Sam Hunt released his debut studio album Montevallo Oct. 27 after his four-song EP sold 20,000 copies just three months prior.

Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt achieved much of his early success in athletics, going on to fill the role of quarterback for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Instead of accepting an offer from the Kansas City Chiefs, he opted for the road perpetually travelled to Nashville. A publishing deal proved successful, as he wrote multiple singles for country superstars Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, and Keith Urban. Following in the footsteps of many rap and hip-hop artists, he released a free mixtape in 2013. After signing a deal with MCA Nashville, he released a four-song EP, which sold 8,000 copies in the first week. With the first single off his album already certified gold, Montevallo shows potential to follow in the same direction.

Despite growing up in the south, Hunt lacks the traditional country style, setting him apart from the usual top country artists. Without the ever-present hat and boots, he’s nearly unrecognizable within the genre. His voice is without the usual twang and sounds more like a rock or pop act.

During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he was questioned about how he fits into the country genre.

“I do think I’m country,” he says, “but your definition of that word might be different from my definition. In my opinion, country music, the sound of country, has always evolved. But the one thing that has not changed is the story element. And I think country songs are truthful songs about life written by country people.”

The first song on Montevallo solidifies Hunt’s style. Rather than show off his vocals immediately, “Take Your Time” begins with him speaking quickly over the music, but not quite rapping. This style filters throughout many songs on the album. The speaking segues into singing when the chorus hits. It’s different without branching too far from traditional country concepts.

Next follows the artist’s biggest hit to date, “Leave the Night On,” a catchy song that has favored well among the country charts. He brings new meaning to the term with the next song, “House Party.” The assumption would be to groan and complain about how he’s just another artist singing about alcohol, but the song is about two people just having a good time at home, apparent through the lyrics “You ain’t gotta leave the house to have a good time/I’ma bring the good time home to you/We’ll have a house party, we don’t need nobody.”

Following is a return to the style that kicked off the album with “Break Up in a Small Town,” one of the most notable songs. While not all country fans will like the style of the song, it’s clear Hunt knows what he’s doing when it comes to the storytelling element.  The only song that incorporates some country stereotypes is “Raised on It,” but it still sets itself apart.

Sam Hunt is not your traditional “country” star. He doesn’t look the part or write every song about beer and trucks. His songwriting is intricate and gives phrases a new meaning. His play on words is impressive and definitely causes him to stand out among other country artists. Montevallo may not please everyone in the country genre, but it should based on the storytelling Hunt works so hard to incorporate into every song. This album contains the perfect mix of emotions, balancing serious songs with catchy ones.

Loveskills (aka Richard Spitzer) is a Brooklyn-based producer of enticing sounds and eclectic electronica that pulls from the various influences of R&B, pop, hip-hop, trap, and electro-soul subgenres. With these, he fashions beats that amaze and astound, rearranging them into moving contraptions powered by copious amounts of the cool and crisp elements of EDM in liquid form. At least, that was my first impression.

His debut EP, Multiplicity, premiered last year with No Shame Records; now, we have the privilege of bringing you a review of the latest fruits of his labor.  Loveskills’ Pure EP dropped today, courtesy again of No Shame Records.

The Pure EP brings to light some of the more ethereal components of electronica in its song selection, all of which move at a comfortable BPM pace (a rarity these days, if my anecdotal experience is any indication). The first track is a fantastic crossover cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Luna,” and is pretty much sure to draw you in if you like the idea of classic things coming in new flavors. Give it a listen if you haven’t yet, and fear not—the five tracks that follow it are just as certain to please.

“White Diamonds” feels like peering into a super cool, beguiling sort of refracted truth laced with LED lights and a backbeat; the R&B/hip hop influences shine through here, with Loveskills’ featured artist spouting a lyrical flow that is both smooth and, if my ears and understanding of metaphor do not deceive me, a touch risqué. The song “Pure Crystal” actually features a spot of guitar, which I can say loosely expands Loveskills’ genre surfing into the outskirts of funk territory. Pulsing rhythms and a solid house effect pervade through the duration of both tracks, and were it not for the ever-positively-oriented side of the music spectrum Pure roots itself in, I might submit that it, along with evocatively monochrome (emphasis on the chrome part) songs like “Chanel,” could be distant cousins of DYE’s “Fantasy.”

Within Pure can also be found a bit of nostalgia. The scratch work in “Fine Lines” combined with a beat that consistently rounds itself out like a blast of arctic air provides for just the right mix of modern and futuristic OST characteristics to send me straight back to my Jet Set Radio days. To top that, I actually scrambled during the first few seconds of “Point Of View” to recheck the title; I didn’t recall seeing a Cruxshadows remix on the song list (someone out there knows what I am talking about), but the hope was a bit of a stretch in retrospect.

This EP felt like it came charging way out of left field—like it turned its back on the foreboding obelisk of turntable-ism and just booked it until it found the promised land of crystalline whimsy that, lo and behold, gets realized when a talented producer deigns to compose music on a piano before caressing a synthesizer. I say this free of conceit: Pure comes across as both refreshing and unexpected, not at all unlike getting caught in a five-minute rainstorm on the most blindingly sunlit day you can imagine.

4/5

New Zealand shares yet another refreshing sound with Ha the Unclear’s newest album Bacterium, Look At Your Motor Go, which was released in the U.S. September 30^th (yes, we are a little late to the game, but this was too good to pass up talking about). Michael Cathro leads the four-piece band in this vibrant and cool album. It takes me back to the melodies of The Shins and the vocals of The Wombats.

The album opens with “Corstorphine.” The track opens the album with a soft rock sound and a subtle background choir. We get our first listen to Cathro’s lively accent and upbeat lyrics. The songs range from strange accounts of inanimate objects (i.e. mannequins and furniture) to touching scenes of nostalgia.

“Once We Were Schoolkids (Drunk on Youth and Friendship)” exudes a fun and youthful beat that embodies being young and reckless. This mood defines the entire album in general. Cathro’s lyrics and vocals are exuberant and can make any listener want to dance, as is the case with “Mannequins.”

However, the album does have it’s slow and sensitive side. In contrast to the craziness that comes with remembering childhood adventures, “85” shows a different side of reminiscing. With a slow combination of folk and 50’s doo-wop, Cathro relays the story of a spouse looking back on a failed marriage. Expectations of an ideal future “with trinkets on the mantle” are replaced with disappointment. Cathro describes a relationship grown old and doomed from the start, “I was having sickening thoughts back then…But we stuck it out because the church told us to.” The track is heart wrenching and beautiful wrapped into a story of a generation much different from our own, and Cathro gives it the passion and emotion it requires.

The fluid melodies continue with “Mortality (A Million Years Ago)” and “Apostate” (another quick definition – Apostate: “A person who renounces a religious or political belief”). “Apostate” echoes aspects of “85” but with dreamy chants, “We all run around with ash on our heels.”

“Infatuated” follows and picks up the pace a little bit with light guitar picking, which continues throughout the track with more speed and creates a starry sound that reminds me a little bit of Devotchka. Ha the Unclear has created an album that has set a high standard for many records to come. The group combines layers and various styles to create something not quite rock, but not quite folk. Either way it is new, refreshing, and genuinely beautiful. We’re ready for your next album already.

4/5