Every other week The Eagle asks the assistant music directors and DJs at WVAU what they’re currently listening to. Here’s what they’re recommending. Check out WVAU.org to listen.
The Radio Dept. —
Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002–2010
(Labrador Records)
“Passive Aggressive” collects the last eight years of singles and b-sides from the Swedish dream pop band, spanning from their lo-fi, shoegaze origins to their current electronic sound.
You don’t listen to The Radio Dept. for the most meaningful lyrics — they’re short, repetitive and magnificently vague. Instead, you listen to experience powerful, raw, negative emotions — depression, rejection, loneliness, political outrage — distilled and expressed in pure sonic form, and in a way few bands match up to. This is music to cry to.
Recommended if you like: M83, Beach House, The Cure, Slowdive
-Zarek Chase
40 Watt Hype — Push
(Royal Dutch Company Music)
40 Watt Hype started impromptu at a backyard party, and they sound like they started impromptu at a backyard party.?The band sounds like a rough mix of soul, R&B and hip-hop, all with a Latin flavor, as if each musician had a genre they were pursuing independently but blended them when they came together. The album sounds a bit karaoke-ish. But like karaoke, sometimes it’s surprisingly good. The best parts of the album are when the instruments come out and converse with one another, letting the vocals fall into the background.
Recommended if you like: Ozomatli, Cypress Hill, eating hot dogs at barbecues
-Kevin Kunitake
Mogwai — Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
(Sub Pop)
Scottish post-rockers Mogwai have always been masters of patience in songwriting, rewarding the listener after minutes of tense build-up with the cathartic highs that have characterized their sound since their 1997 debut. In the awesomely titled “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will,” much of their slow-burning intensity has been removed in favor of accessibility.
But the band’s instrumental skill and fundamental understanding of how a song should be paced is evident. While 20 minute epics like “My Father My King” may not make an appearance, instrumental rock fans still have a lot to look forward to. The guitar work in “San Pedro” is among the best in their catalogue, while the electronic-tinged “Mexican Grand Prix” moves just like the title implies.
Recommended if you like: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Rós
-Brad Barbour
