This week, Nick Landolfi, WTSR assistant music director, highlights some of the best new albums that the College’s own radio station, 91.3 FM WTSR, puts into its weekly rotation.
Band: Beacon
Album: “Escapements”
Hailing From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Genre: Electro R&B
Label: Ghostly
The second album from the Brooklyn duo Beacon is a true marriage of electronic music and R&B. The album as a whole seeks to create a light but driven atmospheric balance. It has the ebb and flow that has become a staple of indie electronica with added R&B grooves. Beacon creates super interesting melodies and pays close attention to the frequencies the duo creates with deep pulsating bass. Each song on the album situates itself in a different realm within the same picture, synching up thematically but creating something different in each song. Listeners can definitely feel an ominous and dark vibe that wraps itself around them.
Must Hear: “Backbone,” “Running Out,” “Escapements” and “L1”
Band: Gladiola
Album: “This Year’s Storm”
Hailing From: Boston, Mass.
Genre: Indie rock
Label: Self-released
Boston’s Gladiola has a very unique and interesting story. You hear so often the tale of young 19 and 20 year olds trying to work and make their bands happen. What about 40 year olds? That’s Gladiola, grown-up dudes with jobs and kids making kick-ass indie rock. You can absolutely hear their influences on this album. R.E.M., The Replacements and Mountain Goats all share parts of Gladiola’s sound. This is a throwback to garage rock that you would hear in the 1980s and 1990s — but with a modern twist. The album is punctuated with tight melodies and instrumentation.
Must Hear: “We’re Never Going Back,” “First Night in The West,” “The Uninvited Guest” and “Greatest Hits”
