By Music Director

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:: No ideas this week!  

:: February 15, 2026

:: Blog blurb goes here

:: Jill Scott – To Whom This May Concern

Genre: R&B

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Beautiful People,” “Pressha,” “The Math,” “Sincerely Do”

Jill Scott’s voice can command a room as her empowering lyrics in conjunction with emphasized poeticism—almost slam poetry-like—exemplifies her anti-passivity. The album To Whom This May Concern serves as a call to action in humanizing those who have been historically subjugated; and asking others to join in on addressing her overall concern. Moreover, as an artistic piece, the album is enticing to listen to. Scott’s rhyme schemes flow evenly as the words are sensical and sincere. Specifically, the call to a non-conformist attitude in “Pressha” and the acceptance present in “Beautiful People” is what I appreciated the most.

— Sophia Sciulli

Angel Du$t — COLD 2 THE TOUCH

Genre: Punk 

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Pain Is A Must,” “Jesus Head,” “Cold 2 The Touch,” “The Beat” 

By now, it’s no secret that I’m quite a fan of all things hardcore (musically speaking). So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that COLD 2 THE TOUCH was finally out. The newest album by Baltimore’s Angel Du$t is an amalgamation of seemingly 80s heavy-rock vocals with hardcore punk distortion and miscellaneous indie production. An almost avant-garde and alien release that transcends the traditional barriers of hardcore rock. However, with such a breadth of creative production (of which I’d expect nothing less from Justice Tripp’s amorphous super group) the hardcore sections seem to suffer. Haters may find solace in the mundanity — the old stereotype of “it all sounds the same” rings all too true. I hate to say it, but ask me to delineate any song based solely on its hardest moments and I may find the task more difficult than it should be. That being said, each song keeps things fresh with its own gimmick (for lack of a better word). “DU$T” begins slow and contemplative. Tripp grips at you; it’s intimate. Then it happens: a massive rush of hardcore pierces the emptiness. “The Knife” ends with a choir of crying babies that increase in distortion till they are abruptly cut-out. Suddenly we are thrust into closing track “The Beat,” which is that Turstile-esque hardcore sound to the max.  Everything is quick, snappy, daring and fun — the gen-z-ification of hardcore is here.

— Jonathan Sackett

Edgehill — Ode to the Greyhouse

Genre: Indie Rock

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Drone Song,” “Love To Go,” “Numb”

Ode to the Greyhouse is quintessential indie rock, at times (most notably on tracks 1, 2, and 7) following the archetypal indie band template. Whether you are aware of it or not, you understand this template well. Slower, sadder verses build towards a vocal-instrumental riser, as each component grows louder and faster before breaking into a catchy hook about love or other drugs. Listen to “I Can Be Your Dog” and tell me it’s groundbreaking. You can’t. Though this definitely sounds like a criticism, it’s not — as long as you enjoy that indie sound.’ This record’s greatest moments, saving it from dreadful indie obscurity, happen on “Numb” and “Innocent,” which shift tones and give the album a natural topography. “Numb” might as well be an unreleased Alex G song, using his same choked-up lyrics and harmony-elusive vocal layering to portray a passionate sadness so vivid that its instrumentation doesn’t need to lend assistance. “Innocent,” by contrast, is the stark opposite. With dialed-up distortion and grungy, post-hardcore undertones, the production on this closing track of the album feels like far more than a few dudes messing around with two guitars and a drum set. This was one of my favorite albums this week. I just had to give the sluggish tracks some tough love to emphasize how great the other half of the record truly is.

— Jacob Bennett

Gogol Bordello — We Mean It, Man!

Genre: Punk

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Life Is Possible Again,” “No Time For Idiots,” “Hater Liquidator,”

I must admit I had no idea what to expect going into Gogol Bordello, but the funky and punky is where I feel most at home. We Mean It, Man! carves out a sound wholly New York, yet wholly global — I guess there’s nothing more NYC than that. Every track drips with originality and protest. 

— Jonathan Sackett

Converge — Love Is Not Enough

Genre: Mathcore

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Love is Not Enough,” “Bad Faith,” “Amon Amok,” “Make Me Forget You,” “We Were Never the Same”

There’s something beautifully haunting about the phrase: “Love Is Not Enough.” I guess it’s no surprise then that it made for my favorite track off of NIN’s With Teeth. A relationship requires more than love, expect love to fix everything and that relationship is doomed to fail. Despite the darkness and grit that permeates NIN, Trent Reznor’s been the opposite. In the nastiness and grime of mathcore, I’ve found the opposite. Love Is Not Enough feels like a spiritual successor to the message that made me fall in love with heavier music. Converge’s first proper album in nine years is a marriage of intensity and passion with maturation and reflection. The first half of the album is a grindcore blast of gnarled political punk — it’s much faster and snappier than their usual style. Then everything is stretched out in “Beyond Repair.” The song is long, brooding, and atmospheric. The album shifts sonically and lyrically. The lyrics look inward, they’re empathetic and introspective, as the instrumentation becomes more and more like Converge’s signature sound. “Amon Amok” is pure metalcore and hardcore fusion, with melodic licks here and there. Unsettling and unrelenting, “Gilded Cage” is a howling and harrowing drawl about addiction and conformity. The vocals here are the clearest they’ve been so far: you will hear the message. “Make Me Forget You” features incredible instrumentation. The guitarwork here is at its finest and beautiful melodic tones worm into my ear over a sea of crunch. I can throw the same praise onto “We Were Never the Same,” a gripping repetitive drone and a powerful closer. Love is Not Enough is empathetic, fiery and personal. In my first year of college, I found solace in mathcore, and it feels incredible to hear Converge again. 

— Jonathan Sackett

Cardinals — Masquerade

Genre: Alt-Rock

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Masquerade,” “I Like You,” “Barbed Wire”

It’s hard to believe that Masquerade is the first studio album from Cardinals. This is a really great record, touching on a wide range of sounds. “Anhedonia” can best be described as cowboy-emo, shockingly never referencing a single horse in the whole song (but still delivers some gun-slinging lines). The alternative note of this alt-rock album comes largely from the accordion being played in the majority of tracks, meshing old-world, folky chords with 2000s emo drums and guitar. “I Like You” and “As I Breath” emit dreary vocal soundscapes, much like those of The Microphones or Bright Eyes, set at half of the tempo of other songs on Masquerade. Though normally I like sonic cohesion between tracks on a record, Cardinals’ first album is a charming interview, showcasing just how multifaceted they can be. 

— Jacob Bennett

Colony House – 77 (Pt. 2)

Genre: Indie Rock

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Life Goes On,” “Hummingbird,” “Right or Wrong,” “Burn in the Rain”

As you might guess from the “Pt. 2,” this is the second installment of Colony House’s two-part album 77. It’s an ambitious move, and without having heard Part 1, I can’t help but wonder whether the two halves complement each other or exist in completely different sonic worlds. This chapter, though, leans into an edgy, nostalgic sound—layered electric guitars, steady driving drums, and slightly distorted vocals that feel ripped straight from a ’90s basement show. Some tracks, like “Life Goes On” and “Hummingbird,” stick to a more straightforward indie rock formula, while others, like “Right or Wrong” and “You’re Right Where You’re Meant to Be,” drift toward indie folk with softer acoustic textures. Instead of clashing, the shifts in style actually strengthen the album, giving it movement without losing its core identity. If your playlists bounce between ’90s throwbacks and modern indie rock like mine, this one’s for you.

— Piper Turri

Prostitute — Judge (Fast)

Genre: Noise Rock

Release: Single 

Recommended Tracks: “Judge (Fast)”

Prostitute’s first — and currently only — album, Attempted Martyr was independently released in 2024, and I wish I had been around to write about it then. Listening to their music, you’d have no idea they were formed in Michigan! Their sound pulls from numerous Arabic music samples, forwarded by vocals far too aggressive to be categorized as punk rock. Since Attempted Martyr might just have been my favorite record of 2024, I was thrilled to see the trickling release of new singles over the past couple months. “New” isn’t the best word to describe them though, as “Mr. Dada,” “All Hail (Pressure),” and now, “Judge (Fast)” are more of mild edits to already existing tracks from their album. As it turns out, these rereleases are the result of the band being signed to Muse Records. As the “Fast” in the track title suggests, this track (and all the other singles) are cut shorter and feature accelerated tempos. On top of this, “Judge (Fast)” sounds much like an audio remaster, removing some of the unintended sonic cloudiness of the original. Prostitute’s incredible tracks are being made even better, so I’m more than happy picking up these random singles until their next project drops. 

— Jacob Bennett

femtanyl — MAN BITES DOG

Genre: Digital Hardcore

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “VIDEO NASTY, ”“HEAD UP,” “IS THIS IT”

Femtanyl has been THE name in underground breakcore music for the last couple of years, dissolving the allegations of having a “furry fanbase,” with the help of several Danny Brown collaborations. Teaming up on Danny Brown’s Stardust and Femtanyl’s own “M3 N MIN3” showed the music sphere that this electronic artist isn’t just for the chronically online. MAN BITES DOG is the first LP release of Femtanyl’s career, and it doesn’t hold back. The same obscure digital sample looping and heart-stopping BPMs found on her singles are still around. A ‘90s video game voice-line effect is created through heavy distortion of vocals by Noelle Mansbridge, to the point of unintelligibility. Mansbridge and Juno Callender truly make Jane Remover sound like pop music, with layers upon layers of digital instruments creating an otherworldly experience. If you’re looking for music to paralyze a Baby Boomer or properly stimulate an iPad kid’s attention span, MAN BITES DOG is the place to start. 

— Jacob Bennett

Charli xcx – Wall of Sound 

Genre: Pop/Classical

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Always Everywhere,” “Chains of Love,” “Seeing Things,” 

I have not watched Wuthering Heights yet; however, I cannot imagine this genre of music situated in a nineteenth century English drama (I am aware that Emerald Fennell took some liberties in her directing as the romance leans on more of a Saltburn-esque production). The content of the film besides, Charli xcx’s album experiments with background string instruments accompanying her wider vocal range. Similar to her preceding albums, Wall of Sound, speaks to the contemporary melding of deliberate auto-tune use to elevate a synthetic pop sound—like what PinkPantheress does. It was definitely interesting to listen to Charli xcx, within a period piece, and I do not know exactly how to feel about the album, holistically. The pop noises, slightly impeding on the sentiments of Gothicism, make the songs less unsettling but also less cohesive? Collectively, I enjoyed listening to Wall of Sound, but I do have to say—unlike other movie scores/albums—this one is difficult to listen to isolated from the film.

—Sophia Sciulli

Kate Stephenson – This Is What You Get

Genre: Indie Folk

Release: Album

Recommended Tracks: “Going On Words,” “Should Have,” “i don’t think we’re friends anymore,” “Fare Me Well”

Kate Stephenson has an incredible gift for twisting the metaphorical knife as deep as it goes. As a lover of gut-wrenching lyricism and slower indie instrumentation, this album was exactly my forte—though I can absolutely see how it might bore some listeners. Many of the songs share the same sleepy production: slow tempos, airy vocals, and sweeping strings. That said, those strings are beautifully arranged and incredibly tasteful, leaning into the perfect folk twang. “Going On Words” features a harmonica, while “Tomorrow When The Sun Comes” and “Fare Me Well” incorporate a banjo, adding subtle texture to the otherwise subdued soundscape. It’s a quiet farewell—“going onwards”—with a banjo to cushion the blow.

— Piper Turri