Pretentious bands like to call themselves “unclassifiable” and claim that they “don’t conform to genre parameters,” but usually when the edgiest of the edgy start to play, they merely sound like the current indie flavor. Liars, however, are a band who routinely moves away from the genres critics pigeonhole them into (‘dance punk,’ ‘post-punk revival,’ the totally fake ‘kraut punk’) and never brag about it. They’ve never had enough of an ego to say “we are a band like no other” but every few years they release an album that builds off their influences rather than steal from them.

Their new album, Sisterworld, alternates its tone between two feelings: creeped out and angry as hell. There aren’t as many noise freak-outs here as you’d expect if you’ve heard the band’s past work, but when Liars want to – they dial everything into the red and singer Angus Andrew screams his falsetto away. The slower, sometimes orchestral pieces that make up the rest of the album are beautiful but totally unsettling.

Sisterworld opens with “Scissor,” an initially a capella song that draws the listener in with quiet, multi-tracked vocals. At the 50 second mark, minimal piano, bass guitar and violin accompaniment are introduced. At 1:45, it’s all steamrolled over by the old Liars— the ones the press used to call “noise terrorists.” “Scissor” is followed by three less-focused atmospheric tracks that wander around for ten and a half minutes before letting the album continue on its noisy way.

On the first listen through, the peak-to-valley drop off in tempo hurts. It’s a frustrating moment comparable to a car exiting the autobahn to drive through a retirement home parking lot. Subsequent trips through the Sisterworld reveal that tracks two, three and four are well-structured and offer as much depth as any of the album’s more aggressive tracks. The songs clearly belong where they are, how they are, but it takes time to respect that and not see them as buzz kills.

The album’s other seven songs follow the same bang-whimper-whimper-bang pacing as the first four while Andrew sings about cold-blooded murder, setting fires, fleeing crimes and hiding bodies. Lyrically, the band is essentially running through the Insane Clown Posse list of ways to scare parents and excite their delinquent children. What make Liars’ tales of hobo slaughter work here is the textured creepiness of the music, which includes the most sinister-sounding bassoon ever set to tape.

Sisterworld is a grower. The problem for many will come when they don’t want to give it time to warm up. It’s too easy to listen to a four-minute long ambient yawn like “Drip,” hit ‘next track,’ and then never return to find the song’s brilliance.

- DJ Alex Rudolph

The Rock Purist Rave
Wednesdays 12-2 am
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Show Description
In a world where rock n roll is dying, one DJ takes a stand. This is the Rock and Roll show that brings you deep cuts in Blues, Rock and Metal, celebrating the legends that were, are and to come.

Beat Fusion
Thursdays 4pm-5pm
Show Description
Mixing different genres and sounds, I’m fusin’ those beats (get it, get it!). Be ready for lots of indie, electro, old-school hip hop and much much more.

Indecisive Times with Julie
Sundays 8pm-10pm Biweekly
Show Description
Indecisive Times helped Bowie pick his diet of hot peppers, milk & cocaine. I can score the soundtrack to your decisions. We can be heroes.

So GUESS WHAT. DJ Carolyn Becker was like “I love punk rock and WVAU should host an all punk and hardcore Capitol Punishment”. As they say on the video for Rap Cat, “AMERICA, ITS FINALLY HAPPENING”.

As per usual, this edition of Capitol Punishment will take place in the Kay Spiritual Center and is 100% FREE OF CHARGE. The deets: 5 DC/MD/VA punk-hardcore bands. Saturday, March 27th; doors are at 6 pm, show at 6:30. Get ready for a raucous evening!

Ultimate Intimacy
Mondays 8-10pm
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Show Description
Ultimate Intimacy is always a radio show and is often fun. In the past I’ve tried to restrict my show to two or three genres, but that never lasts long. This time I’ll just say that my favorite artists are people like The Walkmen, The Magnetic Fields, Grandaddy, Prince, Lightning Bolt, Mr. Bungle, Silver Jews and, as of this year, Shilpa Ray. I am not sorry for party rocking (I’m sure this reference will be exactly as funny in nine months as it is today).
Name of Favorite Other WVAU Show
http://www.wvau.org/schedule/

Electric Factory
Thursdays 6pm-8pm
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Show Description
lectric Factory will provide listeners with a weekly two hours of electronic, indie rock, female vocalists, trendy hipster bands, underground hip-hop, standout pop hits, european house, moombahton, shoegaze, chillwave, trip-hop, and the many sub-genres of electronic music that are developing with the greater distribution of sound editing capabilities. The show will also feature live sets and interviews with local DJs in the DC music scene.
Name of Favorite Other WVAU Show
Bedtime Stories, Elaboration Collaboration, Ultimate Intimacy, Spaghetti Flows, D&A

Automation with DJ Robot (Any free time on WVAU)

Profile://run(Profile.exe)

HELLO. I AM DJ ROBOT. I HAVE BEEN CREATED TO PLAY THE DOPEST JAMS FROM WVAU’S DIGITAL LIBRARY.  LISTEN TO ME LATE NIGHTS AND EARLY MORNINGS FOR A RANDOM SELECTION OF SWEET TUNES

if (x = favorite bands) : PRINT { KRAFTWERK; DAFT PUNK; GLORIA ESTEFAN AND THE MIAMI SOUND MACHINE; }

Hopefully our virulent staff of DJs will take a long needed break from academics and the strenuous world of radio disc jockeying this upcoming week.

Whether they’re learning new lyrics to ELO songs (DJ Alex Rudolph), re-watching “Da Hip Hop Witch” (DJ Allie Porambo), or working on their golf swing (DJ Adam Birka White), our DJs will be living large all over the country.

We’ll return to air Monday March 15th fully refreshed and ready to pump out “das jams”.

Without further ado, welcome to the website! We are extremely pleased that DJs and listeners alike can access this state of the art depository of fun and information. Built from the ground up by super-genius Ross Nover, the site boasts many gorgeous additions that the entire WVAU family can be proud of. Thanks for your patience, we hope you’ll agree that this was worth the wait.

- WVAU Exec Board

For real though, I am sooo hoping that “Final Fridays” will catch on. Am I holding on to an ideal that simply won’t pan out? We’ll have to see as the semester goes on…

Anywho- this past Friday evening was a blessed and eclectic mix of performers who caused mixed emotions in the Batelle Atrium. The musical talent ranged from the one-man noise stylings of AU Administrator Keith Bryner to the soul crushing metal riffs of AU trio, Primal Void. On the lighter side, the ever popular Jordan Brown played two ditties, followed by friends Kendall Jackson, Kyoko Takenaka, and Dara Hirsch. Laurel Halsey was wonderful on the piano, and there was certainly no lack of Blink 182 covers (courtesy of DJ Bradley Barbour of “Gold Soundz”) (“I’m feelin’ It!”).

The highlight of the evening was almost certainly the rising star of the Open Mic scene, “Jesus and the Kennedys”. With the furious bass slappings of Mike Krohoboth and the insidious bangs to the drum by DJ Jeremy Pollock of “Family Friendly Fun-tivities”, JADK brought their A game. They’ve even upgraded with two additional members, one of which is DJ Chris Alires of “Mix and Mash”, who weaves his alien synthesizer seamlessly into the sonic canon of the bone-storming landscape.  Truly a band to watch for!

Our next Open Mic will take place Friday, March 26th, 8-10 pm in the Batelle Atrium!

For an artist whose full-length releases have to now numbered just two, Joanna Newsom is an artist of improbable range. Any attempt to reconcile her 2004 debut, the sparse and whimsical Milk-Eyed Mender, with 2006’s Van Dyke Parks-orchestrated follow-up, Ys, would be an exercise in futility. They could just as well have come from different times, or different worlds, but they’re undeniably the work of a singular talent. With her latest outing, Have One On Me, clocking in at over two hours and featuring its equal measure of solo harp and piano, and ensembles of every size, one could picture this as a loose-fitting collection of B-sides, a best-of album, a retrospective of a career that started with her bedroom recordings, Walnut Whales (2002), and ended with Ys. But saying this album is a mixture of her two previous records feels almost too easy. It doesn’t so much find Newsom in between the temper that channeled MEM and Ys, as beyond it; it is undeniably a progression. But by comparison to this record Ys can feel leaden, a plea to hold your breath through to its end. Have One On Me, with its varied mood and careful pacing, allows the listener to breathe, to feel its distinct parts in motion instead of all at once. It can be claimed that Ys packs as many ideas, as much songwriting, almost undoubtedly as many notes as Have One On Me but at half the length. This, here, is the work of a matured Newsom, an artist who in the last four years has somewhere found the patience and the insight to let her boundless vision unfold at a manageable pace. As I heard a friend remark the other day, no matter your taste, it’s almost impossible to walk away from this record without thinking to yourself, “this girl is not kidding.”

RIYL: Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Björk, Marissa Nadler, Bat For Lashes, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Devendra Banhart, Bill Callahan

Recommended Tracks: 1.2, 1.3, 1.6, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.3, 3.6

- Guest Writer Rafik Salama