Now Playing: April 2023

Our April edition of Now Playing features catchy metal, music that inspires emotion and nostalgia, and hats, all from our contributors!

Nick Mandernatch

I’m replaying the video ”Statement Hat” from Aliya Kamalova and Kim Seltzer. A woman buys a hat but is too self conscious to wear it at Target. Sometimes I’m stumped looking for huge splashy hooks, but then a premise reminds me to honor slight moments. Video available on Instagram if you have that.

Lem Dubon

Last month I listened to Aldous Harding's album Designer for the first time all the way through. A testament to Aldous' creative vision that has the capacity to make me listen until the very end every time. Particularly the song "Zoo Eyes" which feels nostalgic like a liminal childhood memory. Her voice coupled with the minimalist guitar and instrumentals is a lullaby and a balmy band-aid to your soul. It is an unusual quiet in a sea of noise.

Kimaya Diggs

My friend Wallace Field released a new album called All Costs, and I’ve been listening to it every day! It captures a lot of the grief and rage and sorrow that I try to capture in my writing. I’m also a musician, and I find Wallace’s music inspiring because many of her lyrics have a prose-like quality to them—her songs help me envision how to bridge the gap between Kimaya-as-writer and Kimaya-as-musician. 

Andrea Lopez

The album Impera by Ghost has been on repeat for nearly a month now. My friend played them for me while driving to her place, and we were rocking to this song when the chorus started, and I remember blurting, “wait—Mary On A Cross, like, from Tiktok?”

Haunting lyrics with a catchy hook is one of the best things in the world, I think. My current fave is “Spillways,” which I can best describe as ABBA but metal. Why did they have to make blasphemy so catchy?