Posted inMusic New Releases Reviews

Review: American Pets – Bad Dream

Artist: American Pets 

Album: Bad Dream-Single 

RIYL: The Republic Tigers, The Little Ones, Matt Pond PA 

Released: January 5, 2018 

Rating: 10/10 

Do you ever hear a song by a band you’ve never heard of, get excited to look them up to see what else they’ve recorded, and find squat? This is what happened when I looked up American Pets . So, here’s what I know: American Pets classify themselves as a four-piece indie-rock band, they originate from Los Angeles, California, “Bad Dream” is the only song that they have released, but they are releasing their very first EP later this month. “Bad Dream” has me highly anticipating the EP’s release. 

February 7, 2018Posted inMusic, New Releases, ReviewsNo Comments
Posted inSports

WLOY Sports Wrap 2/6

Welcome back to the WLOY Sports Wrap! As February reaches its midpoint, that means the NBA trade deadline has passed and moves that changed the landscape of the league need to be dissected and evaluated.

Before we jump into the moves that were made on the actual deadline day, which featured many of the biggest names and surprises, let’s go over the trades that happened prior to February 8th. The biggest move happened before the month, as the Pistons and Clippers swapped three players and draft picks. In the end, the Pistons acquired All-Star Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson, and the Clippers received small forward Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic. They also got the Pistons’ first-round pick (top-4 protected) and a 2019 second-round pick. This trade was a surprise to the league and its fans at first, but when one takes a longer look at it, the swap makes complete sense. The Clippers didn’t want to hold onto Griffin’s contract, as the departure of Chris Paul during the offseason has the Clips in a rebuild mode rather than in a hard push for contending for a championship. Dumping his salary opens up more possibilities of attracting free-agents, most notably LeBron James, as it is unclear if he intends to stay in Cleveland. As for Detroit, it’ll be interesting to see how Blake and dominant big Andre Drummond will work down low in Motor City, but the Eastern Conference got a little wake up call 12 days before the deadline.

February 6, 2018Posted inSportsNo Comments
Review: Captain, We’re Sinking – The King of No Man
Posted inFeatured Music Reviews

Review: Captain, We’re Sinking – The King of No Man

Captain, We’re Sinking  

The King of No Man  

Rate: 10/10 

RIYL: The Menzingers, The Wonder Years, The Descendents 

As a whole The King of No Man definitely has a softer tone than Captain, We’re Sinking’s last album, The Future Is Cancelled, which was released in 2013. Despite this, The King of No Man is still very distinctly the punk sound of Captain, We’re Sinking. Overall, the album has mellow verses with heavier choruses. This album’s tracks have similar sounds to that of The Wonder Years, Knuckle Puck, The Gaslight Anthem, classic punk bands such as The Rites of Spring and The Descendents, and complimenting other out-of-genre influences. I feel like this album is like the Thanksgiving meal of punk; there’s so many sub-genre punk tracks that work deliciously well together. Below is just a taste of what the album is like: 

January 30, 2018Posted inFeatured, Music, ReviewsNo Comments
Posted inMusic New Releases Reviews

Review: Anderson East – Encore

Artist: Anderson East 

Album: Encore 

Released: 01/12/2018 

RIYL: James Morrison, Passenger, John Mayer, Ray LaMontagne 

Rate: 10/10 

As the boyfriend of one of my favorite country artists, Miranda Lambert, Anderson East is a person of my special interest. There’s something about this soulful singer’s voice that makes it clear why Lambert swoons over him—it’s downright gorgeous with just a touch of a rocker’s raspy-ness. From the beginning, Encore has a funkier and more upbeat and in-your-face sound than East’s previous album, Delilah. Still, Encore is not without a few of Anderson East’s signature style consisting of slower love songs. A lot of different (and great) components of the album remind me of the 60s and 70s funk-rock and The Temptations. With co-writers such as pop artist Ed Sheeran, country artist Chris Stapleton, and Nashville songwriter Aaron Raitiere, this album is pure beauty. In this way, Anderson East takes southern soul and twists it making his music accessible to listeners of many different genres.  

January 24, 2018Posted inMusic, New Releases, ReviewsNo Comments
Posted inMusic New Releases Reviews

Review: Spice Boys – Glade

Artist: Spice Boys 

Album: Glade 

Label: Punk Slime Recordings 

Released: 01/12/2018 

RIYL: FIDLAR, WAVVES, Together PANGEA 

Rate: 9/10 

When I first heard of the band Spice Boys, I was immediately intrigued and “Wannabe” by Spice Girls starting playing in my head. To my surprise, the Spice Boys are nothing like their flavorful, female, predecessors. Spice Boys released their first EP in 2016. After signing to Punk Slime Recordings shortly after this, Spice Boys have blessed us with their newest album, Glade. The whole album is full of distortion of all aspects of the songs—the vocals, the guitar, even the drums sound more static-y than normal. This Swedish garage rock band’s sound makes me think of kicking up some trouble with my friends on the beach in the summer. The use of echoes and wa-wa-like effects in all of the tracks just gives the album a really fun-inspiring. The fast-paced and upbeat songs make you want to dance like a fool.

January 17, 2018Posted inMusic, New Releases, ReviewsNo Comments
Posted inMusic Reviews

Review: Shooter Jennings and Jason Boland – Baltimore Soundstage

On December 6, 2017, Shooter Jennings and Jason Boland rocked the Soundstage on the very first night of their joint tour. The opener was Sean K. Preston (not Britney Spears’ son as he mentioned) and he was equally as amazing. With a sound somewhere between Johnny Cash and Elvis, songs of divorce and snakeskin boots, and incredible vibrato, Preston set the stage perfectly for Shooter and Boland. Preston’s classic country sound complimented the mellowness of the genuinely heartfelt performance that ensued. 

December 10, 2017Posted inMusic, ReviewsNo Comments