This spring semester was my second, and, very sadly, final (class of 2025) semester being the music co-director here at WJCU, which has been a truly amazing opportunity for which I will always be grateful. Like last semester, there was an abundance of great music being sent our way that I really enjoyed combing through and curating in our music library, as well as spotlighting on the music department’s show, Songs from the Vault, which I plan to continue to co-host in the fall! I’m inclined to write reviews for many of these albums, but in the interest of time, here are my brief thoughts on a few personal favorites. Check them out!
Kid Tigrrr: Stoned + Animald— bedroom dream pop, indie rock, ambient, shoegaze
An intimate invitation into the intricate, shimmering paracosm of Cleveland’s own multi-talented Jenna Fournier. On her first solo album as Kid Tigrrr, Fournier plumbs the depths of her psyche in a cathartic display of vulnerability and wanders the realms of her imagination. Dark and heavy topics are examined via light and delicate dreamscapes woven with melancholy melodies that meditate on trauma, resilience, and [human] nature. Stoned + Animald feels like being enveloped by and transported on the fluttery, iridescent wings of a butterfly.
Ichiko Aoba: Luminescent Creatures— singer-songwriter, chamber folk, new age, jazz-folk
An aquatic lullaby. True to its title, Luminescent Creatures evokes a sensation of effortlessly swimming through a sea of stars, cradled by soft waves and serenaded by a dulcet siren. Ichiko Aoba’s music is a sublime, spiritual experience, leaving me with the same feelings of oneness with nature and joy found in the mundane and little things that Studio Ghibli movies often do.
Farmer’s Wife: Faint Illusions— shoegaze, grunge, psychedelia, alternative rock
Musty and misty, Faint Illusions is Southern Gothic meets Alice in Wonderland. Farmer’s Wife provides the soundtrack to trudging along a trail of wilted petals through a Texas ghost town, delirious and dazzled by desert mirages. Farmer’s Wife promising band offering a fresh, thrilling take on a satisfying concoction of sounds.
Nada Surf: Moon Mirror— indie rock, alternative rock, power pop
Nada Surf are one of the most consistently high quality bands in indie rock, yet they are relatively unsung compared to some of their peers. Moon Mirror showcases Nada Surf at the top of their game after all these years, doing what they do best—crafting life-affirming, heartwarming anthems/earworms that thoughtfully reflect on and resonate with the human condition.
Japanese Breakfast: For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)— indie pop, folk baroque, alt-country
On their 4th studio album, Japanese Breakfast ventures into new sonic territory and delivers another poignant portrait of yearning and mourning, anticipatory grief and existential angst. One of the finest songwriters of her generation, Michelle Zauner embeds her candid, masterful storytelling with clever literary and mythological allusions, invoking the muses of yore to intertwine the deeply personal and current with the timelessly universal.
As always, if you’re a musician, feel free to send in your music for consideration at moc.l1750727598iamg@1750727598dm.uc1750727598jw1750727598!
Have a great summer!
DJ Arcadia’s Spring 2025 Alphabetical Album Adds
- A Shoreline Dream- Whitelined
- AloneKitty- AloneKitty
- Assisted Living- Is Coming
- Black Country New Road- Forever Howlong
- Blondshell- If You Asked for a Picture
- Charm School- Debt Forever
- Cheekface- Middle Spoon
- Cloakroom- Last Leg of the Human Table
- Colin Miller- Losin’
- CRX- Interiors (EP)
- Darker Lighter- Darker Lighter
- Deerhoof- Noble & Godlike in Ruin
- Farmer’s Wife- Faint Illusions (EP)
- Fazerdaze- Soft Power
- The Folk Implosion- Dare to Be Surprised
- Ghosts of Cinema- Fantasmagoria
- Glare- Sunset Funeral
- Glixen- Quiet Pleasures
- Grain- We’ll Hide Away: Complete Recordings 1993-1995
- Ichiko Aoba- Luminescent Creatures
- Japanese Breakfast- For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
- Joseon- YOUTHiNASiA (EP)
- Keeley- Beautiful Mysterious
- Kestrels- Better Wonder
- Kid Tigrrr- Stoned + Animald
- Laura Reznek- The Sewing Room
- Mamalarky- Hex Key
- Mei Semones- Animaru
- Mercury- Swarm the Hive Mind (EP)
- Michael Seyer- Boylife
- Mogwai- The Bad Fire
- The Mommyheads- Acorn
- Nada Surf- Moon Mirror
- Pale Blue Eyes- New Place
- Pete International Airport- Sea of Eyes (EP)
- Pink Turns Blue- Black Swan
- Rats On Rafts- Deep Below
- See Night- Just Another Life
- Shurr Jr.- Red Shelter (EP)
- Slow Teeth- Slow Teeth (EP)
- Split Moon- More Clouds More Stars
- Superheaven- Superheaven
- Tigers in Cairo- In Our Fields (EP)
- Tombstones in Their Eyes- Asylum Harbour
- Trip Sitter- Then Again, It Never Was
- Unwed Sailor- Cruel Entertainment
- The Velveteers- A Million Knives
- Vulture Feather- It Will Be Like Now
- Weatherday- Hornet Disaster
- Wish Queen- Saturnalia
- Zzzahara- Spiral Your Way Out