Curious about the voices behind your favorite radio shows? Look no further… In this new blog segment, we’ll introduce you to a handful of WKDU DJs every week!
The Week’s New Music Highlights
Some of the best musicians from a year or two ago are coming back around.
Fred Thomas
Fred Thomas’s new song, “Brickwall,” is one of his best yet. If it sounds familiar, it may be from his fantastic 2015 shows. His album Changer follows up 2015’s amazing All Are Saved, and is out January 20, 2017 on Polyvinyl. More info can be found at the Fader.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/289903159″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
In Praise of Erica Freas & RVIVR
It’s fall, the weather is erratic, and I’m listening to RVIVR everyday. The Olympia, WA punk outfit has been releasing music for about 8 years, but have just made their way onto my radar recently. They blew the lid off PhilaMOCA this summer, and I’ve been fascinated since.
Meshuggah Is Coming To Tear Philly Apart
— by Ebonie Butler
What’s up, ‘KDU kids? Ebonie from Metal & Coffee here. If you haven’t heard already, Sweden’s finest Meshuggah are set to stop by the Trocadero Theatre on November 4th to wreck havoc on your not-so-innocent eardrums. These extreme metalists have been around since 1987 so if you are a metalhead and have not heard of them, that’d be kind of strange. But for the not-so-familiar and generally willing to have their cherry obliterated… here’s the scoop.
Meshuggah just released their 8th full-length album, The Violent Sleep of Reason, on Nuclear Blast records and they remain closely honed into the intensity and chaos that alone pioneered the djent-ish standard of mainstream metal today.
The first album I heard by them was Catch Thirtythree (yeah, I know. Late to the party) and opening track ‘Autonomy Lost’ threw me into an instant love affair with machinic prog-metal.
Not to mention that High On Fire is supporting them on this tour… a lineup that has caused many metalheads to climax simply off the thought.
So make sure to get your ticket for the show here and I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.
And listen into Metal & Coffee [+ other metal shows] for a ticket giveaway!
Punk Turns 40: The Buzzcocks at TLA
— Maren Larsen
If the Buzzcocks were a person, that person would be right on schedule to hit its midlife crisis. It might buy a shiny car or quit its job and burn all its ties. Or maybe it would go on an international tour for its 40th birthday, just to prove it can still rock and rage.
Their most recent album, The Way, which premiered in May of 2014, contains “People Are Strange Machines”: a tune I would rate in their top ten. The opening track, “Keep On Believing,” has the kind of restless, unstoppable energy that only a bunch of perpetually angry, aging British punks could muster.
The Buzzcocks will be playing at Theater of the Living Arts Friday September 30, presented by yours truly and your fellow punks from WKDU. It’s a good venue for loud noise, and despite several rotations of band members and various breakups and reunions over the years, the Buzzcocks haven’t lost their good vibrations. I hope to see you there.
7 Reasons to Get Up and Go the New Alternative Music Festival
The New Alternative Music Festival (NAMF) is September 16-18 in Asbury Park, NJ. Running by Don Giovanni Records, NAMF is a one-time event meant to be an alternative to the obstacles and backwards thinking presented the music industry. The result is a diverse lineup spread across three days, with no overlapping set times. It’s one of the most significant musical events of the past several of years. Continue reading “7 Reasons to Get Up and Go the New Alternative Music Festival”
New Music Roundup
I’ve been listening to a lot of good new releases lately. Some are by bands I’ve known, and some by bands I’ve never listened to before. There are some albums, and some singles to get you ready for the fall. In case you haven’t been able to listen to my show (Mondays 7-830AM), here’s a digest of my favorite tunes right now:
New Bellows (Brooklyn) single is very different than Blue Breath, with a lot more synth, auto tune, and chaos. It took me a listen or two to warm up to it, but after seeing them shred on the big state at UT last month, I’m ready for what’s next.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=579789816 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 track=2129945835]
Debut SOMNIA record How the Moon Shines on the Shit. It features Spoonboy (DC) & Erica from RVIVR (WA). I saw RVIVR a few weeks ago and they blew me away. I like Somnia recording even more.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2014264276 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
The Cowboys are a band from Bloomington that I saw last night in a West Philly basement with Purple 7. They shared a lot of members, and have some 60s and Western undertones.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzkuJPcRLTU&w=560&h=315]
New Outer Spaces (Baltimore) record sounds like the sequel to The Execution of All Things. They released an EP a couple years ago on Salinas, and push forward on Don Giovanni Records.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=4071804203 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
There’s a new Krill (Boston) EP that they recorded before they broke up. It warms my heart.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=290982648 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
And a super hot LVL UP (Brooklyn) jam that manages to one-up the rest of their catalog.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3371147436 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
The new Martha (Durham, UK) album is fantastic! I don’t know when they’re returning to Philly but I hope they do soon and maybe I’ll just follow them around the country.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=691190749 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
I slept on the new The So So Glos (Brooklyn) album a little bit but Chris Gethard said it was his favorite album of the year, and it truly is great. It makes me want to throw blueberries at the wall.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHzHeOXBZo&w=560&h=315]
Permanent Body is a new band based in West Philly. They’re led by the man behind Ghost Light, one of my favorite bands I never got to see play.
[bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=539039258 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]