What Is The WLOY Staff Listening To?

Kat O’Brien – Lorde – “Team” – Pure Heroine – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/team/id703590196?i=703590286&uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

The world’s new favorite New Zealander, Lorde, has been topping charts internationally with her first album, Pure Heroine. Although her first single, Royals, is arguably her most popular, I would say that her song “Team” deserves equal or more praise. Give it a listen and your ears are almost guaranteed to enjoy.

Kelly Burchard – Drowners – Drowners – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/luv-hold-me-down/id774966296?uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

I had a different album in mind of my staff pick this week but came across this the other day and really enjoyed it. Lead singer, Matt Hitt’s lyrics almost seem like he’s having a conversation with you. Think The Libertines meets The Strokes meets The Smiths. Everything just comes together in a harmonious way that works.

Bobby Toner – Classixx – Hanging Gardens – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/all-youre-waiting-for-feat./id666074977?uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

This upbeat electro pop album is a great choice for any of those trying to “get down with their bad selves”. Whether you’re at a party or just with friends, this is an album to get those toes tapping and them limbs flailing. Go ahead, listen to it, I swear there is 90% chance you start roboting within the hour.

Kathleen McKeveny – Diiv – Oshin – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/doused/id603224797?uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

Diiv is the shoe-gaze, dream-pop, Brooklyn based band started by former Beach Fossils frontman, Zachary Cole Smith.  It would not be heinous to construct a comparison between Smith and Cobain. This is not just because he has a bleached bowl-cut, an affinity for cardigans, or a hot indie girlfriend (Sky Ferriera). Smith is doing something authentically different here. In certain respects,Oshin presents itself as a soundtrack. The guitar driven tessellations divulge and obscure the audience, contemporaneously. This album is equal parts distress and charm, and I cannot stop listening. On the whole, Oshin is a rarity in that it’s actually an album. The kind you listen to from open to close and replay once its finished. So, do that. I highly recommend.

Billy Dries – Weezer – Pinkerton – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/el-scorcho/id116057?uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

They’re a throwback, and nerd rock, and they suck now, but hell if I’ve ever met someone that doesn’t like them. Weezer’s second album, and one of their best, has surged back into my recently played column, it’s dorky and 90s and perfect. Pinkerton represents a step in the right direction for Weezer, after the breakout success of their debut “Blue” Album they found themselves in the public spotlight, but instead of selling out and writing a sophomore album full of “My Name Is Jonases” they wrote an album about half Japanese girls, and crushes on gay friends, and general awkwardness. It might be their opus, just sayin.

Kait Connaughton – Lorde – “Buzzcut Season” – Pure Heroine – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/buzzcut-season/id703590196?i=703590285&uo=4″ title=”Lorde – Buzzcut Season”]

Kat isn’t the only WLOY staff member on the Lorde bandwagon this week and perhaps that speaks volumes about the talent that this young New Zealander and recent multi-Grammy winner brings to the stage (beyond her rather eccentric dance moves, of course). Lorde’s talent explodes on “Buzzcut Season,” from production to lyrics to vocals. Track #5 on Pure Heroine  is hauntingly beautiful and easy to get lost in, which probably explains why the song has excelled through the ranks of my iTunes into the prestiged “Top 25 Most Played” playlist.