by Meredith Schneider | Jun 27, 2019 | snapshot, visual
On Friday, June 21st, we celebrated the first full day of summer with Goo Goo Dolls under the stars at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, MO. The day started off with torrential downpours all across the metropolitan area, giving us slim hope for such a beautiful evening. But the weather subsided, and the warmth came back out to play as the soundtrack to our evening was filled with summertime favorites. Check out some photos below!
Keep up with Goo Goo Dolls here.
by Kira Cappello | Jun 27, 2019 | albums, review
For fans of Hayley Kiyoko, Sia, Carly Rae Jepsen, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX
Punchy, deliberate, and honest: On 6-track EP Uni-Fi, we meet many sides of X. ARI. Never holding back from her truth, X. ARI tells stories of her most confident and vulnerable moments alike over glittery soundscapes full of synth, undulating basslines and pounding club beats. The work covers a handful of essential topics for young people today: mental health, gender and sexuality, and of course, heartache.
Early on in the EP, X. ARI characterizes her “I don’t give a f—“ attitude that many, many artists have learned to embody over the years as a means of making a name in pop. This declaration, paired with a glicthy chorus peppered with onomatopoeic vocals, blast X. ARI through her own video-game-sounding world on track two titled La La La
ARI is well known as a fierce advocate for mental health, and this EP addresses her daily battles directly; specifically on tracksBreak-Point, Uni-Fi (ft. IRA X.), and Yin Yang (ft. IRA X.) The first track, Break-Point, is an effective invitation for listeners to dive into an alt-pop experience that could be characterized as an interpretive dancer’s dream come true.
Title track Uni-Fi feels wistful and hopeful, both sonically and lyrically. X. ARI explains her feelings of displacement, confessing, “I’m a little bit damaged…I’m together in fragments, a mosaic I’m trapped in”; but the tone of this song is optimistic, especially through the resounding chorus. While IRA X.’s contributions on the EP aren’t necessarily overwhelming, they complement X. ARI’s vocals nicely; adding dimension and even more synth, as well as highlighting notions of living in a gendered world. She divulges, “I’ll tell you a story of a girl and a boy trapped in the same body, just fighting for some space”.
The most telling narrative of X. ARI’s personal journey with mental health has got to be Yin Yang, also featuring IRA X. Considering how sensitive and emotional of a topic this must have been for X. ARI to write, one is almost left wishing that the song’s dynamic conveyed just a little bit more of those extremes than it does. That said, sometimes the pen is mightier than the- well, synth, and X. ARI scores a 10 for the vulnerability of Yin-Yang’s lyrics.
Perhaps one of the most enticing melodies on the EP lie in the token heartbreak track of the work, titled Everywhere. Contrasting the thrust of her alt-pop anthems, X. ARI uses a slightly softer vocal inflection and a floaty, oscillating hook that mates perfectly with the twinkly, echoing backdrop. The track is punctuated by muted, reverberating beats that could be a slowing heartbeat, or an explosion off in the distance. The most expressive song by far, it seems that on Everywhere, X. ARI is experiencing the feeling of both.
You can keep up with X. ARI on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram below.
http://www.xariofficial.com/
www.facebook.com/xariofficial
www.instagram.com/xariofficial
www.twitter.com/xariofficial
by Meredith Schneider | Jun 26, 2019 | snapshot, visual
Juice Wrld lit up the Saturday Bonnaroo crowd, bringing a sense of energy to the mid-day heat like we haven’t seen in quite some time. Photos below!
Keep up with Juice Wrld here.
by Meredith Schneider | Jun 26, 2019 | snapshot, visual
When you get to climb trees with bands at a music festival, you might say that life has gotten a little out of hand. While we didn’t find ourselves IN the tree with Jared & The Mill during our portrait session with the Phoenix-based five piece at Bonnaroo, we did find ourselves laughing while we found a fun place to photograph them amongst the trees. That, coupled with their set on Sunday and a smattering of times we ran into them around the festival, made us acutely aware of their talent.
Here are some portraits.
Keep up with Jared & The Mill here.
by Meredith Schneider | Jun 26, 2019 | snapshot, visual
We started our last day at Bonnaroo sleeping in a little bit more than usual. We heard a pop up performance amongst the trees at an ungodly hour in the morning, and then dozed until it was time to wander in and catch Kikagaku Moyo‘s set. The Japanese psych band was absolutely mesmerizing, and we believe you catch a small bit of that feeling from the photos alone.
Keep up with Kikagaku Moyo here.
by Meredith Schneider | Jun 25, 2019 | snapshot, visual
The last performance we saw before the epic set from Childish Gambino on Friday night at Bonnaroo was Courtney Barnett‘s set at THAT. She came out, fiery and forceful, and the energy kick really gave us the inspiration we needed to keep partying into the night. Highlights below.
Keep up with Courtney here.
