WXOU's Albums of the Year (So Far)

We're just about through the summer and I think it's high time a few of us here at WXOU to report in on the best new projects we've heard this year. Without further ado, here are some of the records that have resonated with us most so far:

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JW Francis

Magic River

Indie Pop, Indie Folk

JW Francis over the years has become a mainstay in my car rides and nature walks. His albums just encompass the beauty of living in the moment for me, and that statement still holds true for his latest release, Magic River. Each song is jangly and personal, while also being incredibly charming and inviting.

Similar to Francis’s 2024 release Sunshine, which was based upon his experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail, Magic RIver was written during Francis’s 86 day long canoeing trip along the entirety of the Mississippi River. And that's reflected in the subject matter, although some songs are more obvious with it. Tracks like “Watery Road,” and “Magic River,” the title track, present the background of the music very clearly. But the album gets a lot more introspective on other tracks, my favorite example being “Radio Tower,” which is about how when you’re out on the water alone for long enough, your brain picks up messages from the nature surrounding you, and how you start seeing things differently, like you are picking up a signal from a radio tower. Other highlights include the slow rolling opening song, “I Guess I Really Needed You” and the atmospheric contemplative “Stars (Reflect a Secret Sky)”. Go on a hike, bring your headphones, and listen to this album, I promise that it is an experience worth having. -- Roman

Miserere Luminis

Sidera

Atmospheric Black Metal

Québécois black metal often balances itself between the rawness of the genre's past and the overblown, epic qualities it has picked up in its various subgenres. Miserere Luminis have now cemented themselves as my undisputed GOAT from this scene with Sidera. The album swirls with prodigious compositions and bellowing fury, largely slow and dramatic tracks mixing symphonic melodies, disgusting heaviness, and tremoring drums.

Listen to the descending riffs in "De cris & de cendres" or the technical and symphonic elements on "Les fleurs de l'exil". And you don't need to speak French to get the horrifying beauty from Icare's vocals. With excellent Panopticon and Kaatayra records out already this year, I really could've gone any way on my choice of black metal, but Sidera was the biggest surprise, a massive improvement over the already relatively good Ordalie from 2023. -- Paul

Cheekface

Podium

Indie Rock, Nerd Rock

Sometimes you are shown a band that you feel like you should’ve known a whole lot earlier. Cheekface is that band for me. They were introduced to me very recently and they fit right in with plenty of my playlists. Indie rock is a term that could describe them, but Cheekface is too culturally tuned in and witty for that to be the only descriptor. And Cheekface’s latest release, Podium, is very in tune with anything going on, like any of their albums, but this time around, Cheekface is angry.

Podium Has a lot of variety, with songs ranging from a slow power ballad about how nothing is affordable with “Rent is Down,” to the follow up, a faster, more upbeat, power pop song in “Black Site,” where the joyful tone contradicts the more serious subject matter, to the track “Discrete,” which is a bass driven, post punk song about complacency in the world. Other highlights for me are the extremely silly and funky album closer, “I Decline,” as well as the extremely unserious story of two GameStop Clerks with “Peanut Butter Prawns”. Podium, is very silly. It also deals with a lot of serious stuff. That dichotomy is what makes the band special. -- Roman

Dealers of God

Bushranger (Act 1)

Experimental Hip Hop, Trip Hop

I take music more seriously than I probably should, and accordingly stuff that comes across as campy or intentionally humorous usually doesn't land with me. But something about the absurdity present on Bushranger is absolutely hypnotic. A fitting descriptor considering the literally hypnotic psychedelic tone the album goes for, awash in effects and experimentation.

The album's style and instrumentation also strikes a wonderful balance between soul-inflected hip hop and out-of-this world country and folk sounds. The album embodies its paranoia of systems, structures, and government's by speaking in the smooth, utterly uncorporate language of experimental hip hop.

Check out: "It's Too Easy" and "Drivin' Down". -- Paul

Angine de Poitrine

Vol. II

Math Rock, Experimental Rock

Angine de Poitrine sounds frantic. They're another band I was introduced to fairly recently, and Vol. II constantly sounds like my head is swelling. Vol. II is what I would use in a video game chase sequence. The album has an urgency to it, like something is trying to desperately crawl out of my speakers. Everything bounces around your ear, it tickles my brain in a very satisfying way. I particularly enjoy the build up of opening song, “Fabienk,” and the fast paced surf esque track “Yor Zarad.” But choosing one song over another was a difficult choice, the album blends and meshes together exceedingly well. Angine de Poitrine just scratches an itch in the back of my mind. -- Roman

otay::onii

Love Is in the Shit

Industrial, Darkwave

If you've never heard of her, otay::onii is a Chinese-American experimental and electronic musician, and her latest record is a total killer: harsh and maximalist, with buzzing synths and dissonant chords that subsume the listener. Otay::onii's voice has massive range from a sharp, almost shrill cry to sultry lows working in tandem with the dynamism present in the rest of the instrumentation.

Stylistically the album melds sweet pop hooks with industrial darkness and glitchy, electronic instrumentals. There are a few moments where I think the experimentation goes a little too far, with awkward vocals and uncompromising unsteadiness in structure as on "World Class Citizen". Otay::onii recently joined The Ocean, one of the premier progressive metal bands active today in my opinion, I'm incredibly curious to see how their album Solaris turns out on September 25th.

Check out: "Have You Ever" and "The Plaice". -- Paul

Sex Mex

21:12

Pop Punk, Alternative

Sex Mex is an artist that I have followed for a decent little while. Maybe 2 out of the 5 years of the project’s existence. A solo project by artist Clark Grey, Sex Mex blends garage and punk influences with an explosion of fuzzy and robotic instrumentals to form something incredibly energetic and especially catchy. And that sentiment is carried tenfold for this release, 21:12. While being named very similarly to a Rush album, the name is in reference to the album’s length: 10 Songs in 21 minutes and 12 seconds. And those 10 songs are a great pick me up. Tracks like “Need Ya Til I Don’t,” and “I Like It,” elevate you and themselves simply by being played. There is just something so exciting about the album, and that something provides a very unique feeling of dopamine fueled joy that makes you eager to hear the next song. It’s the quickest 21 minutes and 12 seconds you’ll ever experience. -- Roman

Elder

Through Zero

Progressive Rock, Stoner Rock

After two decades Elder seem to have fully settled in their sound between this and their previous records. Through Zero continues on the course of Innate Passage with technical psychedelic rock noodling and long, groove based compositions that take their stoner metal origins and prog rock ambitions in near equal measure.

"Sigil to Ruin" opens the album and reaffirms long-time listeners that their signature overwhelming number of riffs approach remains as strong as ever, progressing minute to minute between energetic and atmospheric, soaring and reflective. The production and tone of the record is pristine as well, with smooth guitar effects like the phaser on "Through Zero" and a crisp sound to the vocals. -- Paul

Neurosis

An Undying Love for a Burning World

Atmospheric Sludge Metal

I reviewed this record back when it came out in March because Neurosis are easily one of my absolute favourite bands. The TL;DR is that with the firing of their frontman, primary songwriter, and rhythm guitarist back in 2019, I wasn't crazy hopeful that we'd get anything new from the band. I certaintly wasn't expecting it to be this good.

An Undying Love for a Burning World sounds almost exactly like what the title says: it's something between a eulogy for our broken and abused planet as well as a cry of adoration for the accomplishments of our species. New band member Aaron Turner brings his rasping bellows and love for atmospheric electronics, breathing new life into the group on just about every track. The standouts to me are "Mirror Deep" and "Blind", but it is truly an album where every track has its own merits. -- Paul

Roman Contesti - Music Director

Paul Taylor - Web Content Director