Category: music reviews

Chicago-born rapper Polo G diversifies his style in the release of his third album, Hall of  Fame, incorporating a star-studded list of featured artists on the tracks. The rap star emerged in  2019 with his debut album release, Die a Legend, and bursted into prominence out of the gate (Gage 2020). In his newest studio…

Brandon Paak Anderson, better known as Anderson .Paak, stylized with an out of place period (which I will get to later), has become paramount to today’s West Coast R&B sound. Paak rose to prominence after appearing multiple times on legendary cali artist Dr. Dre’s 2015 album Compton. However, he entered differently into the music scene…

It was the Summer of 1995 and even at the the tender age of ten I knew something was wrong. I would wake up every day decidedly unpumped for the upcoming day. After dragging myself out of bed, I would look at my Michael Jordan poster and wonder why I could not constantly live the…

On Some Rap Songs, Earl Sweatshirt strives for simplicity. As he explained in an interview with Vulture earlier this week, “Incomplete sh*t is really stressful to me, and the concept of unsimplified fractions is really stressful to me.” This philosophy explains the minimalist title, but does the music on the album follow suit? Despite its…

If you went to the Olive Garden recently and used the restroom, chances are you heard some nice, swinging tunes. If you listened carefully, you may have noticed that Paul Anka was crooning about teen spirit over that tender brass section, because you were hearing Rock Swings, the epic 2005 album that was tastefully chosen…

As finals season approaches, Radio 1190 is packed with students diligently studying. To accompany our studies, we’re jamming to new albums from Lonnie Holley, Ian Sweet and Carbonas. Lonnie Holley is known for both his visual art and his music. Both experimental and easy to listen to, “MITH” is a collection of Holley’s thoughts and feelings…

Recently, I have been binging on City Pop and various other forms of 20th century Japanese genius. Although City Pop has taken on a larger than life status in popular memory in the past decade, it lived in relative obscurity outside of the region before the internet could teleport it across time and space. City…

By Max AskariAt Radio 1190, we love spinning our favorite music, new and old. This week, I’ll be looking back at an album DJs spin constantly: “The Lonesome Crowded West” by Modest Mouse. Released in 1997, Modest Mouse’s second studio album is a sprawling 74-minute LP that tells tales of road trips, American culture and…

Few albums better illustrate the magic of YouTube as a music platform than Hiroshi Suzuki’s Cat. Many of my friends have a running joke about YouTube ‘classics’. That is, albums that YouTube’s algorithm seems to favor, meaning that many people end up listening to an album that lived in relative obscurity outside of YouTube. Some…

As the weather cools down, Radio 1190 continues to spin the hottest records. This week, you’ll be hearing fresh releases from a handful of new favorites.  Part Time, a band under the popular rock record label Burger Records, just released their sixth album “Spell #6.” The record has plenty of pop and rock sensibilities, and…

Terror, introspection, and sheer rage. The mastery of DJ Shadow’s 1996 Endtroducing is its ability to create horror out of the mundane. This record has garnered the acclaim that it deserves over the years, but now, looking back at it over two decades later, it is increasingly evident how innovative the first fully plunderphonic album…

Kero Kero Bonito’s sophomore release, “Time ‘n’ Place,” continues their streak of catchy indie pop releases. Hailing from London, Kero Kero Bonito’s early releases were predominantly inspired by video game music and J-Pop. Frontwoman Sarah Midori Perry sings in both English and Japanese, creating lyrical content that distinguishes them from other acts in the Western…

This week’s Blast from the Past is formatted a bit differently than usual. For listeners of my generation, compilations are an essential link between a culture that existed before we were conceived and our ears. They tell a story of what the sound of an era, city, or record label may have been, though we…

Joao Donato’s 1973 masterpiece album Quem e Quem is sometimes forgotten among the tidal wave of classic Brazilian albums from the 1970’s. This is a terrible disservice to a record that I consider a true masterpiece. The only other album that I know which can so tastefully preserve a single mood over the course of…

If you tune into Radio 1190 this week, you’ll be hearing plenty of soothing music. Here’s what we’re spinning right now. Goo Age is a Denver band making music that is truly innovative. In their debut record, “Chatbot Spa,” Goo Age experiments with electronic sounds that range from hyper realistic to super synthetic, and they complement…

This week on Radio 1190, we’re spinning two old favorites: “Smiley Smile” by The Beach Boys and “House Arrest” by Ariel Pink. The 12th studio album by The Beach Boys, “Smiley Smile” was released in September 1967. Conceived as a simplified version of their Smile project, “Smiley Smile” wasn’t well received at the time of…

This week on 1190, we’re spinning exciting new albums from drastically different genres. Here’s what you’ll hear when you tune in.  Last week, Haterreleased their debut album “Siesta.” The band formed in 2017 and is already making waves in the indie rock music scene. Their music is slow and vulnerable, and the lead singer Caroline Landahl’s…

I have had a limited amount of knowledge about this album for a year or two, starting with the surreal portrait of a cheesed-out Herbie Hancock on the cover, complete with darting collars and no undershirt. This alone is enticing enough for me. However, the title track on this album, “I Thought It Was You”,…

If you’re an avid reader of On Air Next, you’ll remember “Hypnic Jerks” by The Spirit of the Beehive. We love this record so much here at 1190 that we’re making it October’s CD of the Month. The Spirit of the Beehive has been a favorite here at the station since their performance at Backspace,…

This was an exciting week for music at Radio 1190. Three new records dropped from bands we’ve been spinning for a while now, and they’re all going on air this week. Here’s what you’re about to hear. Guerilla Toss, an art rock band out of Boston and New York, dropped their album Twisted Crystal this…