10) CZARFACE – “CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” (2023)
Hip-hop legends work together to create Czarface, and their latest album, “Czartificial Intelligence”. Duo, 7L & Esoteric, team up with legendary member of Wu-Tang Clan, Inspectah Deck, to form this rap supergroup.
With their name as a reference to the classic movie “Scarface”, the group embraces puns on many track titles. Some of our favorite examples include “Czarchimedes’ Death Ray”, in reference to philosopher and mathematician Archimedes, and “Live From Czarnegie Hall” referencing the legendary music venue.
The highlighted track, “Mama’s Basement” is sentimental and happy with a twinkling backdrop.
9) Floral Cow – “Wasteland Disco” (2022)
Floral Cow’s sophomore EP “Wasteland Disco” is a collection of indie folk mixed with some grungy vocals. The singer/songwriter hits on moments of quiet to contrast the more intense songs. Based out of Bloomington, Indiana the musician debuted with the EP “Somewhere in Between” in 2019 leaning more toward indie than rock compared to this later project.
The highlighted track, “I Live My Broken Dreams” is a jingly surf-rock style song with some melancholy vocals contrasting the carefree melody.
8) Pinback – “Blue Screen Life” (2001)
Pinback marks this week’s oldest release on the list with their 2001 album, “Blue Screen Life”. Hailing from San Diego, Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow showcase the beachier side of life. The duo gets their name from Dan O’Bannon’s character in the movie “Dark Star”, a comedic sci-fi film from 1974.
This album holds the attention of Pinback fans for being their last project before signing with a record label. Many fans appreciate the intimate feel of the band making music as friends and this album draws upon that sound.
Our highlighted track, “Penelope” showcases the band’s gentle qualities, a little reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens in the vocal delivery.
7) Charli XCX – “BRAT” (2024)
This summer, neon green and Arial font were inescapable due to hyperpop sensation Charli XCX’s latest full-length album, “brat”. The UK singer teamed up with many of her longtime collaborators to produce one of the freshest batches of dance tracks in recent memory.
The singles for this album, “Von dutch”, “B2b”, “Club classics”, and “360” garnered lots of hype for the album to be full of upbeat party tracks. The song “Von dutch” even had a remix with TikToker Addison Rae released before the album was dropped. Despite all of the party girl energy exuded, there are also some tracks that offer introspection. One such song is “So I”, in which Charli reflects on her friendship with late hyperpop pioneer SOPHIE. Another is “Girl, so confusing” where she details her sometimes fraught relationship with fellow singer, Lorde. This track gave rise to a remix with Lorde herself. The latest notable remix was for a song from the deluxe edition of the album “Guess”, which was produced by The Dare and featured Billie Eilish as a guest verse.
The highlighted track this week is “Talk talk”, is a dance track that has a remix being released tomorrow with Troye Sivan, her partner for the upcoming “Sweat” tour.
6) Mildlife – “Chorus” 2024
This Australian psychedelic rock group takes influence from jazz to create their unique sound. The group has been making music together since 2013, with their first album, “Phase” coming out in 2017.
On their earlier work, they lean into being nonsensical while retaining elements of their musicality that were later fleshed out to create a richer sound. The band takes inspiration for acts like Tame Impala, upbeat and dancey with a bit of a rock twist.
The highlighted track, “Musica” is a disco pop dance beat. With glimmering synths and guitar licks, this one will make you want to move your feet.
5) Tomato Flower – “No” (2024)
Tomato Flower is an indie group formed by friends to create an experimental pop sound.
The Baltimore-based group takes inspiration from many different styles of music, including: “math rock, dub, and bossa”. The band has been working on honing this sound into their styles since 2022, releasing various singles and EPs. “No” marks the group’s first full-length album, providing moments of chaos and calm on tracks like “Do It” and a more relaxed indie pop sound on the song “Lost Lunar One”.
The highlighted track, “Harlequin” has caught the attention of KCSU’s DJs for its lo-fi, endearing sound and cute guitar styling.
4) Khal!l – “HEART: Melodies of the Eternal Flame” (2024)
R&B artist Khal!l hails from Milwaukee, where he found his love of singing by participating in his church’s choir. This led to his passion for music inspiring him to learn how to play instruments and produce music.
Khal!l takes inspiration from artists like Blood Orange, Bon Iver, and Toro y Moi. These artists are known for different things like disting melodies, omnipresent vocals, and electronic production. Khal!l fuses all of these elements together to create this latest album.
The highlighted track, “DIME v1” is playful and full of fun vocal and instrumental switch-ups, creating a unique auditory experience for the listener.
3) Rachel Chinouriri – “What A Devastating Turn of Events” (2024)
UK singer/songwriter, Rachel Chinouriri, released her debut album earlier this year. She’s been releasing music on SoundCloud since 2018 but really found her audience after gaining some traction on TikTok. Born in Zimbabwe to parents who didn’t know much about British pop culture, Chinouriri found curiosity in British music as a teenager. She was especially inspired by the music of Daughter and Lily Allen.
After her single, “So My Darling”, the singer gained notoriety for her bubble pop sounds and artistic music videos. With support from other celebrities collaborations with her. One includes the appearance of actress Florence Pugh in the music video for “Never Need Me” which debuted ahead of the release of “What A Devastating Turn of Events”. She also gained a following when it was announced that she would be a supporting leg of the European leg of Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming “Short n’ Sweet” tour.
The Highlighted track, “The Hills”, leans more into a rock sound with some heavy electric guitars opening the song.
2) Lizzy McAlpine – “Older” (2024)
Lizzy McAlpine’s latest album, “Older” offers a blend of folk and bedroom pop. These genres are some of the biggest inspirations for her recent work with respect to lo-fi instrumentals and poetic lyrical choices.
McAlpine’s 3rd studio album shows her artistic growth throughout the past year, detailing a lot of her personal struggles with mental health. Notably, the singer collaborated with fellow folk artist, Noah Kahan, on the song “Call Your Mom” ahead of the promotion for this album and its subsequent tour.
The highlighted track, “Older” has a somber quality with vulnerability shining through as the theme of this heartfelt piano piece.
1) Childish Gambino – “Atavista” (2024)
Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, started his musical career in 2011 with his album “Camp”. He was known widely as a comedian who got his start as a writer for “30 Rock” before becoming an actor. Both of us on the music team were big fans of his work in the show “Community” as Troy Barnes.
His comedy background and musical inclination explain the silly nature of his earlier work. When Gambino shifted into a more serious tone while maintaining his whimsy, he really began to shine as a musician. A good example from this album is the track “Psilocybae”, a quirky chronicle of his first time trying magic mushrooms.
This week’s highlighted track, “Atavista”, is the album’s opener and sets the tone for some summery R&B with the vocals to back it up.