April ‘25 Monthly Music Recap
If your month felt like it went by as fast as mine, you’re probably asking yourself, “What Was That?”
April came and went in a flash, but not without delivering its share of long-awaited albums, comeback singles and tracks from emerging artists. Read all about the indie releases that showered the scene this month, planting the early sonic seeds of summer.
Djo concocts potions of musical allure in third album
Watch the official visualizer for “Potion.”
Every once in a while, an album rolls around that I instantly know will be on repeat for at least a month. Most recently, it’s Djo’s The Crux that has my Spotify practically begging me to listen to something else. The Crux is album number three for Stranger Things star Joe Keery, who uses the stage name Djo for his music career. While lead singles “Basic Being Basic” and “Delete Ya” originally pumped me up for the LP’s April 4 release, it was the third single, “Potion,” that dropped two days before and had me totally hooked before the album even came out.
Though the track is relatively tame, it has slight musical nuances that keeps listeners on their feet and showcase Djo and producer Adam Thein’s production skills. “Potion” opens with a gentle finger-picked acoustic line played over a two-note bass line, giving the song a campfire-y feel. Keery enters with a staccato inflection that clashes with the smooth accompaniment, and at the end of each phrase in the verses, the rhythm of the acoustic line slows for a beat, suspending listeners’ expectations and making the next downbeat that much more satisfying. The meter also changes throughout the verses, switching from a relaxed four to an urgent three, adding to the track’s sense of subtle uneasiness. These musical choices make so much sense when coupled with the song’s lyrical content. The slight jerkiness of the verses’ composition matches lyrics like “When I wake up at three in the morning / Witching hour too strong / Like a witch I know I need my potion / I, I, I might find love.” Meanwhile, finger-picking is traded for light-hearted strumming in the choruses, setting a dreamier scene as Keery sings about yearning for a genuine love: “I’ll try for all of my life / Just to find someone who leaves on the light for me.”
As OTR contributor Avery Heeringa writes in his review of The Crux, “His [Djo’s] voice whimpers, squeaks, belts and is layered to choral extremes across all 12 tracks, and is the LP’s most effective instrument — although the drum lines and synthesizers are pretty damn good too.”
Arcy Drive blasts off into indie rock stardom in “Rocket Chair”
Four-piece band Arcy Drive has everything they need to be the next big thing in indie rock. Hailing from Long Island, they have just the amount of grit you’d expect from a band that got their start in an attic and more than enough spark in their sound to set the scene on fire. Among the many ear worms on their debut album, The Pit, is “Rocket Chair,” a constantly building track that feels like a cathartic release.
The song sort of teases listeners at the beginning, as lead vocalist Nick Mateyunas sings a melody reminiscent of the bridge’s over a minor guitar line briefly before the chords turn major and the first verse begins. From there, the intensity never ebbs and sonic elements are continuously added; a heavy drum beat here, a booming bass entrance there. The lower register of the electric guitar is used beautifully to perfectly build tension before the bridge, where Mateyunas’s impassioned voice — a constant thread throughout the record’s 12 tracks — is brought to the brink of breaking. “It feels just like a rocket chair / They watch you crash,” he sings, reversing course from the song’s earlier, more self-assured lyrics like, “As you stray, adjust another path because you’re better than that.” The “Rocket Chair” outro leaves listeners with the repeated question, “Who are you?” as an ominous bass line comes to the forefront and helps carry out the tune.
Having coined the term “attic rock,” Arcy Drive delivers cozy yet angsty music that is sure to become a summer staple.
Samia takes listeners on a rocky ride in “Carousel”
Watch the official music video for “Carousel” on YouTube.
It’s been a busy four months for indie star Samia. Since releasing “Bovine Excision,” the lead single off her new album, Bloodless, in January, the Los Angeles native has dropped five singles, swiftly ushering in a darkly sagacious era. From radio static acting as song transitions to the tracks’ sonic and lyrical cohesion, Bloodless is a piece of art by a musician whose eloquence is as poetic as it is intense. No track showcases Samia’s pen game and emotional range better than “Carousel.”
As evidenced by its title, the overarching theme of Bloodless is the idea of draining yourself of any undesirable trait to portray a mirage of perfection. “The trick to being eternally lovable is to vanish as soon as someone has perceived you as a conduit to their heart or a vessel for their impropriety,” Samia wrote on her Substack. In “Carousel,” she croons in metaphors that symbolize the merry-go-round-like cycle of bending your identity to fit someone else’s perception of you. For instance, in the chorus she sings, “I’ve been rubbing together bramble / I wanna hitch my fire to your candle,” painting a picture of melting herself down to mold her persona into what she thinks a lover wants. Sonically, the track’s production is perfectly eerie. A hollow synth line whose notes slightly droop in pitch at the end echoes Samia’s vocals and guitar arpeggios, creating a mystical ambience. About one minute into the song, drums and electric guitar enter as Samia’s voice comes more to the forefront, taking the track from mysterious to tastefully angsty. Unison instrumental hits deliver repeated sonic punches as Samia’s belts are muffled in the background, making the last minute and a half of “Carousel” a wall of sound, apt for the powerful reflection of Bloodless as a whole.
With its poetically insightful lyrics and ethereal vocals, “Carousel” is a quintessentially Samia song. At the same time, it functions as an innovative cog in the Bloodless wheel to help deliver her most profound LP yet. Be sure to read Samia’s interview with OTR contributor Jaymee Gallagher in Zine 5!
The Nancys are a band to know, too
Watch the music video for “Know Me Too” on YouTube.
Set to release their debut EP next month, Florida-based indie three-piece The Nancys are bringing their fresh sound to the scene just in time for summer. Their latest single, “Know Me Too,” is an archetypal indie rock song that puts words to the human yearning we all feel.
The track starts off unassuming, with the light and airy strum of an electric guitar setting a tone perfect for frolicking in the sun. Lead singer Ella Norris’s silky lilt is irresistibly smooth, adding to the whimsical feel of the first verse. Yet, by the pre-chorus, the track takes a grungier turn, with the guitar trading soft strums for power chords and the drum beat becoming more urgent. Norris said the song is “for anyone with that quiet desperation to be seen, heard, and understood,” displayed clearly at this heavier section as she sings, “I just wanna know you / Do you wanna know me too?” The rest of the song is an incessant banger, even as a building drum fill teases listeners before the band brings the volume down, only to fully rev up for a rocking outro.
As a band of college students breaking into the DIY scene, The Nancys are a group that knows how to have fun with their sound, and their upcoming self-titled EP is sure to please ears and make waves.
Staff Picks:
Dany Mireles - “Down to be wrong” by HAIM
Jack Kolpitcke - “MONDAY” by Quadeca
Madison Avery - “Don’t Forget You Love Me” by Calum Hood
Jackie Fortis - “Delete Ya” by Djo
Logan Goettemoeller - “Professional Vengeance” by Jane Remover
Tabita Bernardus - “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” by Bon Iver
Ana Marks - “Link” by Djo
Regan Jones - “Hole In A Frame” by Samia
Seay Howell - “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” by Barbra Streisand and Hozier
Check out some of our April coverage!
Live Shows:
“Once they ran onto the stage, the rest of the night felt like a blur of pure excitement and energy bouncing around each corner of the venue. It felt like no matter what people had going on in their lives outside of Metro, they were in a space where they could let loose and enjoy the incredible display of punk rock talent in front of them.” - Nico Beauchamp on The Linda Lindas in Chicago
“You may recognize frontwoman Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey from the ever-iconic Gossip Girl or even as little Cindy Lou Who, but don’t let the credits fool you—Momsen is a rockstar. Alongside incomparable band members Ben Phillips (guitar), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums), the band has scorched a path of blistering riffs, blunt lyrics, and relentless energy—the hallmarks of true rock music.” - Kay Wolfer on The Pretty Reckless in Pasadena
“Orla Gartland is a master of balancing the emotion and self deprecating honesty of much of her discography with the light hearted atmosphere she creates within her show, joking with the audience in between songs and dancing across the stage.” - Alex Stefan on Orla Gartland in Toronto
“One of the most charming things about Fontaines D.C. is how quintessentially Irish they remain– dressed in kilts and Adidas, with Chatten maintaining his thick Dublin accent throughout his vocals.” - Maddy Yen on Fontaines D.C. in Portland
“Despite how hectic and rambunctious the crowd was, it was impossible to keep your eyes away from the stage. Jane Remover so effortlessly connected with the audience and served as an infectious life of the party with energy that echoed throughout the entirety of the building.” - Logan Goettemoeller on Jane Remover in Chicago
New Music Reviews:
“Gone are the sharp, neurotic monologues and chamber-pop climaxes that once defined them. What we get instead is something gentler, more diffuse — a pastoral, emotionally intricate record that leans into whimsical storytelling and baroque textures.” - Arna Churiwala on Black Country, New Road’s Forever Howlong
“Sydney Rose’s EP doesn’t just ask to be heard – it asks to be felt. With each song, she offers a different shade of goodbye. Her production choices reflect an artist who understands that her vocals prove emotion and they don’t need to be belted to be big.” - Dany Mireles on Sydney Rose’s I Know What I Want
“With every step Alice Phoebe Lou takes, a trail of mystifying fairy dust seems to take the place of where a shoe mark would be. Her new single “You and I” entices its listeners into a deeper crevice of her mind that is sprinkled with glittering synths and self-reflective lyricism.” - Tabita Bernardus on Alice Phoebe Lou’s “You and I”
“If one can reclaim one’s rhythmn, find the ability to move forward yet carry the core parts of oneself, that is when peace is found.” - Lucy Curtis on Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE
Interviews:
“I always say my music is an advertisement for the live show. It's because that's where I'm most myself. I'm most vulnerable and I'm most tapped into some other frequency. It’s just something about having people involved.” - DIAMOND CAFE in an interview with Peyton Mott
“It's just that I wanna make music that I would listen to. I don't wanna make music that I wouldn't like. I wanna make music that sounds good. So I think whenever I write music, I make sure that it feels good. Anyone who's listening to it is gonna have a good time, whether it's a love song, whether it's a slower ballad song. I just try to make sure that it's very nice sounding.” - LCN! in an interview with Cece Faulkner
“I feel like creative friction is important sometimes because it ensures that the best result happens. Because if we're all just agreeing with each other all the time, saying everything sounds good, that's not going to be the best product.” - Niko Francis of A-Go-Go in an interview with Emma Hug Rosenstein
Music Extras: