Author Archives: Kim Classen

Cincinnati’s own indie rock quartet is at it again! Walk The Moon is back with a brand new mix of electro rock dance beats to get you moving with their sophomore effort Talking Is Hard, released through RCA Records tomorrow, December 2.

These dance-rock extraordinaires have been receiving a lot of attention ever since they performed at the 2012 SXSW Music Festival. This latest album is a follow-up to their 2012 self-titled debut that included Billboard favorite “Anna Sun.” Given the success of their first record, one would imagine a sophomore album comes with a lot of expectations, but it seems the boys were able to pull it off effortlessly.

The album’s first single, “Shut Up And Dance” is a catchy electro-rock, pop track with “big synths and drums.” It was released on Spotify in November and shot to No. 1 on their viral top 50 US chart where it stayed for two weeks. The rest of the album is jam-packed with catchy pop numbers like “Sidekick,” “Avalanche,” and “Work This Body.” Produced by Tim Pagnotta (Neon Trees, Tokyo Police Club) and mixed by Neal Avron (Weezer), it is no surprise the tracks on Talking Is Hard make you want to shake it.

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Well, the holiday season is officially upon us, folks! Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, you can look forward to even longer lines at the store, circling various parking lots for hours on end, and greeting those oh-too friendly, overworked and underpaid retail workers at the checkout. It is the “most wonderful time of the year,” after all!

So, while you’re out picking up those gifts for the kiddies, you might as well grab a little something for yourself to keep your spirits up—and we’ve got the perfect thing! We’re giving away a copy of the new R.E.M. box set, 7IN-83-88 featuring vinyl 7” singles released with I.R.S Records between 1983 and 1988.

Do you remember “Its The End Of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”? How fantastic would it be to have that (again!) on vinyl? Released in 1987, this song is a “tongue-twisting pop culture rally cry, beckoning to the tuned-out masses, listless casualties of 1980s economics, politics, and general ‘Me Generation’ malaise.”

It is just one of the many exceptional songs R.E.M. released during their time with I.R.S. Records. Their “early storytelling was both epic and familiar, with themes of loss and alienation expressed in several songs, including “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry),” “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville,” and in their 1987 Top 10, “The One I Love.” This new, transformative music emitted from the sleepy/sharp college town of Athens, Georgia, where R.E.M. and other bands forged a scene, which spawned a movement, and ultimately led to a cultural sea change in music.”

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Legendary guitarist Johnny Marr is returning to the States in November to promote his sophomore solo album Playland. Released earlier this fall by Warner Music Group, Playland is Marr’s follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Top 10 album, The Messenger. The first single, “Easy Money” is a hip-swinging, toe-tapping, super catchy pop number. Rolling Stone said it best when they explained that the song has a “…throbbing bass, funky guitar and a catchy melody to mask lyrics about the downfalls of greed.”

Johnny describes the video for “Easy Money” as, “A ‘high times in low rent England’ kind of thing whereas the song ‘Easy Money’ is more of a ‘low times in high rent England’ kind of thing.” In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Marr explained his thought process behind the album’s first single. “I like the idea of sneaking a serious concern into the mainstream, disguised as a big pop tune.

The riff was so catchy and infectious that I wanted it to be about something that appeared to be trite but was actually quite universal. Money is a preoccupation of everybody, and it took me quite a long time to write something that appeared to be simple. If you were to ask anybody in the City what they’re after, essentially the root of it is money. It’s the age-old thing of people thinking that it will make us happy.’”

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Captain Planet’s long-awaited sophomore album has finally hit the shelves and we’re looking to send one your way! Released on October 7, Esperanto Slang takes you for a spin around the globe as this “transformative LP illuminates the ‘Gumbo Funk’ producer’s fluency in breaking boundaries between genres and bridging continents through rhythm.”

Best known for drawing from a wide range of musical styles, it’s no surprise Planet’s latest album seems to effortlessly combine everything from “NY hip-hop, UK bass and Turkish psychedelic, to Nigerian afrobeat and Amazonian funk.”

“Led by the smashing Latin-House single ‘Un Poquito Mas’ featuring Spanish lyrics from fellow international beats don Chico Mann (Soundway), the album also finds Captain Planet traveling South to join forces with esteemed Argentinian electronic chanteuse La Yegros (ZZK) on ‘Que Quiero Volver,’ as well as Brazilian artists Samira Winter and Nevilton on the Samba heater ‘Tudo de Bom.’

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