“KCSU’s Weekly Gems Countdown” 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 this week!

1. Backseat Lovers – alt/indie – (10 spins of “Growing/Dying” off of the 2022 album, “Waiting to Spill”) The Backseat Lovers have been on our charts for the past 4 weeks! They are from Heber City Sandy, and Ogden Utah and the members include Jonas Swanson, Joshua Harmon, KJ Ward, Juice Welch. The band gained attention when their song “Kilby Girl” became popular.

“Growing/Dying” was the first single off their new album “Waiting to Spill.” According to the band in an interview with Melodic Magazine, “‘When We Were Friends’ was our first attempt at making an album, and it was essentially recording one song, selling some t-shirts at a show the next month, and being able to record another song. Upon finishing it, we were quickly filled with a strong desire to make something that really flowed together, with each song intentionally placed, creating a cohesion that spans the whole record. Overall though, ‘Waiting to Spill’ really feels like a continuation, the next chapter of our lives.”

2. *Robot Tennis Club (local) – alt/indie – (9 spins of “Goatman” off of the 2022 album, “If These Walls Could Talk, You Wouldn’t Listen”) Robot Tennis Club is a CSU student band that just released their debut album! Nina Dorighi and Laura Steadman met in their sophomore year of high school and put together the band after their music teacher told them to start one. Later, when Nina came to CSU, they added in Eli Schulz, finishing the trio. On their website, the trio explains “Laura had been writing songs since middle school, aspiring to the idea that someday they could help her connect with people. Having never written songs before, Nina stepped right up to the plate with lyrics, melodies and guitar parts that she would sing so that Laura could play.”

“Goatman” is the fourth track off the debut album and describes the anger of someone from the past taking something from you but not realizing how much they hurt you.

3. SZA – r&b – (9 spins of “Good Days” off of the 2022 album, “SOS”) SZA, real name being Solána Imani Rowe, is one of the most influential R&B singers right now. SZA’s Spotify explains that she “has set herself apart with a vulnerable and casually poetic songwriting style and a voice conveying a multitude of emotions with subtle twists and turns. She established herself with a trio of spaced-out EPs and collaborations with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. She continued her ascent with Ctrl (2017), a Top Ten album that resulted in five Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist.”
“Good Days,” was initially released in 2020, and personally was the light for me during the pandemic. It became a huge hit and single for SZA and was later put on her third studio album, “SOS.”

4. *The Velveteers (local) – rock – (8 spins of “See Me” off of 2022 single release, “See Me”) The Velveteers are from Boulder, Colorado and consist of Demi Demitro, Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig. The trio got their start when clips of their performances got back to Dan Auerbach who invited them to record in his studio. “‘I instantly dug them,’ says Auerbach. ‘They’re amazing live, and their videos are so creative. And they just sound so powerful. Any time you doubletrack drums on a record, it’s going to sound so heavy. Then you put that together with this baritone guitar player who is so unique, and it’s so bombastic. There’s nothing like them.'”

“See Me” was produced by Auerbach and released in late 2022 as a single. The song describes wanting someone to truly know you for who you are.

5. Fousheé – alt/indie – (7 spins of “supernova” off of the 2022 album, “softCORE”) Fousheé is a singer and songwriter from New Jersey who is known for carving a new path in the R&B genre. Fousheé was even named the “Hip Hop & R&B Rookie of the Month” in March of 2021 by Billboard. However, even though Fousheé is known for her R&B, this new album explores a whole other side of her – punk rock. NME explains that, “her new project ‘Softcore’ is bristling with a heavier sound: while it retains some of the soft acoustic moments and touching openness found in ‘Time Machine,’ it’s much more influenced by post-punk, metal and hardcore than any of her previous work.”

“supernova” is the lead single off her new album. Fousheé explained this song to Stereogum by saying, “I think it’s a reflection of my taste. I get really bored very easily, so the music that I listen to is all over the place and a reflection of my personality. If I’ve been writing a lot of sappy love songs, eventually I’ll feel this urge to revolt and then write something polar opposite to that. I love variety. It keeps me entertained.”

6. *100 gecs – electronic – (7 spins of “Torture Me (ft. Skrillex)” off of the 2023 EP “Snake Eyes”) 100 gecs is a viral duo that consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. Their music was so different that the genre hyper pop was created to explain their own music. With a 157 BPM, the track has the only feature on the EP and really closes up the short list of songs nicely.

7. *Afternoon Bike Ride – alt/indie – (5 spins of “Summertime” off of the 2022 album, “Glossover”) Afternoon Bike Ride is a recent personal favorite discovery of mine. Their music is reminiscent of those spring Sundays that begin to feel like summer and you spend all day in the cool sun. The band consists of Lia, David and Éloi, and they describe their music as an audio diary. “Summertime” is the third track off their new album, “Glossover,” and truly makes you feel like you are running around your hometown on a hot July night.

8. *Paramore – alt/indie – (5 spins of “C’est Comme Ca” off of the 2023 album, “This is Why”) Paramore is another household name on our charts this week. Consisting of Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Josh Farro, the band became a smash hit during the revival of pop punk in the early 2000s. The band took a a hiatus after their 2017 record, “After Laughter,” but recently came back in late 2022 to drop their first single off their new album, “This is Why.”

“C’est Comme Ca,” meaning ‘it is what it is’, was the third single the band released. On Genius, Paramore explains that “the song takes direct influence from Talking Heads’ new wave and post-punk sound. For the verses, Williams was inspired by bands Dry Cleaning and Yard Act to adopt a spoken-singing style, also known as Sprechgesang.”

9. Tennis (Local) — Alt/Indie — (5 spins of “100 Lovers” off of their 2014 album, “Ritual in Repeat”)

Tennis is a local indie-pop duo that consists of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. According to the duo’s Spotify, the pair’s music is “swooning ’50s pop melancholy with smooth-and-easy ’70 soft rock in a … calming fashion that matches the sailing trips that provide them with inspiration.”

The duo returned from a busy touring schedule to record their third album in the autumn of 2014. From their Spotify, they explain that the album is “more accessible and diverse than previous efforts. The record featured songs produced by Richard Swift, the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and Spoon’s Jim Eno.”

10.Weyes Blood – alt/indie – (5 spins of “Hearts Aglow” off of the 2022 album, “And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow”) Weyes Blood is a rising alternative singer that is known for her powerful ballets that make you transcend in time and get lost in the music. Even though she is just now getting mainstream attention, Blood has been making music since 2007!

Blood’s newest record, “And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow” is one of the most aesthetically pleasing albums that came out in 2022 – with the visuals reminiscing Lana Del Rey mixed with a motel neon night in Vegas. In “Hearts Aglow,” a night out with a beloved is enough to stave off the creeping dread of a world in collapse, at least temporarily.

Top Adds from this Week:

1. Red Moon in Venus by Kali Uchis (r&b)

2. on the street (single) by j-hope with J.Cole (k-pop, hip hop)

3. AURORA by Daisy Jones & the Six (rock)

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