1. Titus Andronicus, “Theme from ‘Cheers’”

2. Gardens & Villa, “Orange Blossom”

3. The Allah-Las, “Catamaran”

4. St. Vincent, “Cruel”

5. Yellow Ostrich, “Hold On (Live @ WGTB)”

6. SBTRKT, “Wildfire”

7. Dead Boys, “All This and More”

8. Reptar, “Stuck in my Id”

9.  Cloud Nothings, “Water Turns Back”

10. Tinariwen feat. Tunde Abedimpe & Kyp Malone, “Tenere Taqqim Tossam”

11. The Choir, “It’s Cold Outside (Vol.3)”

12. Jamie Lidell, “Completely Exposed”

Thanks again for checking us out, and remember our General Interest meeting Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 9:15pm in White Gravenor 201A. SEE YOU THERE!

Every once in a while though, when I can’t stand the thought of watching another tourist stuff a Georgetown Cupcake in her sweaty toddler’s mouth after they both waited three hours in the 100-degree-plus-humidity line of equally fat, sweaty tourists, I can’t help but think, you know what DC? I love you, but you’re bringing me down. On days like this, with the weekend so close yet so far, I’ve started looking for songs that allow me to transcend the confines of the city without having to use up any valuable vacation days.

Former Music Board Director and Overall Good Guy Igor German (of Abditum fame) recently turned me onto Grand Child, an Austin-based folk music project who have been around for a few years but are as of yet unsigned, and who totally get my need to live vicariously through people sitting around with their friends in the woods, jamming on mandolins and painting each others’ faces. After accidentally wandering into a venue in Texas where the scheduled headliner bailed and Grand Child stepped in to fill the spot, Igor fell in star-crossed love. Good Guy that he is, Igor came back from the dead (shout out Georgetown University Class of 2011!) to share his find with us and we’ve been spinning them ever since.

Grand Child’s strength lies in that they manage to be nostalgic without being trite, hip without being obnoxious, and sunny without being saccharine. When I’m straight flippin’ copies or I feel particularly oppressed by The Man, I can close my eyes, let the melody from whatever obscure string instrument they’ve got going on wash over me and for the moment I can smell the s’mores, feel the flora-filtered light, and return from my four-minute sojourn refreshed and ready to take on the City again.

Listen to: “I Know” and “A Song to Die To” both off My Head Is In The Clouds (all of which is available for download on Bandcamp)

– Emma Forster

Yesterday in Red Square, I walked up to a stranger with a huge, furry beard who was wearing a huge, furry Elmer Fudd hat and said, “You must be Englishman.”

Normally this might have been rude, or at least a little weird, as a) I hadn’t heard him speak and thus had no way of discerning his nationality from a linguistic standpoint, and b) I had never met him before in my life. Fortunately, this man smiled at me, extended his hand and said, “yes, I am.”

Englishman, song-vehicle for Lexington, KY native Andrew English (Vocals/Guitar) and Matt Duncan (Keyboard/Vocals) then proceeded to the Copley Formal Lounge and Jesuit graveyard where they performed two stripped-down songs off their new self-titled album. It must have been the ten snowy days spent recording on a farm in rural Ohio that prepared them for these austere, wintry venues but, despite the cold, English and Duncan’s rendition of “Classically Trained” transformed the Lounge into a cozy haven from the chill December wind, and even the frigid graveyard felt inviting, as English described the sky as a “layer cake” in his buttery, James Taylor-esque voice in “Boy T-Rex.”

After the show, Englishman packed their bags and headed up north to Pennsylvania to continue their winter tour, but they promised to return to campus when Persephone gets back from Turks and Caicos. In the meantime, if the impending snowpocalypse part deux has got you down, bundle up, grab some peppermint hot chocolate, and enjoy your own personal concert away from the cold and exam-ridden outside world.

Camera & Edits: Tiare Dunlap and Emma Forster

Usually the CDs are arranged alphabetically, with a little orange sticker on the side of each jewel case denoting the year of the album’s release. However, because WGTB doesn’t have a personalized librarian (yet), sometimes things can get out of order. In fact, I kind of like things that way, because if they weren’t I may never have stumbled upon the lone, lost Review Slip which read:

“Artist: dios / Title: dios / Sounds like: Indescribable / Other comments: Very cool. So good that I can’t describe it. Very dark.”

“Indescribable … So good that I can’t describe it.” I quickly scanned the records for the “Ds” and sure enough, there was the review’s namesake. I whipped out my laptop and popped dios into my disk drive. Honestly, did I have a choice?

Nothing against “Nas,” the former WGTB Music Board member who previously rated the album, but I wouldn’t necessarily call dios “indescribable.” “Very cool” and “good,” for sure, but I think that all it takes to describe the album is a list of band’s inspirations. dios’s strength lies in the way they filter 60s rock influences through their own indie lens, merging tributes to the Beach Boys, Elliot Smith, and Neil Young to create a charming, West Coast, almost psychedelic sound. The laid-back, youthful sense of freedom in catchy riffs like “Starting Five” and “You Make Me Feel Uncomfortable” are smooth and familiar, evoking a spectrum of perfectly tuned, sincere adolescent emotions. Simultaneously accessible and profound, dios is unpretentious, easy-going, and full of potential.

So why hadn’t I ever heard of these guys? A quick Google search revealed that since 2004 dios has released three albums, all of which have sucked. They did have a track featured on the O.C. in 2005, but the coup de grace came when Italian-American heavy metal musician Ronnie James Dio sued the band for trademark infringement. After an arduous legal battle, the band rolled over in more ways than one, adding a parenthetical “(malos)” to their name and a less parenthetical element of banality to their sound. By the time dios (malos?) reverted back to the original one-word name in 2009, it was too late—nobody cared.

dios (malos?!) isn’t the first band to peak in their debut album, but it is sad to listen to how good dios is and know that the band’s energy would only go on to stagnate out there in middle-of-the-road rock oblivion. Lead singer Joel Morales seems to have predicted dios’s fate in “The Uncertainty of How Things Are,” when he asks the prophetic question, “If you saw me now / would you still believe in me / or run away?” I’m glad I found dios and I wouldn’t run away if they decided to put out another album, but it would have to be pretty special for me to believe in them again.

– Emma Forster, co-host of Regional Rotations: The Next Generation, Wednesdays 3-4pm on WGTB

Fro-hawk coiffed to perfection, Twin Shadow—a.k.a. George Lewis Jr. and his three-piece touring band—kicked off the night, delighting the crowd with tracks from his highly touted debut album, Forget. The 40-minute set included “Shooting Holes,” “When We’re Dancing,” and “Castles in the Snow,” all dripping with retro-bent inspiration. Twin Shadow’s fresh, contemporary indie-pop sound incorporated a heavy 80s synth and disco-esque baselines (that wouldn’t have sounded out of place at the Pretty in Pink prom scene) which enthralled the room and set the bar high for Glasser.

Headline band, Glasser, gave more than a mere musical performance. The seemingly bare stage was set with a few bulky gadgets  (which later turned out to be instruments) adorned with gilded streamers. The three male members of the band set up their equipment and returned moments later from backstage in green Ghostbusters-style jumpsuits complete with Franciscan-monk, triple-knotted ropes. Just as the audience began to question if the drummer’s (Rockband?) electronic drum kit had transported us all to a cyber-reality, a gamine female clad in red seemed to hover onto the stage and confirm our suspicions.

The UK’s Guardian describes the Glasser’s music as: “exist[ing] in a fluid space between prog, krautrock, systems music and electronica, all percussive loops, synth washes, bursts of instrumental improvisation, and meandering melodies sung with folkish wonder.” This is certainly no map to understanding Glasser’s method or to locate a niche within the “Alternative” genre for their unique style. This is alien territory.

Lead singer, Cameron Mesirow, appears as a genetically manipulated combination of Enya and Mary-Kate Olsen. Her vocals become a part of the percussive loops that connect one tropical hemisphere to another that is ancient and tribal–and lucky for us, Glasser brings us along for the ride. Performing a powerful duet with Glasser’s guitarist, Mesirow proved the multi-dimensional aspect of sound, as silent pauses played the song’s key component.

While Glasser seemed at first to be from a foreign corner of the Milky Way, the rhythmic beats and entrancing synths became a comfort. Mesirow’s ethereal dance and sway caught on to members of the audience and the combination of monastery garb and resounding organ effects may have missionary’d itself some new converts. If the Glasser alien starship is just taking off, allow me to get my passport.

After the show, WGTB caught up with George Lewis Jr. to discuss his influences, the tour with Glasser, and Twin Shadow’s future.

Listen to the interview here!
Twin Shadow Interview by Ecforster