New Music Mondays | 01.29.18

‘NO NAME’ – NF

“NF just dropped ‘NO NAME’, his first release since his most recent studio album, Perception, and it deserves as much praise as the album does. Indie rappers like Chance have been taking over the scene as of late, but NF records with Capitol Records and doesn’t want to fall behind because of that.

“I’m sick of people telling people I’m here for the marketing dollars // You think that everything’s gonna blow just cuz you market it harder? // NO”

He brings up a good point: there are advantages to recording by yourself but there are also advantages to recording with a label! Maybe he’s right, maybe there is too much emphasis on the indie artists right now. Although he’s not bringing up any of the hot topics in rap culture right now, he is starting his own dialogue–like the best rappers do.” – Andrew Charles Szendrey

‘Leave It in My Dreams‘ – The Voidz

“The newest single from brainchild Julian Casablancas’ side band The Voidz is a sticky pop rock gem. Leave It in My Dreams serves as the first single off The Voidz forthcoming album ‘Virtue’ due for a release date of March 30th. It is a straightforward and simple track. However, in this case simplicity is no hinderance. The playful melodic lead guitar, warm driving bass, and standout chorus vocals all are classic Casablancas. All of these elements meld together flawlessly thanks to the slick, polished production.

The Voidz last full length effort was in 2014 with their sharp debut ‘Tyranny’. If this single is any foreshadowing of the music to come on the record, the future for The Voidz looks (or should I say sounds) very bright.” – Joey Molloy

‘Handyman‘ – AWOLNATION

“AWOLNATION’s latest single “Handyman” is by far the tamest thing I’ve seen come out of the alternative rock band. This is the fourth single the band has released for their upcoming February album Here Come the Runts. When the first single, “Passion,” was released I was shocked at the toned down, more mainstream path lead singer, Aaron Bruno, decided to take. But where “Passion” fell short, “Handyman” excels. Beginning with an acoustic guitar and a soft voice, “Handyman” is nothing I’ve seen Bruno do before. But it works perfectly over somber lyrics about seeing problems not only within himself but with the world around him. Over the course of the song Bruno comes to terms with his weakness but promises to keep trying to make tomorrow better than yesterday. And of course it wouldn’t be 2018 without a dig at our 45th president. In the second verse as Bruno examines all of the things he’s scared of he admits “I’m not brittle/I’m just a little scared of my government.” Overall the song is beautifully written, accompanied by a peaceful melody. In the past that statement describing an AWOLNATION song would have sounded like a nightmare to me. But “Handyman” has me on board for this new 2018 AWOLNATION and in just 5 days we will have a full album of this (but who’s counting).” – Emma Turney