The Voice of Ithaca College

By Kate Sustick

It is rather unusual for an aspiring musician to leave a place like Los Angeles in order to jumpstart their career. However, this week's artist of the week, Day Wave, has proven that a change in location and atmosphere can do wonders for a career. Jackson Phillips, the face of the one-man act Day Wave, started his musical career at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, studying jazz drumming. Moving back to Los Angeles after college, Phillips dropped his jazz drumming and joined the electro-pop group Carousel. After working and performing with Carousel for a few years, Phillips was inspired to go solo and began a project of his own; a one-man indie rock band known as Day Wave. With influences varying from Joy Division to the Beach Boys, Day Wave offers a new sound to the indie rock scene.

[Photo by Olivia Riggio]

by, Olivia Riggio

In times of political unrest, fear and uncertainty, music serves as more than just an art form. It stands as an unabashed protest and unapologetic catharsis. It felt serendipitous that Jeff Rosenstock, Hard Girls, Katie Ellen and ¡Viva Mayhem! were booked to play as part of Ithaca Underground’s November Music Series the weekend after what was arguably the most jarring election in American history. It was just what we needed.

By Anna Gee

Known to some as the “Music Capital” of Sweden, Göteburg (or Gothenburg to us Americans) boasts many music festivals and hosts top Swedish record labels (Alleycat Records, Rexius Records, and Sincerely Yours to name a few). Genres range dynamically from heavy death metal to electronica. The scene really began to boom in 1955 and has evolved and spat out iconic musicians like The Knife, Spotnicks, and Chris Lenhart. Popular venues (Musikens Hus, Pustervik, Nefertiti) bring in mostly Swedish and other European performers. For me it’s always amazing to see what one hit wonders and favorite bands come from what city. I like to start my set with one of my most iconic finds and end with one of my favorite bands from that place. Starting with Ace of Base’s “All That She Wants” was definitely a no brainer, a constant on the radio when I was a kid. For me this is quintessential Gothenburg, poppy and electronic music that snuck it’s way out of Scandinavia. My last song “Klapp Klapp” fromLittle Dragon has been a favorite of mine off of their latest album and was a pleasant reminder that they hail from Gothenburg. My lesser-known (to American audiences at least) pick was Freddie Wadling. His later career consisted of more solo work, but he also was in Leather Nun, Blue for Two, and cult band Cortex. Wadling passed away this past June.

I’m always into suggestions of bands I missed, so if you’re from the GBG comment and let me know what you thought of the show! As always, you can suggest where we should travel to next by tweeting your suggestion with the hashtag #Cityscapes.

Cityscapes will be on a brief hiatus as I’m traveling out of the country this week. I’ll see you real soon!

PLAYLIST:

All That She Wants – Ace of Base

Missiles – Cosmic Overload

Mountains Crave – Anna von Hausswolff

Change Of Heart – El Perro Del Mar

Bump – Be The Bear

The Freaks – Cortex

Ge Fan i Mej - Attentat

Cadillac – Broder Daniel

Someone Like You – Blue for Two

Om Du Möter  Varg – Detektivbyrån

Nu Lyfter Vi Från Marken – Freddie Wadling

Get Up – Fibe, Oh Fibes!

Heartbeats - José González

Your Arms Around Me – Jens Lekman

Pistols at Dawn – Tyred Eyes

For The Sun – Honey is Cool

Things Will Never be the Same Again – jj

Colors – Laleh

Kungen – Love is All

Jesus Came Driving Along – Leather Nun

Instant Repeater ’99 – The Soundtrack Of Our Lives

The Worrying Kind – Maia Hirasawa

If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind – Sally Shapiro

Private Machine – Thermostatic

Gagarin – Tross

Fall From A Height – The Honeydrips

Rope & Summit – Junip

Fear No Darkness Promised Child – Timo Raisanen

Cults Revisited – Cut City

Dreamy Eyes – Azure Blue

Within the first few seconds of any Infinity Crush song it feels like you’ve been teleported straight to your bed on a rainy day. From College Park, MA Caroline White, the voice of Infinity Crush, has the power to create an entirely different world. Dreamy, minimal acoustics combined with White’s lilting vocals enchant every track on her impressive discography.

White recently released an LP titled “warmth equation” found here. While still incorporating her trademark sound of minimal background instrumentals and gentle vocals, the album has a more dream-like sound compared to her previous releases. In mini album “sometimes even in my dreams i am” released in late 2013 the four tracks focused more on the message and powerful lyrics than sound. Similarly in a release of unreleased songs and demos from March 2016 each song incited a specific feeling with meaningful lyrics and light usually acoustic accompaniment.

(Photo source: http://www.americanfootballmusic.com/)

By Olivia Riggio

Sad boys and girls everywhere, rejoice! Quintessential Illinois emo band, American Football has released their first single after 17 years of silence. This single precedes a self-titled record, out on October 21.

When Mike Kinsella, Steve Lamos, and Steve Holmes released American Football’s first self-titled album in 1999, it went almost totally unnoticed. The band broke up a year later. Yet somewhere along the line American Football became an indie-emo staple, a household name for those involved in the scene and a primary influence of almost every twinkly basement band of the 2000s and 2010s. They reconvened back in 2014 and are poised to make a glorious comeback this year.

The single, quite appropriately titled I’ve Been So Lost for So Long (listen here), stays true to the intricate guitar riffs, changing time signatures, and small-town melancholy that American Football became known for. However, the band appears to have shed most of the raw, adolescent angst that colored their first album, replacing it with a more polished and professionally-produced sound. In the 17 years between releases, American Football has certainly matured.

The lyrics are still beautifully depressing but it’s evident that the musicians in American Football have grown from sad boys to sad men. In this track, Kinsella struggles with feeling directionless and questioning his purpose. “If you need me, don’t/You can’t trust a man/Who can’t find his way home,” he sings. Though his frankness and honest emotion are the same, Kinsella has ditched the topic of his teenage feelings and replaced it with something more existential and relevant to the life of an almost-40-year-old.

Kinsella’s vocal tone has also become warmer and more refined. Carefully-placed harmonies make the song sound wholesome and easy to listen to. Clean and trebly guitars saturated with healthy amounts of reverb give the track a calming, crystal clear vibe. It’s the kind of music your parents would probably approve of. It definitely has mainstream potential.

But those who fell in love with American Football for their raw and relatable garage-band grit might find themselves slightly disillusioned. Their sound, while still true to indie-emo style, is no longer a diamond in the rough. In fact, it’s quite accessible. American Football must strive to remain unique in a genre where almost every band is influenced by them.

Another year of music blogging is here!

by Meredith Dunham

"We like candy, feminism, and touring the land." Relatable, right?

With an aesthetic strongly resembling a sparkly Double Bubble wrapper, Tacocat is everything us colorful feminists could ever dream of. Upbeat, unapologetic, and touching on 90s revivalism, the foursome's music is just as vivid as their personalities. Founded in Seattle in 2007, the group of four consists of Emily Nokes, Bree McKenna, Lelah Maupin, and Eric Randall—all equally funky.  

"We don't give a sh*t," could probably work well as the band's motto: As a feminist pop punk group, Tacocat buzzes about the things we're all thinking on a daily basis, including periods (see: Crimson Wave)  and The X-Files (see: Dana Katherine Scully).

Tacocat’s third studio album, Lost Time, might just be their best yet. Buoyant and goofy as usual, the band brings us along on their [presumably neon] spaceship: Side “Space” contains funky jams including a personal favorite, I Love Seattle, and You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit. Side “Time” is equally as groovy; Talk, a single released in February, repeats, “Together, together alone/ I want to dance, I want to talk- until my throat hurts.” The album is altogether a collection of infectious pop punk that you won’t want to miss. If you’re into outer space, girl power, and all things colorful, Tacocat is the group for you.