Reviews

Check out new tunes by Real Estate, The Men, and St. Vincent this week. The Number 1 spot this week goes to Real Estate‘s fantastic new track, off of their new album Atlas, called “Crime”. Also be sure to check out “A Simple Beautiful Truth” by Wild Beats and the Worth EP by Mas Ysa, they’re some great new tunes by up and coming artists. Check back in two weeks for an updated Top 20. Sorry to make you all wait so long for new music, but alas spring break is upon us at Loyola Maryland.

Rachel Stoczko – Hey Ocean – If I Were A Ship – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/if-i-were-a-ship/id584597270?i=584597285&uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

This super fun song, that’s a single track off their 2013 album IS, is the epitome of Hey Ocean!. The Vancouver based band is fun loving and they provide feel good music that just makes you want to dance. In January they released an animated video to accompany “If I Were A Ship” and it’s basically the most adorable an animated music video can get. Give them a listen, dance along and fall in love, like I have.

This week we still have Mac DeMarco topping our chart, but there are a few new additions. A new song by Austin, Texas band Pure X is so dreamy and surfy that you’d never believe that those kids grew up hundreds of miles from the closest beach. Also on our chart is a huge pop track from ceo, and a new track by WOODS. Check back every week for even more great new tracks. 

Joe Lomuti – Inside Llewyn Davis OST – Oscar Isaac – [itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fare-thee-well-dinks-song/id712838705?uo=4″ title=”Itunes”]

It is definitely hard to see through the biases associated with movie sound track albums. Why spend money on a collection of juxtaposed songs that seem but lost independent of their movie origin? However, with the release of the new Coen Brothers film Inside Lleywn Davis, my perceptions have been swayed. Based in NYC circa 1960, the film follows the character of Lleywn Davis–a vagabond folk musician surfing couches of the East Village struggling to demonstrate his talent and find his place in life. The film’s soundtrack was created like any other studio album and more so. Tracks include appearances by Mumford & and Sons, JT, and The Punch Brothers, all lead by notable music producer and composer T-Bone Burnett. However, don’t let all these big names shadow Oscar Isaac, the lead actor and recording musician for multiple tracks including one of my favorites “Hang me, Oh Hang me”. If you enjoy folk music, or just good art in general, both the sound track and film are definitely worth checking out.

Our Top 20 this week remains similar to the last, with Broken Bells still sitting atop the chart, after releasing After The Disco, their second studio album, earlier this week. New additions to the list include tracks by Waxahatchee, The Jezabels, and Death Vessel. Check in every week for an updated list of our favorite tracks at WLOY.