This week we've got new adds from The Neighbourhood, Guided By Voices' Tobin Sprout, and Isola. Check 'em out below, and don't forget to check out our DJs' shows on Mixcloud, including the live Streamapalooza sets from College Radio Day!

- Lucy Talbot Allen, Music Writing Director

The Neighbourhood - Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones

The Neighbourhood is a nostalgic band for me, something I was always listening to when I was craving that adolescent feeling of rebellion and trauma I pretended to have growing up. Let’s be honest, do not pretend you never drove around in your early teenage years listening to “Daddy Issues,” singing your heart out whether or not you even had daddy issues in the first place. Maybe you even romanticized the feelings of loneliness and loss of innocence exemplified by tracks like “Cry Baby,” “Afraid,” and “West Coast.” The Neighbourhood is an iconically Californian group that you may be familiar with if you were an avid Tumblr user in 2014 (like me), and their newest record is everything--and nothing--like that era. The band comprises lead singer Jesse Rutherford (AKA Chip Chrome), guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott, and drummer Brandon Fried.

Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones is their fourth studio album after a two year hiatus, and this time takes a deep dive into Jesse’s most recent character whom he refers to as ‘chip chrome.’ This persona is covered head-to-toe in silver (down to the grill), and is heavily inspired by Ziggy Stardust. For the promotion of this album, Rutherford completely ditched his legal name and created an entire social media persona for Chip Chrome. He even dedicated a nickname to his girlfriend and muse Devon Lee Carlson, who is referred to by him and fans as Cherry Chrome. What I love about this record is ultimately its diversification of genres within each track. Track 1, “Chip Chrome,” is a 30 second introduction that simulates falling into the world of chip chrome, which is portrayed effortlessly on Track 2, “Pretty Boy.” This is my personal favorite song on the entire album, as it is a slowed alternative pop song with the droning background vocals and sounds of the band’s 2015 album Wiped Out! combined with the nuance of chip chrome and the new Los Angeles from the eyes of his metallic psyche. The music video for this track showcases Chip Chrome unsuccessfully making a living as a silver-painted street performer in Los Angeles, struggling to find happiness.

As for the rest of the album, there is a lack of cohesion in the storyline and a failure to settle on a particular sound. Nonetheless, each track is easy on the ears, and the difference of sounds promotes a differentiation in mood for the listener. Track 3, “Lost in Translation,” is the most pop flavored song in the whole album, and is extremely funky compared to a track like “Cherry Flavoured,” which is a slowed indie rock song that captivates the listener with its repeated droning tempo and lyrics dusted with the feeling of Los Angeles superficiality. Track 9, the Fleetwood-Mac-esque “Silver Lining,” has been on repeat in my September playlist lately. There is a great mix of uppers and downers in this record, creating a fitting medley for the experimental facade of a character Rutherford has created. He even referenced the Mono-tones as being voices in his head, rather than his backing band. This is a pretty dark explanation, but I am not surprised given the Tumblr-saturated time period at which The Neighbourhood thrived. Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones is unexpectedly one of my favorite Neighbourhood albums, as I feel Rutherford has truly found his sound as an artist, despite it being through an alter ego. If you are craving the nostalgia of your adolescence, and just an overall good album to jam out to with your friends in the car, Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones is the record for you.

- Emma Goad, DJ

RIYL: Arctic Monkeys, Bad Suns, Surf Curse, BETWEEN FRIENDS, Wallows
Recommended Tracks: 2, 3, 6, 9, 11
FCC: Clean

Tobin Sprout - Empty Horses

Fans of the hyper-prolific rock band Guided By Voices will usually tell you they’re drawn to the seat-of-their-pants feel of the group’s output, as well as the raw catchiness of their material. The further one dives into their massive discography, however, the higher the likelihood of being struck by the emotive power of certain tracks.

Usually, those tracks will have been the brainchild of Tobin Sprout. Sprout, who typically plays second fiddle to the energetic and raucous songs of Robert Pollard (GBV’s principal songwriter), writes sweet, hopeful and poignant tunes over the same fuzzy guitars that carry Pollard to his energetic heights.

On Empty Horses, released Sept. 18th on Fire Records, Sprout stretches into new sonic territory. Although those classic GBV guitars show up occasionally, namely on the wonderfully buzzy “All in My Sleep,” he more often finds himself in front of sparser singer-songwriter instrumentation. Pianos and acoustic guitar are the norm here, and they compliment Sprout’s soft warble beautifully. The lyrics are able to shine through better than I’ve heard previously on his solo output, meandering through stories of Americana, love and loss. He ponders religion, war, and much of what it means to be human.

   “In a state of sadness
   I suppose I could weep
   In tears I’ve felt God’s hammer
   Pound the ground at my feet.”  (“Golden Rivers”)

Sprout is able to capture a sort of timelessness on this project which truly reveals the scope and ability of his songwriting. He’s not afraid to shake things up, throw in a pedal steel guitar slide or a surf rock-esque delay as he builds the vibe and atmosphere of the LP as a whole. It’s warm music; it carries you off on a light summer breeze away from the chaos and confusion of late 2020.

The album should be listened to as a whole - Sprout clearly understands and appreciates the artistic effort required to piece together a cohesive statement from track to track. As far as the nature of that statement, he leaves just enough room for personal interpretation within the listener --- the mark of true talent. Regardless of whether he’s recounting the story of a Union soldier killed at Antietam (“Antietam”) or just confusion and frustration (“The Man I Used to Know”), Sprout is remarkably skilled at turning the mirror of self-reflection away from himself and towards the listener.

- Sam Feehan, DJ

RIYL: Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout, late-period R.E.M.
Recommended Tracks: 3, 4, 5, 9
FCC: Explicit (track 9)

Isola - EP1

I’d guess that many of us don’t take much notice of all the subtleties in our everyday sonic surroundings, much less take them as musical inspiration. Ivana Carrescia, or Isola, is an exception to the many.

To the Las Vegas native, music is ever-present in all sounds we encounter, whether that be from something as clamorous as the chaos of rush hour or as understated as room tone. Certain sounds accompany certain environments. In EP1, Isola aurally transports you to a moment of her own, sharing the soundscape of her experience.

EP1 merges atmosphere with perspective to create a rich listening experience that sonically encapsulates the environment, observing a moment the way Carrescia experienced it.

Carrescia recorded this EP in Las Vegas, while her co-producer/writer Nick Sylvester of Godmode worked out of Los Angeles. Coming from a singer-songwriter background (under aliases Eddi Front and Ivana XL), Isola’s lyrics are sparse but weighty. Each track uses something tangible (salt in “Ischia”; roses in “Any Day”; birds in “Two Birds”) as a centerpiece in an otherwise disjointed scene. These words then take on a new meaning conceptually. The objects are a part of the moment but represent the detail that Isola wants to refine.

This EP is not an ambient piece. Nor is it really a traditional dance record, though house and techno references are certainly incorporated. It’s abstract in its approach to dance music. It’s delicate yet powerful, airy yet concrete, intricate but not all at once.

While the vocals embellish, the instrumentation leads each narrative as the listener follows along. Glittery synth stabs start out the EP in the first track, “Ischia,” one of the more dance-y songs on the record. This is contrasted with the sonorous percussion and straight beat, along with the feathery vocals that almost sound like another instrument with ethereal-esque textures. A similar set-up can be identified in “Said It Again,” the first single off the EP. There are other tracks, like “La Notte” and “Canis Major,” that have minimal instrumentation with gritty, experimental textures and captivating vocals.

Isola’s debut EP invites you to enter her space through sonic interpretations of her experiences. She takes you to a moment and shows you how to view it, all while turning the mundane into a vibrant soundscape.

- Olivia de Witt, DJ & Alum Director

RIYL: Tirzah, Kelly Lee Owens, Yaeji
Recommended Tracks: 1, 3, 5
FCC: Clean

NEW ADDS: The Neighbourhood, Tobin Sprout, Isola