Going to an Akron/Family show is like attending a hipster tent revival, so it’s fitting that the band’s sixth album is full of psychedelic hymns for its flannel-clad brethren. Mixing folk-y melodies with strange rhythms and switching time signatures and tempos constantly, the band has fully realized its signature genre on Sub Verses: prog folk. Expansive opener “No Room” is a primal waltz with a grinding, repetitive ... Read More

Virgin Soul is the fictional memoir of Geniece> Hightower, an aspiring journalist undergoing a journey of self-discovery during the Black Power movement in 1960s San Francisco. Divided into four sections, each dedicated to a year of her university schooling, the novel follows Geniece’s transition from focused scholar to revolutionary panther. While researching a story for her college newspaper, she meets Allwood, a highly ... Read More

  As a self-identified geek and longtime Music-Obsessed Human, I’ve tried more than my fair share of headphones. Nobody wants to spend all their dang beer money on a crazy-fancy pair, but I’m definitely willing to shell out a bit of cash for quality sound and good construction that’ll withstand some abuse. I’ve tried everything from the ultra-cheap earbuds at Best Buy to massive 1960s-era Pioneer headphones ... Read More

Electronic dance music—otherwise known as EDM—sometimes gets a bad rap, but Miss Kittin’s new album Calling from the Stars is a nonstop dance party. The French femme fatale sounds as sharp as ever. Songs like “Night of Light” and “Tamarin Bay” find Miss Kittin experimenting with various pitches and tempos, all while using her voice as a flexible instrument. “Ballad of the 23rd Century” sounds more like a ... Read More

Authors Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudúlph wanted to “dispel negative ideas about feminism” and give ladies “the tools to bring feminist ideals into their daily lives.” The result, part feminist primer and part self-help book, is certainly accessible: the chapters are loosely-organized riffs from a friendly and well-read perspective. The first half gets into ethical aspects of typical ... Read More