Charts reporting is back after a rocking fall break. The leaves are changing and the charts are rocking the industry. KJHK has the best music selection around to present to the masses of radio-lovers. This week has had its predictable trends – yet there are some notable chart shakers. Notice LPs like Roosevelt that clawed its way up the charts, for instance. The adds this week are quality releases free from the tyranny of chart-domination monster records. Expect the heavy addition of a history lesson in Midwestern punk, a styling electronic album, and a few of the best ambience tracks of the year.
TOP 3 CHARTS
3. Easy Travels by Dead Gaze
From KJHK music staffer Chloe Carlson:
“Dead Gaze, a Mississippi indie pop project headed by Cole Furlow, returns for their second LP, Easy Travels. Easy Travels, while preceded only by the groups debut LP Brain Holiday in 2013, effectively solidifies and fine tunes their infectious sound.”
2. Roosevelt by Roosevelt
From KJHK Music Staffer Shelby Sneed:
“This self titled album (complete with 80s inspired cover art) is a beautiful blend of disco, house, yacht rock, and electropop. Lauber’s strength as a producer is really exemplified when you listen to the album in full because each song flows seamlessly into the next. Despite the relatively unconventional nature of the album, it still feels very accessible, so (even though I recommend listening to it all at once) tracks can stand alone without issue.”
1. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
From KJHK music staffer Maggie Witherow:
“Local Natives created new singles that are diverse, making each track memorable in their melodic differences. Lead singer, Taylor Rice starts the album with ‘Villiany,’ singing ‘I wanna start again’, followed with a synth-pop beat and belting background harmonies that set the stage for the new sounds that make up Sunlit Youth. The variety in melody from the up-beat hit ‘Fountain of Youth’, to the vocal heavy and bass lead ‘Coin,’ this third album by Local Natives makes for an optimistic, feel-good set of tunes for easy listening.”
TOP 3 ADDS
3. Shimmers by Material Object
From KJHK music staffer Mike Van Esler:
“Material Object’s Shimmers EP is an excellent techno release that is sonically full-bodied. Punishing kick drums are present throughout the recent Semantica Records release, but Material Object goes above and beyond in providing a wide array of samples. ‘Shimmer I’ feels like it would be at home on Kompakt’s annual Pop Ambient releases and utilizes space-age sounds to subtly build to its crescendo. ‘Shimmer II’ is more upfront with its techno credentials, hitting the listener with a droning bass synth; however, the track provides respite with a wandering string patch that makes the track feel more at home in a techno/house set as opposed to industrial. ‘Shimmer III’ is the sparsest track and the one that feels most alien, as if all the musical elements have been filtered through an amorphous space gel. Material Object has produced a fine EPthat is suitable for both the club and bedroom listening.”
2. Saturn Soul
by Cheap Treasure
From KJHK music staffer Sophia Fortmeyer:
“In comparison to today’s EDM, Saturn Soul could be labeled as ‘elevator music.’ With that in mind, ‘The Quiz’ and ‘Washed Out’ will get you about as amped up as a half cup of coffee; close but not quite. Fortunately, as Cheap Treasure is a relatively new musical experiment, one can hope to hear more well-rounded albums in the years to come.”
1. Capitol Punishment Magazine Presents Early Nebraska Punk Rock: 1981 To 1983 by Various Artists
Punk rock is something that has always dominated by the coasts. Punk rock is (or was?) dominated by the likes of DC, New York, LA, San Fracisco, the Pacific Northwest and the thrashing scene in in the Southeast. So is it not true that the punkest of the punk are the corn-treading of America’s Heartland? This compilation album is a strong indicator that this is the case. Take a walk through an avenue of the midwest’s punk history with a three-year curation case-study set in Nebraska.
TOP 200 ADDS
| Rank | Artist | Recording | Label | User Supplied Version |
| 1 | VARIOUS ARTISTS | Capitol Punishment Magazine Presents Early Nebraska Punk Rock: 1981 To 1983 | Capitol Punishment Magazine | |
| 2 | CHEAP TREASURE | Natural | Self-Released | |
| 3 | MATERIAL OBJECT | Shimmers | Semantica | |
| 4 | GROWLERS | City Club | ||
| 5 | OKKERVIL RIVER | Away | ATO |
TOP 200 CHARTS
| Rank | Artist | Recording | Label | User Supplied Version |
| 1 | LOCAL NATIVES | Sunlit Youth | Loma Vista | |
| 2 | ROOSEVELT | Roosevelt | City Slang | |
| 3 | DEAD GAZE | Easy Travels | Ernest Jenning | |
| 4 | GROWLERS | City Club | ||
| 5 | ALLAH-LAS | Calico Review | Mexican Summer | |
| 6 | ANGEL OLSEN | MY WOMAN | Jagjaguwar | |
| 7 | HEATERS | Baptistina | Beyond Beyond Is Beyond | |
| 8 | CAVEMAN | Otero War | Cinematic | |
| 9 | ARJUN | Gravity | Pheromone | Gavity |
| 10 | LVL UP | Return To Love | SUB POP | |
| 11 | AJJ | The Bible 2 | SideOneDummy | |
| 12 | PSYCHIC TWIN | Strange Diary | Polyvinyl | |
| 13 | SNEAKS | Gymnastics | Merge | |
| 14 | BEACH BABY | No Mind No Money | Island | |
| 15 | DRUGDEALER | The End Of Comedy | Weird World | |
| 16 | EZTV | High In Place | Captured Tracks | |
| 17 | JULIA JACKLIN | Don’t Let The Kids Win | Polyvinyl | |
| 18 | WILCO | Schmilco | Anti | |
| 19 | DELTAHORSE | Transatlantic | Slower Faster | |
| 20 | CHAIN WALLET | Chain Wallet | Jansen Plateproduksjon | |
| 21 | HAPPIES | Swing High | ||
| 22 | MUTUAL BENEFIT | Skip A Sinking Stone | Mom And Pop | |
| 23 | YANCITYGURL | Shadow Medium | Opal Tapes | |
| 24 | GONJASUFI | Callus | Warp | |
| 25 | NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS | Skeleton Tree | Kobalt | |
| 26 | PASCAL PINON | Sundur | Morr | |
| 27 | MORGAN DELT | Phase Zero | SUB POP | |
| 28 | DEATH VALLEY GIRLS | Glow In The Dark | Burger | |
| 29 | ROCOCODE | Don’t Worry It Will Be Dark Soon | Marquis | |
| 30 | CARNIVAL YOUTH | Propeller | POPUP |