Welcome to the first edition of On Repeat, KVNF's biweekly dive into the albums our music team can't stop playing. Every two weeks, KVNF's Music Department will talk about albums that have earned a permanent spot in their personal rotation. Here are four albums we recommend you listen to.
Rodney Crowell
Then Again
(New West Records)
Most of Rodney Crowell's new album, Then Again, was actually recorded back in 2005. At the time, he wasn't happy with it and shelved it. “I guess you could call it a lost album,” says Crowell. “I stumbled upon it in my vault at home. I’d forgotten about it completely.” Giving it a fresh listen, he couldn't remember what he didn't like about it and decided that now was the right time to share it with the world. He added two newly-recorded songs to it, "If I Could Speak to Leonard", about the late Leonard Cohen, and "Go Light a Candle," which was released last year as a single The album features guests Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, and the late Guy Clark, among others. I really l like "The Ballad of Artemis and Orion" a re-telling of the tragic Greek myth. The whole album deserves a listen.
— Jeff Reynolds
DJ: Wednesday Morning Music Mix
Boards of Canada
Inferno
(Warp Records)
Long-lived ambient/downtempo duo Boards of Canada reemerge from a decade-plus hiatus with an album that is familiar, yet new and unique. Still dreamy, but with a dark, broody, vibe permeating their signature blend of lo-fi digitally curated soundscapes. Combining minor-key melody with Vedic chanting samples, tracks like “Naraka” feel like a walk through darkened streets in the rain, while “Prophecy in 1420 Hz” plays like a ‘80s synthpop ballad of the dystopian future/present. Be sure to check this one out for those long walks at night or quiet evenings of contemplation.
— the electron
DJ: Under the Influence, Room to Groove
Butthole Surfers
After the Astronaut
(Sunset Boulevard Records)
After nearly 30 years awaiting release, After the Astronaut brings the Butthole Surfers' psychedelic noise-rock sound to the modern masses. A sound that felt futuristic in the '90s and now carries a certain nostalgic charge simply by virtue of the decades between then and now. A messy, honest snapshot of the band figuring out how to reach new ears without sanding off their weirdness, and proof that their "lost masterpiece" wasn't lost so much as just waiting for us to catch up to it.
— auralogic
DJ: Anything Goes, Room to Groove
mary in the junkyard
Role Model Hermit
(AMF Records)
The London trio dropped their debut LP Role Model Hermit and it’s the kind of record that gets under your skin and stays there. The lyricism is eccentric and imaginative. The music can feel stripped down and quite minimal in some moments and then it swells into these cinematic and emotional bursts. The album in its entirety is beautifully haunting and strange, yet tender. The record deserves a complete listen; No skipped tracks. Tracks that resonate with me right now are “Seek And Destroy,” “Crash Landing” and “Thou Shalt Sprout.”
—Dre
Music Director & DJ: Off the Wall, The Sweet Sound
