Alright folx, after finishing up a different 2018 wrapped piece with bigger names, figured it was time to dig into the VA DIY scene and give some shout outs to the amazing music that came out of it last year. Aside from the fact that it’s been 2019 for about a month, that doesn’t mean that we can’t take the time to appreciate some beautiful older releases. In no particular order here are some of my 2018 favorites! Links included <3
Archangel Blue by Donnie Dale
Dude. This LP. Is. Without question. One of the most excellent pieces I’ve ever heard. For fans of Willow Smith and FKA Twigs, Archangel Blue is the lovechild of R&B and gospel, or as tagged on bandcamp, dark gospel core. It’s a quick 5 tune LP but don’t get confused, the journey this album takes you on is nothing short of the ride of a lifetime. It’s truly a work of art, you have to sit and take the time to admire it.
Donnie Dale is based out of Richmond Virginia, and can be found at https://donniedale.bandcamp.com/
Paul x Snowberry by Lobby Boy (FKA Chez)
Shouts out Harrisonburg. If you ever find yourself in the Shenandoah VA area, make a point to visit this lil queer town. A new band in the scene, Lobby Boy is rising, baby. The first of hopefully many LPs from the group is Paul x Snowberry, a 4 track tune requested if you like Triathalon or Clairo. While this LP was recorded by Chez, they play as a full band and it is absolutely mesmerizing. Keep your eye out if you’re in the Central or Northern VA areas to catch a show.
Lobby Boy is based out of Harrisonburg Virginia, and can be found at https://soundcloud.com/lobbyboy888
Importance of Self Belief by McKinley Dixon
I heard of McKinley Dixon when I was attending MACROCK festival (Harrisonburg. First weekend in April. Go.) Having your introduction to a band be one of their live performances is one of my preferred ways to discover, especially when it’s a performance as high energy, loving, and powerful as McKinley Dixon. The band’s second album, following their 2016 release “Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?”, is a gorgeous conglomerate of jazz, hip hop, soul, and rap that had me listening over and over to make sure I didn’t miss any bit of the artistry. Favorite tracks include Circle the Block and Everything I Love, you can catch a bit of these performances on Audiotree with a quick lil google search if you wish!
McKinley Dixon is signed to Citrus City Records and is based out of Richmond VA. You can listen at https://mckinleydixon.bandcamp.com/
Doing the Most by Origami Angel
The emo revival!!! I’m not the best at keeping up with music news, so no idea where this emo revival originated but I’m glad it brought my attention to gami. Kind of silly, I actually heard of these kids because I bought a commander salamander CD and looked into THEIR twitter and found out the bands are BFFs (check out their brand new holy split, its amazing). Doing the Most was released in the summer of 2018, and definitely fits that head space. It encaptures the excitement of summer, along with a bit of sadness you should expect from emo. Catchy, shreddy, tearful, noisey, not an album you want to miss out on, especially as the duo starts gaining more attention and going on more tours. You can catch them in Southern/ Central VA this february with Commander Salamander!
Origami Angel is based out of Washington DC and can be found at https://origamiangel.bandcamp.com/
O.S.H. by coachCTRL
11 songs? YES! All completely worth it. O.S.H. is Coach ctrl’s debut album and dude. It rips so ridiculously hard. This is the solo project of Ethan Wilson, a current member of Lobby Boy and a past member of roughly 300 other bands. Finally having all that musical talent explored in a solo project has been a long time coming and O.S.H. pro vi ded. Tagged as experimental bedroom pop/ post-rock, however there arent enough tags to label each musical aspect explored on this album. For me, it can sometimes feel reminiscent of psychedelic era Tame Impala, but at the same time Ethan creates an aura of sounds I can’t place my finger on. I cannot wait to see this performed live and bawl the whole time.
coachCTRL is based out of Harrisonburg Virginia and can be found at https://coachctrl.bandcamp.com
Obviously there were more than just 5 albums released by VA bands this past year, these are just some of the highlights from my favorites and people I feel deserve a look! I recently moved back to the Northern VA area and have discovered so many beautiful sounds here, shout out to “Nah.”, “Morning Sunshine!”, and “Weston Smith” to name drop a few pals. Looking forward to what we all will find in music this coming year <3
written by Ally Engelbrecht
photo by sal
