college senior at dickinson college. wgst/italian studies major, head music director for wdcv college radio.

New Artist Spotlight: The Polychromatics

This week, the WDCV music directors added a few featured artists, and we’ve decided to shine a light on one of the newest bands.

The Polychromatics are an indie rock band based in Philadelphia, and their EP is a perfect depiction of the versatility of their talents. They’re refreshingly open to experimenting with their sound. John McKenna, the guitarist of the band and featured vocalist on two songs off the EP, describes each song on the EP as an island, but I disagree. While the songs sound sonically different – in four songs they manage to play everything from folk, to garage jam band, to psychedelic – the lyrics convey a claustrophobia and existential anxiety that feels genuine and relatable to anyone in transition.  

According to the guitarist, the band’s influences go hand in hand with their favorite music, such as Pink Floyd, Ty Segall, King Crimson, Gandalf, and The Doors (some of my favorites as well). McKenna specifically said that the song that is most prominent from his youth is The End by the Doors, which led him to pursue music. He says, “When I first heard Robby Krieger’s skill on that song, I made the decision to become a guitarist.” (He also recommends we listen to the psychedelic band Wand.)

If you’re interested in listening to them, they’ll be circulating through our automation, and they’re also on Soundcloud. When I asked how they felt about how the internet affects the music business, a controversial issue, they said, “It’s giving our band the ability to reach an audience quickly [which] we might not have had the chance to do if we took the old school method…I can’t help but see the benefits of instantaneous communication on a free platform for unknown bands like ourselves.” 

If you have any questions for the band about their work, or event opportunities, you can contact them at their email, the.polychromatics@gmail.com, on twitter or on facebook.

If you have questions for the author of this article, please email logiurab@dickinson.edu or post on her facebook page

NEW Featured Artists (11/18/14)

Hello WDVC-ites.

The Music Directors had a few new featured artists that we’d like to share with you this week, so look out for these awesome bandz!

 

DOROTHY

DOROTHY (picture from Skullcandy.com)

 

DorothyDorothy EP

Currently obsessed with her wicked vocals and hard-hitting sound, Dorothy is reckless and cool. You can download the band’s EP off of this Skullcandy.com page, but also catch them on air! (especially if you like the idea of Kurt Cobain paired with Janis Joplin)

 

 

 

 

The Liberty Underground

The Liberty Underground (picture from their website)

 

The Liberty Underground Three Feet from Gold

Loving considered grunge by one of our music directors, this band will rock your socks off, and you can even get a free download of one of their songs off of their website!

The Lib­erty Under­ground is a high energy Amer­i­can Hard Rock band based in Arling­ton, TX by way of Scran­ton, PA. The core tenets of the band are free­dom, per­sonal respon­si­bil­ity, hard work, and the belief in the power of the human mind.

 

 

 

Screen Shot 2014-11-18 at 3.11.55 PM(Pictured above) Jess Reimer – The Nightjar and the Garden

From her artist page:

With a voice that combines the grittiness of Lucinda Williams with the pure power of Neko Case, it’s hardly a surprise that Jess attracted the attention of legendary Blue Rodeo founding keyboardist (and Manitoba native) Bob Wiseman, who produced The Nightjar and The Garden. Wiseman’s fondness of vintage sounds and a live approach in the studio emphasizes the raw beauty of Jess’ vocals, as well as the wide range of emotions in her songwriting, from the hard twang of “Maggie The Retriever (Bang Bang)” to the gospel-infused “I Want To Believe.”

 

 

New Featured Artists!

Music Directors here!

Today in our meeting we added four new albums to our featured artist heavy rotation, so keep an ear out for them!

Kat Edmonson – The Big Picture

“Reluctantly calling herself vintage pop, this “unconventional crooner” has made her way through coffeehouses to her new album, “the big picture” which is energetic and upbeat.” – featured in a New York Times article

Philip Selway – Weatherhouse

You know him as the drummer from Radiohead, Philip Selway second solo album is minimalist indie rock with some electronic layers.

Firestarter – Forget the Past EP

An awesome Albany, NY based pop-punk band. You can listen to their entire EP online here!

Zola Jesus – Taiga

“Zola Jesus is an intensely intellectual, reserved singer who happens to possess the pipes of a vocal powerhouse.  Her latest album, Taiga, is polished and poppy, but also ethereal and spooky, a perfect listen for brisk fall nights or burning autumn mornings.” – featured in a Refinery29 article, here

DJ OF THE WEEK – ABBY

Abby’s a PoliSci major and considering a Security Studies double major. Her father once refused to let her buy a copy of Machiavelli’s The Prince when she was twelve because he said he was afraid what she would do with it. Other than music, her primary hobbies are reading old fantasy/sci-fi paperbacks and carefully plotting world domination– turns out Dad was right all along.

Her show Technical Erosion is 11 pm to midnight on Saturdays. It is mainly devoted to EBM, industrial, and gothic. Occasionally she’lll mix in some metal or rock ‘n’ roll.