the Car” – Bachelor

Genre: Indie Rock

RIYL: Jay Som, Palehound, Hand Habits, SASAMI

Blurb: Best friends Melina Duterte (of Jay Som) and Ellen Kempner (of Palehound) — two classic WRMC faves — just started a band together. They’ve released a couple singles from their upcoming album (you can preorder it on Bandcamp) and they’re everything you thought they’d be. The music is fun and playful, with the just-gritty-enough crunch that we’ve come to expect from the two. Duterte and Kempner write that while they did shed tears in the creative process — especially around themes of queerness and climate change — “they couldn’t remember a time they’d ever been so delirious with creativity, so overwhelmed with joy.” A must-hear, and a must-look-forward-to.