Dec 31, 2017 | ktru
DJ Picks:
open mike eagle - brick body kids still daydream - mello music group
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Mike's new album is understated, contemplative, progressive, and beautiful. It manages to be comforting, while sounding like nothing you've heard before. It is an ode to housing projects, Chicago, childhood, the black American experience, and carrying on in the face of Trumpism. - GeorgeB
the charlatans - different days - bmg
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Bouncy indie evoking some of their best work since creative high-point "Tellin' Stories" (1997) interwoven with ambitious, thoroughly enjoyable, new stuff featuring the likes of Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, and even author Ian Rankin(!) - SteveB
dan salvato - doki doki literature club ost - s/r
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jk64f3HMXI&w=560&h=315]
A dating sim/visual novel soundtrack. Simple and sweet tunes. You hear a few primary musical themes with character-specific variations. The differences give a powerful emotional effect within the game, and the music stays evocative and memorable on its own. - GennadyG
japanese breakfast - soft sounds from another planet - dead oceans
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Last year's "Psychopomp" could have either gone down as the first, and perhaps the best, in a career of pretty good albums, or a showcase of potential which would later be fulfilled with with truly fantastic albums. Thank God it was the latter. "SSfAP" is weird and familiar in just the right ways, using great canvases of melody to seduce and entrance you while sudden bursts of emotion jump out. It works a great ebb and flow, highlighting especially energetic songs ("Machinist," "12 Steps") as well as the gradual buildup of slow-burn heart-breakers ("Boyish," "This House"). The topics of relationships and empowerment it tackles are not so much solved or commented on as remembered with a hazy sadness and confusion, giving the album a great humanity which I felt stronger than in any other album this year. - GabrielT
yung lean - stranger - year0001
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Yung Lean is an Swedish rapper who has been influential to the cloud rap genre. Stranger brings dark, ethereal, and melodic production with Leandoer's autotune heavy vocals infused into the instrumentals. Leandoer's hooks are catchy, and the spacey production is beautiful. I recommend listening to this album, not for the lyrics or the meaning, but to enjoy the rich sounds and its aesthetics. - ShotaroA
mashrou' leila - ibn el leil (deluxe edition) - shoop! shoop! records
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF__cpsDmZk&w=560&h=315]
Ok, so technically this album came out in 2015, but I didn't discover it until now, and this year's deluxe re-issue has some stellar new content. Mashrou' Leila are a Lebanese rock band who emerged out of post-war Beirut—a city marred by war but humming with intellectual vitality and a vibrant night life. On this album their sound evolves into dark synth textures, silky string arrangements, and infectious dance grooves. In both wispy falsetto and powerful roar, vocalist Hamed Sinno rails against corruption, gun violence, and restrictive gender norms. This year's new single "Roman" is both a club banger and a feminist anthem. - BenJ
dollie barnes - caught in a phase - s/r
Backed by a cast of all-star Houston musicians, Haley Barnes delivers one of this year's best local releases. -Tex
el lago - colors - miss champagne
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I saw this Galveston band open for Laetitia Sadier, and they blew me away - they're a classic-sounding shoegaze band, but fronted by a woman whose voice often brings to mind Kate Bush. What's not to love? - MikeH
moses sumney - aromanticism - jagjaguwar
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It is tempting to praise individual aspects of Aromanticism. After all, Moses Sumney can incite full-body shivers with his voice alone. But really, the Los Angeles musician’s nearly-perfect debut works as a comprehensive statement on the experience of lovelessness in a society that tells us that the highest form of meaning and purpose comes from romantic relationships, the experience of seeing through the bullshit but feeling the longing nonetheless. It’s an album that suspends you in emotional spaces that invite both introspection and social criticism. By the way, there are a ton of outstanding guests and collaborators here, including Thundercat, master arranger Rob Moose, and Son Lux drummer Ian Chang. - EthanH
sam turner and the cactus cats - wanna be your man - roofus & friends
Part country crooner, part 50s rock n' roll, this local band's debut album showcases young talent with an old-fashioned flair. Songs on "Wanna Be Your Man" are filled with the most vicious emotion of them all: unrequited love. - NicoleB
sampha - process - young turks
I really enjoyed listening to this album. It has so many emotions and surprises rolled in. If you haven't listened I highly recommend you do! - ArlenS
sufjan stevens, nico muhly, bryce dessner, james mcalister - planetarium - 4ad
The most awesome thing since The Planets by Holst. - AndyM
ariel pink - dedicated to bobby jameson - mexican summer
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Beautiful nostalgic pop from one of LA's most prolific weirdos. -JacqueiC
ununinform - tricky - false idols
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"Ununinform" is one of the most under appreciated albums of the year. Tricky dives deeper than ever in exploring what truly is important in life. Especially on tracks "Blood of My Blood" and "New Stole". For those looking for reflection and introspection on this year and beyond, give this a spin. Nurse's orders. - StevenP
neo wax bloom - iglooghost - brainfeeder
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A very colorful and mind blowing electronic record that overstimulates the ears. Frenzied, kaleidoscopic, and very well detailed soundtrack to these unique worlds Iglooghost himself has created a backstory for. According to him, this album "follows the events surrounding two giant eyeballs crashing into the mysterious world of Mamu" and how it disrupts the lives of the creatures living in this realm. Purely insane shit. Check it out. - ArmandG
Top of the Charts
Here are the albums that led our weekly charts in 2017. Shout out to Shabazz Palaces, whose double LP topped our airways for nine straight weeks.
- shabazz palaces - quazarz vs the jealous machines - sub pop
- night drive - s/t - roll call
- slowdive - s/t - dead oceans
- king krule - the ooz - true panther
- kishi bashi - sonderlust - joyful noise
- saba - bucket list project - saba pivot, llc
- lady wray - queen alone - big crown
- bonobo - migration - ninja tune
- laurel canyon animal company - songs to make dogs happy - s/r
- a tribe called quest - we got it from here... thank you 4 your service - epic records
- sylvan esso - what now - loma vista
- grieves - running wild - rhymesayers
- warpaint - heads up - rough trade
- jambinai - hermitage - bella union
- the olympians - s/t - daptone
- jacuzzi boys - ping pong - mag mag
- thundercat - drunk - brainfeeder
- tuxedo - tuxedo ii - stones throw
- future islands - the far field - 4ad
- washington, kamasi - harmony of difference - young turks
- torres - three futures - 4ad
Dec 24, 2017 | ktru, navrang
CAMH's Dissent and Desire, and it chronicles the LGTBQ+ communities in Delhi - manager & assistant curator Patricia Restrepo converses about this unique exhibition. The exhibition opens on Friday, January 19, 2018 from 6:30-9pm.
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) for its presentation in the FotoFest 2018 Biennial, INDIA: Contemporary Photography and New Media Art, CAMH will showcase photographs by collaborators Sunil Gupta and Charan Singh, in the exhibition Dissent and Desire.
Their documentary color photographs chronicle contemporary LGBTQ+ life in Delhi, India.
On View: January 9, 2018 - April 29, 2018
Where: Nina and Michael Zilkha Gallery
5216 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77006
Admission: Free. Open to All.
For more info click here.
Nov 24, 2017 | ktru
By BenJ, photos by CarsonA
Tyler, the Creator is childish. He seems to take pleasure in the frightening effect of his gnarled beats and growling rhyme style. When he was accused of homophobia, he filmed himself kissing another man. In 2014, when he played for a packed crowd at SXSW, he was arrested for inciting a riot.
That’s why this year’s Flower Boy came as such a surprise. The album, which tackles topics like loneliness, fame, sexuality, and depression, finds Tyler’s sound evolving in a melodic and soulful direction. The risks he took won him a bevy of followers who helped sell out last week’s show at Warehouse Live. One of those new fans was me.
After a short DJ set from Odd Future member and glorified groupie Taco, the crowd was ready. From the moment the curtain dropped until the end of the set, every bar out of Tyler’s mouth was accompanied by a chorus of devoted fans who knew all the lyrics. Tall, short, light, dark, boy, girl, young and even younger, they all came decked in their finest Golfwang apparel to see their hero deliver his painfully honest thoughts on the struggles of love and identity. That night, Tyler proved that Flowerboy stands as the best album of 2017.
For an artist known for bombastic performances, Tyler’s set was surprisingly mellow. The crowd, more packed than I’ve ever seen at Warehouse before, swayed along to the smooth bass grooves of Flowerboy tracks like “Pothole” and “Boredom.” You haven’t known joy until you’ve been in a room full of people screaming Frank Ocean’s “Chirp Chirrrrp” chorus on “Where this Flower Blooms” at the top of their lungs. Drenched in primary colors onstage, Tyler demonstrated the versatility of his catalogue by serving up several tracks from Cherry Bomb and Wolf. Tuneful neo-soul ballads like “FUCKING YOUNG/PERFECT” and “48” could have been Flowerboy b-sides.
It’s not a Tyler show without some raging. The frantic beats of “DEATHCAMP” and “I Ain’t Got Time!” got the pit going. And from the opening horror twinge until the closing engine roar, Tyler delivered “Who Dat Boy” in a furious growl which threatened to burn the whole place down. Truly the greatest banger of 2017.
But the highlights of the night were surprisingly tender. I wasn’t sure whether to dance, mosh, or cry when the “911/Mr. Lonely” chorus “I can’t even lie, I’ve been lonely as fuck” descended into the song’s syrupy beat. The set ended with Tyler leading the crowd in a joyous rendition of his unexpected radio hit “See You Again.” Tyler will return to Houston in December for Day for Night Festival. Until then, we will all have to wait to see him again.
Nov 19, 2017 | ktru, Top 35
1 - parquet courts - wide awaaaake! - rough trade
2 - barnett, courtney - tell me how you really feel - mom+pop
3 - snail mail - lush - matador
4 - legendary marvin pontiac - greatest hits - norther spy
5 - archie and the bunkers - tales from the lodge - dirty water
6 - us girls - in a poem unlimited - 4ad
7 - beach house - 7 - sub pop
8 - father john misty - god's favorite customer - sub pop
9 - chai - pink - burger
10 - goat girl - s/t - rough trade
11 - the dead tongues - unsung passage - psychic hotline
12 - oneohtrix point never - age of - warp
13 - suuns - felt - secretly canadian
14 - camp cope - how to socialise and make friends - run for cover
15 - hot snakes - jericho sirens - sub pop
16 - young fathers - cocoa sugar - ninja tune
17 - a place to bury strangers - pinned - in the red
18 - shark toys - labyrinths - in the red
19 - bombino - deran - partisan
20 - dessa - chime - doomtree
21 - house of blondes - time trip - alrealon
22 - frankie cosmos - vessel - sub pop
23 - yo la tengo - there's a riot going on - matador
24 - locate s,1 - healing contest - nicey
25 - black moth super rainbow - panic blooms - rad cult
26 - palberta - roach going down slow - wharfcat
27 - moaning - s/t - sub pop
28 - anna burch - quit the curse - polyvinyl
29 - triptides - visitors - rput
30 - wye oak - the louder i call, the faster it runs - merge
31 - anti lilly - it's nice outside - don't sleep
32 - sediment club - stucco thieves - wharfcat
33 - chris crofton - hello it's me - arrowhawk
34 - flower graves - savage - wallflower
35 - american pleasure club - a whole fucking lifetime of this - run for cover
Nov 12, 2017 | ktru, Top 35
Top 35 for November 12, 2017
1 - washington, kamasi - harmony of difference - young turks
2 - grieves - running wild - rhymesayers
3 - killer kaya - 29 lives - s/r
4 - frost, ben - the centre cannot hold - mute
5 - lomelda - thx - double double whammy (more…)
Oct 26, 2017 | ktru, navrang
Everyone is invited to the entertaining Indian musical and Bollywood show on Saturday 11/11 @5:30pm, 1415 Constitution Avenue, Stafford, TX 77477.
Talented Indian artists Kinjal and Somnath Chakraborty will perform live at the event *Waqt ke Safar Mein Kahin... Somewhere in Time*!
Proceeds will benefit childhood cancer research and Hurricane Harvey Relief.
For tickets click here.
Oct 10, 2017 | ktru, navrang
FREE tickets to the opening day of the film festival through ktru's social media!
#NiFF2017 will open with the feature film *A Curry On An American Plate*, starring Rick Fox and Charlie O'Connell, directed by San Banarje and written by Trisha Ray and San Banarje. Screening Venue : Alamo Drafthouse - Mason Park, 531 S Mason Rd, Katy, TX.
Tickets available online only. $12 General Public. $10 Next Actor Studio Alum.
Complimentary passes for press and Stanislavski students of Next Actor Studio can be arranged via email. Seating Limited.
Film Trailer
Sep 29, 2017 | ktru, reviews
BANKS returned to Houston last Wednesday, September 22nd, 2017 on her
headlining tour supporting her sophomore album, The Altar, that came out almost
exactly a year ago. One of her first performances of this new album was at Day
for Night Fest last year, where I was front row for her set and completely
surprised and mesmerized by her visual interpretation of her lyrics.
This recent show at Warehouse Live was no different – after a brief poem
recitation, two veiled dancers flanked her side as she glided quietly on stage,
also veiled. Then, BANKS sharply removed her veil and intensely yelled into a
heavily synthesized and low-pitched second microphone to start the show with
“Poltergiest.” She artfully moved between this synthesized microphone and a
normal one while synchronizing her movements to the dancers’ choreography.
The first three songs performed, some of the most bass-heavy, fast-paced, and
intense songs of The Altar, had a sharp movement to every beat – the pulsing of
bent limbs, expressive finger gestures, and unfazed expressions of the dancers
and BANKS was reminiscent of a darker, modern dance rendition of Swan Lake,
only from Odile’s perspective this time.
Before continuing on with her set, BANKS took the time to express her desire to
show Houston some love after Hurricane Harvey. In fact, all the proceeds of her
merchandise that evening were going to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. After
such an intense, fierce, and almost intimidating introduction to her set with
nothing held back on production, the delicacy and lightness of her voice
reminded the audience of her warm personality.
The rest of her set displayed this balance of lightness and darkness: while her
costuming, lights, and choreography for her songs on The Altar represented
BANKS’ personal and musical development as a more outwardly confident and
unapologetically honest artist, the texture and rawness of her emotions were
highlighted on songs she sung from Goddess that did not have much vocal
backing or instrumentals like “Waiting Game.”
While album reviews for BANKS have criticized her music for being too insularly
focused on heartbreak and relationships and her voice/sound simultaneously
being too risky or generic, I personally enjoyed seeing the emotional arc of my
past failed relationships displayed out loud. The textures and contortions of her
large vocal range and movements display an honesty and rejection of “perfect”
sounding breakup anthems, which I appreciated.
This extremely personal connection to her music contextualizes the immense
audience support she received during the entire show. During “Drowning,” I
heard groups of girls around me expressing a time when they played this song in
their rooms trying to get over their recent ex (“oh man, I can’t even listen to this
song anymore after [insert name here].”) On the other hand, during her hit
“Begging for Thread,” a smile broke out on BANKS’ face as the entire audience
held onto every lyric, chanting it out loud as a sort of cathartic, empowering
release from the emotional lows that once tormented them.
As Tattoo.com’s Jessica Golich accurately writes, BANKS is “artistically erratic,
choppy, restless, spasmodic, and disciplined.” The artfulness and thoughtfulness
in her music was not lost on her live performance, something that was equally
crafted to intensify the audience’s inner thoughts and feelings while
simultaneously empowering them to move forward with confidence.
You can check out BANKS’ music here.
Review by ElaineS
Sep 20, 2017 | ktru, navrang
India's most popular folk music and dance festival Navratri (10 nights) will be celebrated in Houston.
From 9/21 to 9/30 Weekends (Friday and Saturday) 8pm to 1am (Tickets $10) With Code *KTRU* tickets ONLY $7!!! This is the last weekend let's go have fun!
And Weekdays (Sunday thru Thursday) 8pm to 11pm (Tickets $3).
At: VPSS Haveli 11715 Belfort Village Dr., Houston, TX 77031.
FREE Parking and Group Discounts available.
Check out the dance video, simply do not miss on the fun!
Sep 3, 2017 | ktru, Top 35
1 - shabazz palaces - quazarz vs the jealous machines - sub pop
2 - com truise - iteration - ghostly international
3 - night drive - s/t - roll call
4 - sylvan esso - what now - loma vista
5 - marnie - strange words and weird wars - disco pinata
6 - king gizzard and the lizard wizard - murder of the universe - ato
7 - arca - s/t - xl
8 - chastity belt - i used to spend so much time alone - hardly art
9 - goddard, joe - electric lines - domino
10 - eyedress - manila ice - lex
11 - shitkid - fish - pnk slm
12 - brother ali - all the beauty in this whole life - rhymesayers
entertainment
13 - she-devils - s/t - secretly canadian
14 - mac demarco - this old dog - captured tracks
15 - portugal. the man - woodstock - atlantic
16 - jandek - austin thursday - corwood
17 - crooked colours - vera - sweat it out
18 - pare-phillips, scout - door left open - dais
19 - alex g - rocket - domino
20 - perfume genius - no shape - matador
21 - beach fossils - somersault - bayonet
22 - alt-j - relaxer - atlantic
23 - wavves - you're welcome - ghost ramp
24 - sufjan stevens, nico muhly, bryce dessner, james mcalister -
planetarium - 4ad
25 - various - innerpeace - we want sounds
26 - washed out - mister mellow - stones throw
27 - sir was - digging a tunnel - city slang
28 - harding, aldous - party - 4ad
29 - ho99o9 - united states of horror - caroline
30 - suspirians - ti bon ange - super secret
31 - sleep party people - lingering - joyful noise
32 - ride - weather diaries - wichita
33 - nym - lilac chaser - s/r
34 - triptides - afterglow - rput
35 - omar souleyman - to syria with love - mad decent
