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While Billie Eilish may belong to teenage girls, King Princess belongs to those who are leaving those years behind. Mikaela Straus, professionally known as King Princess, is a 20–year–old NYC–based artist who captures the essence of the liminal space between teenhood and adulthood.
The venue was packed. A large dildo complete with sparkles and a masterful blue gradient floated through the middle of the crowd. Glitter adorned the cheeks of teen girls in those cool, camouflage pants and grown men in mesh t–shirts. Someone AirDropped photos of Paris Hilton in one of her iconic graphic tees. This could only be one place—a Charli XCX concert.
Picture this: It’s just after midnight, there’s a problem set due in eight hours that you haven’t started yet, and no study music seems to be working. Lyrics are distracting, but most instrumental music just doesn’t have the right tempo, or it all starts to sound the same. Orchestral music, movie soundtracks, and lo–fi hip hop were all meant as background music, but they get boring after a while. What you need is a driving beat and a grooving guitar hook to keep on task. Enter instrumental metal, the perfect study soundtrack, which manages to keep things loud, fast, and interesting without the distraction of vocals.
Caroline Polachek's new album, Pang, has been a long time coming. Having cut her teeth in the music industry as one half of the indie pop duo Chairlift (with Patrick Wimberly), Polachek has hidden in the shadows of bigger stars as a veteran singer–songwriter until now. Most people unwittingly know her voice from the infamous commercial for the iPod nano–chromatic all the way back in 2008.
Oakland singer-songwriter, multi–instrumentalist, and sole member of the band boy scouts Taylor Vick took time out of touring to talk about creating her latest album Free Company. Originally, a solo performer, Vick is now backed by a full band. The result of this new direction for the artist is a carefully constructed empathetic album that still maintains the core of her folksy, DIY sound. Her music is characterized by short, simple lines layered over instrumentals that come together to form dreamy, comforting songs. Before she performs in Philadelphia at the Foundry on Tuesday, Oct. 29 opening for Jay Som, I had the opportunity to talk to Vick:
On Friday, Oct. 18, there was no cohesion to be found in the lobby of The Met Philadelphia. A man in a skeleton bodysuit chatted with a girl in ripped jeans and a ratty t–shirt. A 30–something in a pink pin–covered bucket hat and oversized black sweatshirt stood in the drinks line in front of a college–aged girl in head to toe tie dye. The only sprinklings of aesthetic unity were in the glow stick accessories and light up goggles worn by many attendees, emulating Rezz's signature look.
Two years ago at this time, the Metropolitan Opera House lay derelict at the corner of Broad and Poplar. Last year, it was preparing for Bob Dylan, the first concert in the renovated building. Today, there are events four or five times a week, from orchestral concerts to sold–out performances from Sara Bareilles and Steely Dan. How did the Met go from an abandoned building to a major force in the Philly music scene, all in less than one calendar year?
Despite what his band's name may suggest, songwriter Tim Bettinson is not from Vancouver. The Australian native decided to name the title of his musical project, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, after the city because of how beautiful he thought it was. While the name may be deceiving, VSC has proven its honesty with its sophomore album, Onwards to Zion.
Music is fueled by innovation, and that does not exist only in styles and trends. Instead, musical instruments themselves are always being invented and modified in response to the needs of an era. When people think about musical instruments, they often only think of the basic examples (violins, pianos, flutes, etc.), but there are so many more that deserve more love. In particular, American folk and bluegrass music is home to countless underrated instruments, and below is a selection of five such instruments that deserve your attention.
Since July 2018, the end of his first solo tour, Harry Styles has been very quiet. His social media pages became inactive and he wasn’t releasing any new music. Then, surprising fans around the world, on Oct. 11 Harry Styles released his second album's lead single , “Lights Up” and its accompanying music video. Harry Styles has managed to propel his comeback just as swiftly as he kicked off his solo career.
When you think of fall, you probably picture a warm spectrum of leaves as the months get colder, the tall grey woolen socks that peek out under boots, or the advertisements for pumpkin–flavored goods from each leading café chain. Maybe it's the sticky, sweet cinnamon of apple pie, the crisp air from a Saturday morning stroll, the trail of smoke that lingers in the air long after the bonfire and conversation has burnt out.
Interstellar often gets tossed around when people talk about their favorite films or recall the canon of Christopher Nolan. And the score is arguably one of the most distinctive aspects of the movie. The music, colored by frequent organ instrumentation and high levels of intensity, crystallizes each scene in the movie as memorable and breathtaking. This is no surprise, given that it was composed by Hans Zimmer.
Raury's new album, Fervent, is a short, 30–minute excursion into folk that burns with a muted passion, apt for the album's name. Raury, the newly–independent singer–songwriter, rapper, guitarist, and producer, has collaborated with the likes of Chance the Rapper, Jaden Smith, and Joey Bada$$. On his latest effort, he takes a sharp turn from the fleshed out folk–rap of his 2015 major label debut, All We Need, into simple, spaced–out, acoustic folk. Taken as a whole, Fervent sounds less like a collection of individual songs but more like a potent mix that captures a certain mood: burning desire that crackles quietly across the eight tracks.
The Head and the Heart are one of those bands that, appropriately, stay in the back of your head and keep a place in your heart. Existing within the same vein as The Decemberists or Iron & Wine, the Seattle–based band has been a staple of the folk revival, with flannel shirts, acoustic guitars, and music both melancholic and cathartic. After headlining the Radio 104.5 Block Party at Xfinity Live! in August, the band returned to Philly on Oct. 8 for more music and fellowship.
Just two and a half years ago, Laetitia Tamko debuted under the name Vagabon with her album Infinite Worlds, which received overwhelmingly positive critical reviews. Labeled as a DIY indie rock artist, Tamko stands out in her ability to create a lasting impression on a wide audience, despite being in a genre that isn’t immensely popular. Her story as an artist is also incredibly compelling, as her integration into the scene began when she moved to New York from Cameroon at 14 years old.
Though it may not receive the same media attention as its 2020 US counterpart, the Canadian federal election will take place on Oct. 21, 2019. Canadian students, who have hopefully either voted early over fall break or have their absentee ballots ready, make up one of Penn’s largest demographics of international students and are all probably tired of everyone asking them whether or not they love Drake.
Philly is a great place to start a band. It’s the birthplace of post–hardcore acts like Circa Survive and Days Away, emo revival groups such as Modern Baseball and Balance and Composure, and even the folk rock weirdness of The Dead Milkmen and Mischief Brew. When it comes to the Philly punk scene, one band name comes to the lips more often than all the rest: The Menzingers. Formed by guitarists and co–vocalists Greg Barnett and Tom May in 2006, the band throws out enough casual references to Philadelphia landmarks to be lampooned for it by punk satire website The Hard Times. Hello Exile, released Oct. 4, is no less Philly than any other Menzingers album—but it's decidedly less punk.
Angel Olsen is the master of the angsty anthem. With unrestrained vocals and heavy guitar chords, she’s like a one–woman rock band. That energy and fury is back on her latest album, All Mirrors. Tempered with harmonious string arrangements and, at times, poppy synths, it’s an unexpected album that still maintains the confident vocals and honest lyricism of songs like “Unfucktheworld” and “Shut Up Kiss Me” that earned the artist her devoted following and critical acclaim.
Five months ago, Brooklyn band Big Thief released the critically–acclaimed album U.F.O.F., which Pitchfork named not only one of the best albums of the year, but also one of the best of the entire decade. Now, Big Thief is already back with a new album titled Two Hands, recorded in the desert outside of El Paso just days after U.F.O.F. had been completed in the forests of Washington. While U.F.O.F is lush, surreal, and psychedelic, Two Hands is a different companion—raw, dark and unguarded.
On Oct. 7, Steve Lacy and Kari Faux brought a dance party to Theater of the Living Arts. Steve Lacy, originally from Compton, California, garnered attention for his work with R&B band The Internet and as a producer for a wide range of artists including Kendrick Lamar, Solange, J. Cole, Ravyn Lanae, and Mac Miller. He released his debut EP, Steve Lacy’s Demos, in 2017, and his debut album Apollo XXI this summer. Fusing R&B, rap, rock, funk, hip hop, and pop, Lacy’s music is innovative and inventive; he brought these influences to his performance through everything from the set design to his clothes to his dancing.
Solutions by The State News