“KCSU’s Top 10 Spinning This Week” is written by the KCSU Music Directors and describes the top artists that your local 90.5 FM DJs are playing this week! This article is posted weekly on Sundays and discussed on their show “KCSU Weekly Gem Countdown” which airs every Monday from 11-noon. During the show, you can learn more about each musician or band before tuning in to the top 10 countdowns on Monday from 11-noon, in which the music directors present to you the latest songs topping the charts and breaking down each song’s sound and feel.”

*=Brand new to the charts!

1.Steve Lacy – R&B/Soul – (11 spins of “Bad Habit” off of the 2022 album “Gemini Rights”)

Alternative R&B artist Steve Lacy is in a presumably small class of musicians who have co-produced a Grammy-nominated album while in high school. He first joined the band The Internet in 2014 as a guitarist. The artist from Compton California, who also created all his music on Garage Band, has won a multitude of awards and is now critically acclaimed.

“Bad Habit,” the lead single off his popular new album, “Gemini Rights”, tells a story many people can relate to. The song is about reflecting on an attraction to someone, and what it could have been if he had expressed how it felt to the person he is singing about.

2. MUNA – Alt/Indie (9 spins of “Anything But Me” off of the 2022 album “MUNA”)

MUNA is an all female trio that includes lead singer/songwriter Katie Gavin, guitarist/producer Naomi McPherson and guitarist Josette Maskin. The trio was signed by Phoebe Bridger’s record label Saddest Factory Records to release their debut album “About Me.”

“Anything But Me” was the second lead singles off of the trios self titled album, “MUNA.”
According to Genius, the song describes a story that “sees them hope their ex-lover gets everything, hope they do in fact change, but refuse to stick around just on that hope.”

3.Renata Zeiguer – Alt/Indie – (8 spins of “Sunset Boulevard” off of the 2022 album “Picnic in the Dark”)

Brooklyn based artist Renata Zeiguer creates a “sonic dreamworld infused with magical realism that tells an extremely personal narrative” in her album, according to Spotify. She explains that the album is integrating her child-self into her adult life with immense compassion and enlightenment. It is not only an album of exploration but one of transformation, healing and self-actualization, all told through a courageous journey towards that extremely uncomfortable yet fertile liminal space between familiarity and uncertainty.

As described by Stereogum, Sunset Boulevard is shimmering but shadowy, channeling a certain era of haunting old theatrics as Zeiguer’s voice stays high and airy.

4. tummyache – Rock – (6 spins of “Teeth” off of the 2022 album “SOAK”)

Alternative rock project tummyache is created by songwriter/producer Soren Bryce. “The project is named after one of the side effects of severe physical anxiety. ‘tummyache’ manifested from Bryce’s need to explore a new set of emotions she experienced while living in Brooklyn, New York,” according to their website.

According to their Bandcamp, the album, “SOAK,” was recorded “in the backyard of (their) parent’s house in rural Texas during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.” They considered this to be an intense period of their life.

5. Σtella and Redinho – Alt/Indie – (4 spins of “Charmed” off of the 2022 album “Up and Away”)

The up-and-coming Greek artist Σtella (pronounced Stella) recently signed to SubPop and debuted her second album “Up and Away” this past May. When this song was sent to us, I listened to it roughly six times a day. The acoustic guitar is hypnotic, and Σtella mixes her Greek roots with folk-inspired indie classic songwriting to make you addicted. This song feels like running through a sunflower field during a sunset while barefoot, and also falling in love. A perfect song for your hot summer nights.

6. Dancing on Tables – Alt/Indie – (3 spins of “Twenty” off of the 2022 EP “Play Play Play”)

The Scotland-based pop-indie-rock band Dancing on Tables consists of Robbie, Callum, Gregor, Hamish and Reece. According to Spotify, they all met in school and have grown “from playing friend’s parties and school halls, to supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen as part of their UK arena tour.” The band has over twenty-thousand listeners on Spotify and continue to grow their career to this day.

7. ADOY — Alt/Indie — (3 spins of “Antihero” off of the 2021 album “her”)

ADOY is an alternative band from South Korea. According to the group’s Spotify, “ADOY formed in mid 2016, when they all met within the Seoul indie music community.”

According to Korean indie, “‘Antihero’ is grounded in its production and effects but has this dreamy aura around itself. The band blooms on this rock-infused track, showing a great palette of genres for an electronic pop band. ‘Antihero’ is rooted in an illusion and the pursuit of happiness, referencing Hollywood and admitting that the life you’re idolizing is a movie in your head.”

8. Orion Sun — R&B/Soul — (3 spins of “pressure” off of the 2022 album “Getaway”)

Orion Sun, Tiffany Majette, is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer based in Philadelphia. Sun explained her music roots in an interview with Billboard, “I sang in church. I was leading youth worship sometimes. I was really enthralled by it. It’s the first music that moved me [to tears] … That put the music seed in me to the point where it’s like, I don’t want to go to church, but I go to church to hear the music.”

In an interview with Mom and Pop Music, Sun also described the vision behind her new EP, Getaway. “Seeing my community plagued with COVID simultaneously led me to feel that the world was a dangerous place to be. This EP was born from that. The yearning to get out and get away. The want to learn more, to grow more, to love more and to evolve.”

9. Neil Frances — Electronic — (3 spins of “every day with you.” off of the 2022 album “There Is No Neil Frances”)

Neil Frances is an electronic pop duo consisting of Jordan Feller and Marc Gilfry that came together in 2016. Feller explains on the band’s Spotify, “I was a producer first and musician/songwriter second, so I can often see when Marc’s head has exploded and then take that idea to the next step. The most fun stuff is when there are surprises and accidents. There’s a lot of benefit for both of us in that working relationship.”

“There is No Neil Frances” is the duo’s debut album with 14 tracks included. According to Earmilk, the album’s “concept follows the dreams of an insect looking for its true purpose in a utopian dreamscape.” The duo currently has over 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

10. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – Rock – (2 spins of “Microwave Dave” off of the 2022 album “Night Gnomes”)

“Microwave Dave” by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets has entered the charts once again, this time claiming the tenth spot! The short melodic song may cause listeners to question, “who is Dave, and why can he hardly recognize himself at night?”

The Music Directors can be reached at music@kcsufm.com