Indie artistry and weirdo personalities dominate this week’s new adds. Enjoy these reviews from KXSC staff and DJs, and check out the music they describe!

- Lucy Talbot Allen, Music Writing Director

Connan Mockasin - Connan Mockasin As Mr. Bostyn (Live at Rough Trade)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Connan Mockasin live at Desert Daze, and also had the pleasure of discovering what a strange man he is. His performance at the London club Rough Trade East, which was just released, is a live rendition of the album Jassbusters. This album accomplishes the very difficult feat of honing a specifically crafted universe, in which a high school jazz teacher named Mr. Bostyn expresses his forbidden love towards his student, named Josie Dobsyn. Mr. Bostyn and Josie Dobsyn come from Connan’s unique five-part short film Bostyn n’ Dobsyn, an absurdist melodrama slated to be released November 7th. Teetering on the line between really creepy and really sweet, this musical collection allows us to safely peer into Mr. Bostyn’s heart without judgment and explore the emotional intricacies of such a charged scenario. Though this could have been done in a satirical manner, and still is to an extent, Connan keeps it very real, making us feel like we’re watching Twin Peaks, or something in that same vein of seriousness. The live aspect allows Connan to explore the “Mr. Bostyn” alter ego with the audience, intuitively switching back and forth between his two voices. “Con Conn Was Impatient” is a great representation of this style, with Connan singing full of sensuality and longing, “Well I can hardly take it, I just need my Josie tonight… need my Josie to fly.”

Embodying such a different persona allows Connan Mockasin to take risks in expressing himself that he might not have been able to otherwise. Mockasin has been quoted saying that all his lyrics were made up on the spot, which is especially highlighted in live versions of the album. Though Jassbusters is an extremely loose and comedic album, there is an undeniable realness to it that hits you at the core. The song “It’s Choade My Dear” has some of the most profound lyrics I’ve ever heard: “I’m a janitor / but I’m in fighting mode...I have four arms to see things through / for fetching food, so we can starve.” I feel these lines deep in my chest and find myself even now repeating these phrases at random times throughout the day. I don’t really know what they mean, but that’s normally how it goes with things that are raw and full of passion. I think Connan Mockasin is a true pioneer in exploring the weird underbelly of our 2019 unconscious, intuitively guiding us to feelings we didn’t know we had.

- Maya Elimelech, DJ

RIYL: Cass McCombs, Shintaro Sakamoto, Drugdealer, Ariel Pink
Recommended Tracks: 4
FCC: Clean

Tove Lo - Sunshine Kitty

Ever since her breakout hit, “Habits (Stay High)” was released back in 2014, the main thing that’s always drawn me to Tove Lo was her honesty. She’s upfront about her feelings and what she’s been through. It seems she takes everything as an experience, so she doesn’t mind showing us the progression of her growth. Now, in her fourth album, Sunshine Kitty, Tove maintains that same authenticity, but with lively dance beats in every track.

One of the major themes of this album seems to be how love and obsession can sometimes go hand in hand with anxiety and self-doubt. In her single “Sweettalk my Heart,” Tove both loves and yearns for the affirmation of love in return. However, she also portrays how crushes and love cause us to be more aware of how we’re being perceived in a song like “Equally Lost” in which she sings, “I see you looking at me, so I turn my charm on / Hoping you think I look awesome.” In “Mateo,” she evokes the same idea: “I act so cool, but that’s not me / Still not the one you choose to see.”

However, Tove addresses that insecurity in “Really don’t like u,” in which she addresses the new girlfriend her ex brings to a party. She realizes she’s breaking girl code by judging her, understanding her dislike is actually a reflection of herself. Her romantic feelings take a turn in “Shifted” as she declares that she’s not going to drive herself crazy to maintain a relationship when she’s not receiving the same effort in return.

In “Mistaken”, you can hear the pain in her voice as she goes back and forth in her mind, wondering if her love has fallen for someone else. Even if she’s wrong, she doesn’t want to suppress her feelings. “Anywhere u go” completes the album. Tove admits she’s found a home in the person she loves. She asks directly if they want to be with her, because she’s not holding back on what she feels.

Every song on the album is upbeat, making it very easy to dance to. There are a lot of great features too, from artists like ALMA, Kylie Minogue, and Doja Cat. Overall, Sunshine Kitty stands out as the album that most clearly portrays Tove’s personal growth. The energetic beats behind her raw lyrics emphasize her confidence. She’s taking control over herself and her feelings.

- Sienna Estrada, DJ

RIYL: Lorde, Charli XCX, MARINA
Recommended Tracks: 6, 9, 12, 13
FCC: Explicit (tracks 2, 4, 6, 10, & 12)

Allah-Lahs - LAHS

LAHS by Los Angeles indie rock outfit Allah-Las provides us with a collection of surf rock jams that let you zone out and go on a journey where guitar effects lead the way. The album, while offering some enticing melodies here and there, is best described as a collection of relaxed, atmospheric songs. The lyrics aren’t too intellectual and, to me, are best in the background, acting as simply another instrument. The album is a nice, relaxing ride through an open desert or on a river, though perhaps this vibe is only the result of the albums cover’s power of suggestion. While listening, I bobbed my head to the beat, and sang along to the various riffs, but there was no one song, solo, or performance of which I was particularly enamored, or which caused me to break out of the relaxed, mellow mood that the album had cast me under.

This isn’t to say that I did not enjoy the album; it is 44 minutes that I did not regret spending listening to music. LAHS is just not a display of anything of the incredible or mind shattering. “Un-incredible” does not equate to bad, however. With surf rock, the music can be like waves at the beach--a little repetitive, but enjoyable in a fleeting way. We ride the wave and enjoy the performances as an experience. LAHS exists as a recording of a jam that we as listeners get invited to enjoy; we remember the atmosphere as opposed to a single unique or beautiful melody or solo. At the final “act” of the album, after the song “Polar Onion,” however, the songs don’t quite always match up to the mood of what was given to us previously in the album. The lyrics come more to the forefront, and the psychedelia is swapped for something that sounds like an imitation of REM at some points and uninteresting acoustic folk at others.

If you’re a fan of surf rock, psychedelic guitars, or a jam band style, this album provides 45 minutes of sunny melodies for you to nod your head and tap your foot along to.

- Will Forker, PSA Director

RIYL: Khruangbin, Early Tame Impala, Mild High Club
Recommended Tracks: 1, 5
FCC: Clean

Caroline Polachek - Pang

You may know Caroline Polachek in her several previous forms, most notably as the vocalist in her duo Chairlift. Or maybe you heard her vocalizing on Charli XCX’s Pop 2, or her writing on Beyonce’s eponymous album. But on Pang, her debut album as simply Caroline Polachek, she brings the spotlight upon herself, bearing armor of pure vulnerability.

In an era that highlights the importance of personal authenticity, Polachek rushes in with her own, (ironically) robotic take, reminiscent of Golden Age Broadway torch songs through the easy lilt and tumble of her voice. Most apparent in “New Normal,” key changes that mimic shifting dreamscapes are a clear motif on the album. In a recent Reddit AMA chain, Polachek points to “The Gate,” “Insomnia,” and “Parachute” as the “ambient trilogy”- probably not coincidentally, the opening, mid-album, and closing tracks. “The Gate” sets the tone for the airy, almost floating feeling of the rest of the album, strengthened with shuddering reverb and the breathiness of her sometimes reedy vocals. There are even hints of baroque influences in “Insomnia” and “Hey Big Eyes.”

Most of Polachek’s lyrics are simple, yet effective; an experienced composer, she has had some of these songs in her notebook since 2012, and picked through over 70 tracks before she settled on the final 14. “Caroline Shut Up” is the most straightforward in its chorus: “Sometimes, I wonder / Do I love you too much? / Then I tell myself, ‘Caroline, shut up’ / ’Cause there's only one way / One way to find out / If it ever gets better than right now.” It’s easy to love Polachek’s writing at her most “pop,” paired with catchy melodies, almost ready-made for screaming crowds to echo. But Polacheck at her most interesting has to be track 13, “Door,” which only increases in power with the visuals of the music video. Released as the first single, “Door” drives a stake, through auto-tune and stripped vocals, right into the heart of Pang. She croons, “You open the door / To another door, to another door / To another door, to another door / And I'm running through to you,” creating an audio-induced visual of an infinity mirror.

Pang is a strong debut that lifts off of Polachek’s former works and simultaneously solidifies her foundation as a creative to continue watching for years to come. While the album singles stand out against the rest of the tracks, Pang invites listeners to loop through the album a couple more times, scouring the different voices of the dreamscape, and eventually realize that you’ll never find an escape route.

- Claire Bai, Program Director

RIYL: Chairlift, Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens, Kim Petras, Perfume Genius
Recommended Tracks: 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
FCC: Explicit (11)

NEW ADDS: Connan Mockasin, Tove Lo, Allah-Las, Caroline Polachek