By DYLAN BROWN Inland360.com
To help listeners wade through a world flooded with MacBook musicians and a million sub-genres to find the best new music, here are October’s 10 most-played albums at the University of Idaho’s KUOI 89.3 FM.
1. Arctic Monkeys — “AM” Once again, the Arctic Monkeys have produced an album that gives indie rock a slick, less-pretentious, hipster vibe, and offers new and old fans really hooking lyrics. I am slightly obsessed with their single, “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” Cheerio. — Across The Atlantic (9:30 to noon Monday)
2. Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin — “Fly by Wire” Probably what you picture when you think of tuning into college radio — plucky blog-rock. Lots of poppy ooohs and aahhs make them pleasurable, if forgettable. They allow you to tune into their sweet male vocals and give your brain a rest from all of that complexity and learning of college life. — Common People (4 to 6 p.m. Friday)
3. Red Fang — “Whales and Leeches” Red Fang’s junior effort brings forth a slicker production value than previous records but still rocks hard, if not harder, than all the others. It might sound more refined but the Portland, Ore., natives created an album that is all killer, no filler. — Noises from the Attic (8:30 to 11 p.m. Friday)
4. Phatogram — “Phatogram EP” Phantogram comes back with an EP jammed with electro-pop and trip-hop jams strongly focused around vocals. This album brings some of the ingenuity they showed off on their 2010 album “Eyelid Movies.” Definitely get ready for the full release of this album because it’s going to be big. — Vaguely Themed (noon to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday)
5. Darkside — “Psychic” Darkside created a titanic album that starts off out in the cosmos with the synth-heavy “Golden Arrow,” swirls back down to Earth on the bluesy “Paper Trails.” It’s electronica that goes where it wants and does it all well. — Brown’s Sack Lunch Mixtape (on demand)
6. Radical Face — “The Family Tree: The Branches” Some say a band’s sound needs to change or become more interesting over time. I think this relaxing, thought-provoking album sounds a lot like their last, “The Family Tree: The Roots,” and even quite a lot like Electric President, lead singer Ben Cooper’s other group. But that’s a good thing and you can’t have too much of a good thing. — Missionary Stylus (8:30 to 11 p.m. Tuesday)
7. Okkervil River — “The Silver Gymnasium” Storytelling that can’t help but make you feel nostaligic. Grab the carefully crafted physical version of the album, which includes a hand-drawn map to lead you song to song, to fully enjoy a unique slice of Americana. — Brown’s Sack Lunch Mixtape
8. Typhoon — “White Lighter” An amazing musical journey, they take you on little adventures through emotional, youthful narratives, accompanied by swelling, triumphant movements. — Vaguely Themed
9. Chvrches — “The Bones of What you Believe” Chvrches have created an album best defined as electronic chill-out music with an abundance of soft vocals and gently catchy riffs that make you want to keep listening. Stand out tracks include the male vocals on “Science/Visions” and “The Mother We Share” with its chorus. It becomes a little repetitive and starts to blur, but overall a good album. — Across The Atlantic
10. The Poets of Rhythm — “Anthology 1992-2003” The Poets of Rhythm are the quintessential funk revival outfit, assuming funk ever died. From the 1990s until now, these Germans brought back a sincere analog soul to the genre that had become a lot of synthesizers and slap bass. The Poets of Rhythm influenced a lot of Daptone artists, like Sharon Jones and The Budos Band. — The Intuition Hike (6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday)
Brown may be contacted at dbrown@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2278. Follow him on Twitter @DylanBrown26.
