Jordan McEvoy - The Daily Cardinal

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Record Routine: Debut EP fails to revitalize synth pop music

By Jordan McEvoy | Feb. 21, 2014

Evan Ønly’s attempt to recreate 1980s era synth pop is messy at best. When it comes down to it, his debut EP, No Matter What, is an unoriginal and exhausting listen. Upon initially hitting ‘play,’ I thought I had accidentally stumbled across a Rick Astley album, and the second time listening through the six-track EP, I had to pause to give my ears a break.

Hurray For The Riff Raff—Small Town Heroes

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Singer-songwriter raises riff raff for New Orleans

By Jordan McEvoy | Feb. 13, 2014

Hurray for the Riff Raff’s front woman Alyssa Segarra doesn’t just sing folk-blues, she embodies it. At 17 years old, she ran from home, hopped from freight train to freight train and traveled North America. Her voice is rooted in the south and rich with its history. New Orleans isn’t just where she grew up; it’s a part of her and a central theme of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest record, Small Town Heroes.

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Sic Alps founder moves from joyful noise to weepy lamentations

By Carl Hungus and Jordan McEvoy | Dec. 8, 2013

Mike Donovan’s album, Wot, isn’t exciting, but it’s a decent listen. Before his solo debut, Donovan was a member of Sic Alps, a noise pop group from California. While Sic Alps were renowned for their energetic performances and ’90s lo-fi and psychedelic sound, Donovan has progressed to a more subdued acoustic vibe.

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Eminem recaptures old magic with a new twist

By Jordan McEvoy | Nov. 14, 2013

Eminem’s newly released Marshall Mathers LP2 is by no means a sequel to the Marshall Mathers LP he released in 2000. Rather, it is a welcome contrast that’s darkly autobiographical, violent and full of clever witticisms; in a nutshell, what Eminem does best.

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The Stranger’s new album evokes heavy thoughts of hopelessness

By Jordan McEvoy | Oct. 30, 2013

Leyland Kirby, who began primarily as a noise artist, has expanded his horizons toward original and breathtaking ambient music. In June, Kirby released An Empty Bliss Beyond This World under his more well-known pseudonym, The Caretaker, inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in “The Shining.” Composed of hauntingly beautiful ballroom dance edits, the record is based on a study of Alzheimer patients’ ability to recall the songs of their pasts, and with them, their recollections of places, people and sensations. Known for his creativity, Kirby centers his projects on a particular theme and each one is wrought with emotion adapted to the particular situation, in this case, death and despair.

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GRiZ’s LP is the shiz

By Jordan McEvoy | Oct. 24, 2013

Exhausted from studying the past week, I wearily plugged my headphones into my computer to listen to Rebel Era—GRiZ’s newest album. I like GRiZ so I was excited to listen to it, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to hear. My exhaustion dissipated. My feet felt suddenly disconnected from my body and started to move on their own accord. My mouth waivered into a grin that likely unsettled those sitting near me. Even better production than his last album, Mad Liberation, Rebel Era surges forward as the young producer attains a comfort zone with his signature sound—one that has come to revolutionize electronic music. Incorporating glitch bass, soul, funk and tight grooves, GRiZ’s style is a breath of fresh air from the music dominating the electronic scene, rampant with predictable drops and a near universal sound.

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Cults’ new LP is an exercise in despair

By Clay Thomas and Jordan McEvoy | Oct. 17, 2013

When NYC indie-pop band Cults released their self-titled EP in 2010, America was revitalized by their ’60s-style bubblegum tunes about love and happiness. However, with the split of the band’s two core members, Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, their recently released album Static creates a mood of confusion and disillusionment.

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The Record Routine: Pelican soars on 'Forever Becoming'

By Jordan McEvoy | Oct. 9, 2013

Before listening to Pelican’s Forever Becoming, I braced myself. Identifying themselves as post-metal, a genre I have never particularly enjoyed, I expected predictable riffs, harsh bass, and noise percussion. Holy shit, was I wrong. Four years since the release of their last album, Pelican has evolved into a pure, more focused, instrumental rock band. Forever Becoming contains only eight tracks, but they are enough to convey an onslaught of emotions. It’s best to view the album as a whole, rather than track by track, because what Pelican has done is compose a story of life and death.

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All running smoothly on the Factory Floor

By Jordan McEvoy | Sep. 13, 2013

It’s been worth waiting three years for Factory Floor to release a new album. Their new self-titled album, Factory Floor, embodies a style we haven’t seen from the electronic trio. Known primarily for being a noise and post-punk band, their new record sets the tone of a futuristic disco with its retro drum machine kicks, distorted vocals and pulsating rhythms. Though repetitive, the album’s intensity amplifies with each track, making it an electrifying listen.