“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 Wednesday morning and discussed on the show “KCSU Weekly Gem Countdown” which airs every Wednesday from 12-1. During the show, you can tune in to hear the countdown, learn more about each artist behind the songs topping KCSU’s charts, and listen to DJ Fruit-Bat and Lady J break down the sound and feel of each song!

10. Boygenius – alt/indie – 9 spins – Highlighted Hit:”Black Hole” off of the October EP “the rest”
Formed from indie darlings Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, and Julien Baker, boygenius’s first, self-titled EP came out in 2018. Formed “on accident” after the three became friends, boygenius’s cult status has grown into a devot

ed fanbase. Their first full-length album, “the record,” came out this year in March, and it was met with acclaim from fans and critics, a critical, commercial, and fan-led success.

Their newest release as boygenius, the four-song “the rest” EP is what came of songs that didn’t make it on the original record, and each track was revealed one-by-one over the course of their tour until the EP was released. Our highlighted track, “Black Hole” is the breakout track from the EP.

9. Hozier – folk – 11 spins – Highlighted Hit: “Damage Gets Done (feat. Brandi Carlisle)” off of the August release “Unreal Unearth” 
Hozier (aka Andrew Hozier-Byrne) is a singer-songwriter from Ireland who skyrocketed to fame after his 2013 song, “Take Me To Church” became one of the most popular songs of the year (now with over 2 billion streams on spotify). His bluesy, folk-oriented music explores love, politics, religion, nature, and everything else one might expect from an Irish wordsmith whose songs reference everything from the bible to Dante’s Inferno to his favorite jazz songs and poems.

Hozier’s most recent release, “Unreal Unearth,” was released a few months ago on August 18th! It’s based upon Dante’s Inferno, with each song representing one of the circles of hell that Dante journeys through in the famous poem. Hozier wrote this album partially as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, telling GRAMMY.com: “As a structure, I did want to acknowledge something in my experiences of [that] two, three year period, and what I was processing. I [wanted] to find a way that nods to that, and the significance of that — albeit, not necessarily in a way that was a lockdown album or a pandemic album, or songs that focus on the nuances of that experience, but at least acknowledge the journey. And it’s taking the structure of that journey as imagined by Dante, these Nine Circles he walks through and then he comes out the other side.”

The record is a hit with Hozier fans who waited patiently for its release, and Hozier’s two Red Rocks shows a few weeks back were attended by tons of students who’ve spoken pretty highly of the show! Hozier has been in our charts consistently since we got “Unreal Unearth” into our rotation! Our highlighted track this week is a collaboration with Brandi Carlisle, “Damage Gets Done”

8. Animal collective – alt/indie – 11 spins – highlighted hit: “Soul Capturer” off of the September release “Isn’t It Now?”
Animal Collective are considered one of the most prolific and idiosyncratic acts making music, which they’ve been doing since the early 2000s. Formed from a group of friends in Baltimore, the band currently consists of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). It feels a disservice to AnCo to try and define them by any genre, but they’ve been described as experimental pop/rock, freak-folk, electronica, psych, and more.

Every release is different, taking the band in new and unexpected directions. Their most acclaimed record is 2009’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion,” considered a classic in the world of indie music. Their most recent release, September’s “Isn’t It Now?” is formed from songs they started working on remotely in 2019, and ended up as their longest record to date. The record is largely astrology/tarot themed, and our highlighted track this week, “Soul Capturer” is no exception.

7. Troye Sivan – pop – 13 spins – highlighted hit: “Can’t Go Back, Baby” off of the October release “Something to Give Each Other”
Another artist who got their start on the internet, Troye Sivan’s story is a particularly compelling one. He started posting YouTube videos as a kid, growing in popularity through his teenage years through his comedy, vlog, and song cover videos. His debut EP, “TRXYE,” came out in 2014, followed by his debut studio album, “Blue Neighborhood,” which came out in 2015.

Sivan’s second album, “Bloom,” was released in 2018, and in the time between that and his third record, “Something to Give Each Other” he’s released a steady stream of singles alongside focusing on acting for a while. Released October 13th, “Something to Give Each Other” has been received with immense praise from fans and critics. Our highlighted track, “Can’t Go Back, Baby,” samples Jessica Pratt’s folk song, “Back, Baby.”

6. Jeff Rosenstock – rock – 13 spins – highlighted hit: “Graveyard Song” off of the August release “HELLMODE”
Jeff Rosenstock has a special place in many-a-punk-kid’s heart. Starting his career with ska acts like The Arrogant Sons of Bitches and Bomb the Music Industry!, Jeff’s music has always been bursting with heart, humor, and a healthy dose of political rage. Moving to make punker music under his own name in the early 2010s, Jeff’s first release as himself was 2012’s “I Look Like Shit.” Rosenstock’s fanbase has reminded loyal and steadily grown, especially after the success of his 2016 record “WORRY.” which many consider one of his best (and was how I got into him myself!)

“HELLMODE” came out August 31st of this year, an expansive record that takes Rosenstock’s usual punky-poppy tunes and adds lusher instrumentation, building up into crescendo endings that capture his dueling senses of hope and hopelessness in the face of the hellish times we happen to be living in. Our highlighted track, “GRAVEYARD SONG,” deals with the same political themes rife throughout Rosenstock’s music.

5. Genesis Owusu – pop – 14 spins – highlighted hit: “Balthazar” off of the August release STRUGGLER”
Kofi Owusu-Ansah, known by his stage name Genesis Owusu, is a Ghanaian-Australian singer from Canberra. His older brother is musician Citizen Kay, a hip-hop artist also based in Australia, and they’ve collaborated together on the track, “Family Ties,” back in 2015. Owusu’s debut studio album, “Smiling With No Teeth,” was released in March of 2021, getting his name out there and priming the pump for his 2023 release, “STRUGGLER,” which has been met with high praise from critics for its eclectic, liberated sonic playfulness.

Owusu has clear vision and purpose in their artistry, describing “STRUGGLER” in a press statement with this: “The struggler runs through an absurd world with no ‘where’ or ‘why’ at hand. Just an instinctual inner rhythm, yelling at them to survive the pestilence and lightning bolts coming from above. A roach just keeps roaching.”

Genesis Owusu has been in our charts with a few different tracks, but our featured track this week is “Balthazar”

4. Field Medic – alt/indie – 14 spins – highlighted hit: “iwantthis2last!” off of the September release “light is gone 2”
Field Medic is the stage name of American lo fi artist Kevin Patrick Sullivan, a DIY artist who’s been releasing songs online since 2013. With lo fi bedroom-pop production, folk influences, and earnest lyrics, Field Medic has accrued a loyal fanbase who eagerly await every release (and there are many!)

Field Medic’s “light is gone 2” came out in late September and a few tracks from it have been in our gems a few times already. Our featured track this week is “iwantthis2last!”

3. Chappell Roan – pop – 16 spins – “My Kink is Karma” off of the September release “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”
Chappell Roan has been writing and releasing her own music since she got her start on YouTube as a teenager in 2017, an internet-led “dark pop” princess whose word-of-mouth success began with her track, “Pink Pony Club,” going viral on TikTok in 2021. Building a further following from accompanying artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Fletcher on tour, Roan became known for her camp (self-made) outfits and unapologetically glittery pop music.

Her debut record, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” sees Roan really coming into her own sonically and aesthetically, met with praise from critics and fans alike. We’ve featured “HOT TO GO!” and “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” already, and this week’s is “My Kink is Karma,” a favorite of our DJ Briggy Smalls!

2. Olivia Rodrigo – pop – 16 spins – highlighted hit: “love is embarrassing” off of the September release, “GUTS”
No longer just an up-and-comer in the world of pop music, Olivia Rodrigo is the world of modern pop music, a leading figure in shaping the sounds and aesthetics of modern pop music. Her debut record “SOUR,” was a massive pop-cultural moment, the fastest album in history to have all of its songs certified RIAA Platinum for higher. Rodrigo got her start as an actress, featuring on shows like “Bizaardvark” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Show,” but her passion for music led her to the career she has now.
Rodrigo’s second release, “GUTS,” came out in September to more praise and hype, currently putting her at the spot of the 22nd most-streamed artist in the entire world on Spotify. The album has a pop-rock/pop-punk inspired approach, edgier and more hones

t than Rodrigo was able to be on “SOUR.”

Our highlighted hit this week is “love is embarrassing,” yet another one of her painfully relatable tracks.

1. Mitski – alt/indie – 17 spins – highlighted hit: “I Don’t Like My Mind” off of the September release “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” 
Mitsuki Miyawaki, known simply as Mitski, is a singer-songwriter who’s been releasing music since her first few self-released records, “Lush” (2012), and “Retired From Sad, New Career in Business” (2013), which she originally made while still in college. Mitski’s cult status among indie fans only grew after her subsequent releases “Bury Me At Makeout Creek” (2014) and “Puberty 2” (2016). Mitski achieved more mainstream success following 2018’s “Be the Cowboy” with tracks like “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart” going viral on TikTok and Twitter.

Mitski’s music is associated with many online niches: sad Kendall Roy edits, sad edits in general, what’s often called “sad girl” music, but Mitski rejects the idea that her music has to be defined by sadness, saying in a video for Crack Magazine that “The sad girl thing was reductive and tired like 5-10 years ago, and it still is today…let’s retire the sad girl shtick.”

Her newest album, “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We,” was released September 15th to massive acclaim from critics and fans. Mitski describes this on her Spotify as her most “American album,” and the subtle twang woven throughout some of this record’s tracks emphasizes that inspiration. This record has been so popular here at KCSU that she’s been in the top of our charts for almost two weeks, almost always in the top slot. Our featured track this week is “I Don’t Like My Mind.”