Vol. CI | Fall | Issue VI

Cat Crash is celebrating their new release “WELCOME TO CONNECTICUT,” a collection of remixes and outtakes of their song, “Connecticut.” They have a very punk, alternative, indie sound — much like Riot Grrrl bands! They’ll be performing at Trans-Pecos in Queens on Nov. 17, so go and support your local scene! Another artist I would suggest is Yard Act and their newest album “Where’s My Utopia?” Blur, Arctic Monkeys, Cake, and the Britpop genre are huge influences for this album! The track “Grifter’s Grief” feels like something from Gorillaz’ “Song Machine.” My personal favorites from the album are “The Undertow” and “When the Laughter Stops.”

Cecilia Herrmann is the Content Manager of the NJIT WJTB Radio.

Vol. CI | Fall | Issue V

Here to rave about some new stuff from Machine Girl’s “MG Ultra”! The station has been enjoying this release in its off-air time in our various programmed playlists. This album feels like you’re speeding in a spaceship across the galaxy! The song “Half Asleep” pulls you back into their classic sound ⏤ ambient, spacy, glitchy. I implore you to listen to “Grindhouse” if you are really feeling those middle-of-the-semester jitters. Dance those nerves off! (I promise you’ll be fine!)

If I had one suggestion, it would be to get into Loren Berí’s first album “Alby’s Ghost” before he blows up, I swear! There was an album release party that recently celebrated this light, indie, synthpop sound in New York. Classical music is one of the heavy influences behind Berí’s work, and it reminds me a lot of the indie wave that swept 2018 and 2019. I would definitely recommend the song “Lily in Spades” if you’re leaning towards the more “synthpop” focus in his work.

Cecilia Herrmann is the Content Manager of the NJIT WJTB Radio.

Vol. CI | Fall | Issue IV

Realistically, I should talk about the new Frost Children and Haru Nemuri EP (a screwball set of songs, the best of which is the incredible dance-banger of an opener), but I simply cannot get the new Reserv album out of my head. Let it be known that I am a longtime fan of Reserv, and this is probably his most fleshed-out release to date — a set of autotuned, scrappy indie electronica pop songs. Highlights include the singles “Something Like Love” and “The Other Side,” as well as the out-of-nowhere country ballad “Nouns on Top of Verbs” — which is arguably the best song on the record.

Gorse Panshawe’s most recent album, “Songs from the Weaving Shed,” is a set of electronic songs with a public-access TV feel. The synths feel dinky and drowned in static as if recorded through a built-in speaker into a phone microphone. Panshawe’s vocals are pitched up nearly beyond recognition, and the songs twist around themselves in a weird, gray middle ground. Building a charming, silly vibe around these sounds, especially on songs like “[classic TV themes] pondee rides again” and “the exhibition (never again).”

Rain Nutt is the Public Relations Manager of the NJIT WJTB Radio.

Vol. CI | Fall | Issue III

Let’s talk about some lesser-known stuff first. Old Saw remixed their 2021 album “Country Tropics” into “Country Tropics (Meridian Edition),” forging a new path in the lesser-known genre of ‘ambient country,’ or as I affectionately call it, ‘ambient cowboy.’ Something about the new forms of these songs is completely intoxicating to me. As opposed to the more full-sounding arrangements of the original album, this record feels like a collection of tape loops — little fragments of melody falling in and out of each other into a sprawling blanket of sound. Especially with that opener, it is for my money one of the best ambient records of the year. For something more popular, Spirit of the Beehive released “YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING,” their fifth official album and second album since they fully leaned into the indie-pop-psychedelia genre with their record “ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH.” These songs are full of ideas that bleed into each other and deeply memorable melody lines that repeat exactly once before the song collapses in on itself. Fans of songs that aren’t interested in satisfying the listener will certainly find something to chew on. If you have the jaw for it, you’ll begin to find the songs’ strange language addictive. “LET THE VIRGIN DRIVE” is a good example of a more accessible cut that is able to keep its form for most of its runtime. That is this week’s sneak peek into what my ears have been feeding on lately. 

Rain Nutt is the Public Relations Manager of the NJIT WJTB Radio.

Vol. CI | Fall | Issue II

Now for your regularly scheduled programming — what’s been coming out lately? First up is, of course, the new Porter Robinson album “SMILE! :D” — which takes a slight right turn from the folktronica poking through the leaves of his sophomore album “Nurture” to…something kind of difficult to pigeonhole! Its opening tracks shoot to fill stadiums with straightforward electropop hooks, but that veneer wears off quickly to reveal a bracingly introspective set of fuzzy, often acoustic, indie songs topped with, to be frank, some of the best synth leads I’ve ever heard. It’s a weird, sometimes inscrutable, set of songs, but it’s something that could not have been made by anyone other than Robinson — and isn’t that what he does best? 

A quick note on the new Hakushi Hasegawa album – this is some of the craziest music I’ve ever heard in my life. The genre is difficult to nail down — avant-jazz-glitch-pop? Listen to “Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)” to get the vibe, or “Boy’s Texture” for a significantly more accessible take on it. It feels like witnessing the “Biblically Accurate” form of music. As much as the light beaming from its chest is born out of love, you still must only glimpse parts of it, out of fear of being blinded. 

Rain Nutt is the Public Relations Manager of the NJIT WJTB Radio.

Vol. CI | Fall | Issue I

Welcome to NJIT — or welcome back, if this isn’t your first rodeo around the typical places The Vector ends up! Although you clearly know something about the campus, judging by your ownership of this edition of the newspaper, are you aware of the student radio club? We’re trying our best to make you aware of us, and what you do with that knowledge is up to you. 

You can tune into the radio at any time at https://wjtb.njit.edu/, for example. If you’d like to get more involved, we meet weekly on the fourth floor of the Campus Center in Room 460 — look for the big red poster. If you want to get the lay of the land before then, or find out what we’re up to, the door’s usually open, and we’d love to have you say hi! If you’d like to host a radio show, talk about music, or just get to know some new people in a calmer environment, our Discord server is open at njit.gg/wjtb! 

Alternatively, you can find us on campus tabling – keep an eye out for us if you’d like to get on the radio for a couple minutes on your way to GDS! You can also find us online on X at  @wjtb or on Instagram at @wjtb_radio. Have a great semester — hope to see you on the air!

Rain Nutt is the Public Relations Manager of the NJIT WJTB Radio.