Three albums you might have missed

After 46 days of strenuous schoolwork, the first quarter is in the books, and students are finally regaining their stride. Or, if you’re like me, just stopped caring. In any case, if you were too caught up in the regime of SAS, here are three new albums you might have missed that were released in the first quarter.

EX HEX- RIPS

Released on Oct 10 of this year, Ex Hex’s debut album is a perfect summer soundtrack, even though it was released a little late. Although Ex Hex is still in its infancy, the female trio has had their fair share of experiences; basically, they’re not afraid of being loud. The catchy tunes and playfulness of the album is stripped of fat – no excess lyrics, no excess instruments. In fact, the LP is only 12 tracks long and each track never crosses the four-minute mark. The listener is thrown right into this tone with the first song “Didn’t Want To Lose,” one of the album’s highlights, which is filled with fast strums as well as fast vocals. And boy, does it keep up that pace throughout.

FOXYGEN- …AND STAR POWER

Ever since their 2013 release of “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic,” Foxygen has had quite a crazy time. What started off with critical success came to an end with frequent concert cancellations and public meltdowns, “…And Star Power” coveys these experiences perfectly. This lo-fi, 24 track extravaganza is a crazy ride. It’s comprised of songs like “Hang,” which delicately questions “if I’m no good for you,” and songs like “Can’t Contextualize My Mind,” in which Jonathan France spends a majority of the song yelling. If you want a singular recommendation, I often find myself singing and dancing provocatively to “How Can You Really” in the shower. So yeah.

THE DRUMS- ENCYCLOPEDIA

Here’s the thing with The Drums: you either dig them or you don’t. You’ll find yourself skipping through tracks furiously and then all of a sudden, you’ll have complete resonation with a tune. Encyclopedia is comprised of these love or hate songs; it’s in a way a whole catalogue of The Drums. You have their experimental beats, the melodramatic lines, and the songs obviously influenced by indie rock of the 80’s. But they’re at their best when they’re recollecting themselves. Jonny Pierce’s melancholic voice can make lines such as “Remember when you first touched my hand/ We sparkled inside at the same time/ And now it doesn’t even matter” evoke a sense of uncertainty towards the past. Their constant repetition of these lyrics will eventually make the listener recollect as well. Maybe The Drums themselves are uncertain: where to go, what sound to make. I mean, we are all human. Which might be the reason why they decided to release this retrospective in Encyclopedia: they want to be certain there’s a song for everyone.