Music

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.  

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.