Stop week is upon us here at KU. If you find yourself on campus at any hour of the day, you’ll either be met with students cramming weeks worth of work into one night, or relaxing & celebrating the early transition into summer. In either of those scenarios, a good soundtrack is essential, and we’ve got plenty of new albums in rotation fit to fill it out.
Top 5 Charts:
1.) Broken Social Scene –Let’s Try The After Vol. 1 & 2
[From previous week] “Bigger than the sum of it’s parts” is a phrase that fits Broken Social Scene in many ways. It rings true for their album releases spanning 15+ years, the many talented musicians that make up the band, and most of all the subtle melodies that come together in all of their songs that truly make them one of a kind. Let’s Try The After is a collection of 2 EPs released this year, and shows the band pushing themselves to both new heights and sounds.
2.) PUP – Morbid Stuff
[From a previous week] Stefan Babcock, vocalist for the Toronto punk outfit PUP, has a unique ability to carry songs gleefully through negative, nihilistic, and self-depreciating lyrics over booming and cathartic punk melodies. Describing Morbid Stuff as either fun or depressing wouldn’t do it justice, and right in the middle of that juxtaposition is exactly where the band thrives
3.) Bibio – Ribbons
[From previous week] Stephen Wilkinson, the self-taught multi-instrumentalist behind Bibio, is back with a follow up to the 2016 album, A Mineral Love. The album is a special combination of homages to 60’s and 70’s folk, psychedelia, and soul music from across the globe. It’d be unfair to simply categorize Ribbons in its entirety as just an homage, as Wilkinson’s organic touch brings all of these sounds together to create something truly unique, and truly beautiful.
4.) Fontaines D.C. –Dogrel
[From a previous week] Punk music in many forms is inherently tied to the place where the sounds are created. Whether those sounds are a product of disdain, disgust, or dissatisfaction, you can learn a lot about the surroundings and upbringing of a band based on what they have to say about the place they live. In the case of Fontaines D.C., this place is Dublin, Ireland. The themes on this album go far beyond just criticism of the town and country however, as frontman Grian Chatten goes on to express just how important the act of self-preservation is in today’s society.
5.) Field Medic – Fade Into The Dawn
The line “I’m tired of playing all my old hits, but my new songs are too depressing.” echoes on the first track of Field Medic’s newest album Fade Into The Dawn. These new songs that comprise this project indeed fall on the more somber side of Kevin Patrick Sullivan’s range, but come together to produce the artist’s most focused, serene, and captivating release to date.
Top 30 Charts
| Rank | Artist | Record | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broken Social Scene | Let’s Try The After | Arts & Crafts |
| 2 | PUP | Morbid Stuff | Little Dipper/Rise |
| 3 | Bibio | Ribbons | Warp |
| 4 | Fontaines DC | Dogrel | Partisan |
| 5 | Field Medic | Fade Into The Dawn | Run For Cover |
| 6 | Kevin Morby | Oh My God | Dead Oceans |
| 7 | Local Natives | Violet Street | Loma Vista/Concord |
| 8 | Priests | The Seduction Of Kansas | Sister Polygon |
| 9 | Mess | Learning How To Talk | Self-Released |
| 10 | Frankie Valet | Stop Apologizing | It Takes Time |
| 11 | Fanclub | All The Same [EP] | Friendly Reminder |
| 12 | Grace Ives | 2nd | Dots Per Inch |
| 13 | Emily Reo | Only You Can See It | Carpark |
| 14 | Reptaliens | Valis | Captured Tracks |
| 15 | Soak | Grim Town | Rough Trade/Beggars |
| 16 | Frankie Cosmos | Haunted Item [EP] | Sub Pop |
| 17 | Kedr Livanskiy | Your Need | 2MR |
| 18 | Y god Y | Y god Y | High Dive |
| 19 | Aldous Harding | Designer | 4AD/Beggars |
| 20 | Wand | Laughing Matter | Drag City |
| 21 | Tacocat | This Mess Is A Place | Sub Pop |
| 22 | Mountain Goats, The | In League With Dragons | Merge |
| 23 | Kill Vargas | Laugh It Off | Self-Released |
| 24 | Gus Dapperton | Where Polly People Go To Read | Gus Dapperton/AWAL |
| 25 | Quiet Hours | Quiet Hours [EP] | Self-Released |
| 26 | Ellis | The Fuzz [EP] | Fat Possum |
| 27 | Damien Jurado | In The Shape Of A Storm | Mama Bird |
| 28 | Shana Cleveland | Night of the Worm Moon | Hardly Art |
| 29 | Truth Club | Not An Exit | Tiny Engines |
| 30 | Saltlick | Until Next Time | Community Radio Tapes |
Top 3 Adds
1.) Big Thief –U.F.O.F
Recommended if you like: Mount Eerie, Hand Habits, Waxahatchee
2.) Barrie – Happy to Be Here
Recommended if you like: Hatchie, Jay Som, Tops
3.) Foxygen – Seeing Other People
Recommended if you like: Ariel Pink, Chris Cohen, Deerhunter
Top 10 Adds
| Rank | Artist | Record | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Thief | U.F.O.F. | 4AD/Beggars Group |
| 2 | Barrie | Happy To Be Here | Winspear |
| 3 | Foxygen | Seeing Other People | Jagjaguwar |
| 4 | Dehd | Water | Fire Talk |
| 5 | Pile | Green And Gray | Exploding In Sound |
| 6 | Drahla | Useless Coordinates | Captured Tracks |
| 7 | Combo Chimbita | Ahomale | Anti- |
| 8 | Versing | 10000 | Hardly Art |
| 9 | Mormor | Some Place Else [EP] | Don’t Guess |
| 10 | Alaskalaska | The Dots | Marathon Artists |