and the winner is...

Congratulations to "Elephant in the Room" for raising the most money and winning Charity Battle! Over $1,500 was raised to help support Parkland's Alternative Spring Break trip to create a garden for the patients of St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Tennessee.  

The Wave starts online prizes back up!

A few weeks ago, we were giving away online prizes over our twitter and facebook like they were going out of style.

Then we stopped.

We could use the excuse that we were super busy (well, we kinda were) or that we wanted to see if you people missed us (you kinda did). Either way, we're back with online giveaways!

To kick things back off, we want to send you to Jaill!

Sub Pop Records latest phenom band just released "That's How We Burn" and we want you to have a copy, plus a poster, stickers, an iron-on, and a shirt! Check out our social networking sites to be entered in a drawing to win a shirt, album, poster, and stickers! Runner-up wins album, poster, stickers, and iron-on! Winners announced Friday!

We like to give you free stuff.

:)

Colour Revolt to perform live on 88.7

The Colour Revolt will be swinging by the studio on Friday, September 24 at 2 p.m. to play an acoustic set and talk about their new album, The Cradle before they move on to play the Pygmalion Music Festival at The Canopy Club at 8:30 p.m.

Rave reviews about the album are already coming in:

“They're infecting their Southern- and blues-affected brand of slow-cooked indie rock with bouts of restrained tension and vaguely impetuous guitars....No matter what Colour Revolt decide to do on these tracks, each is successful.”

-Alternative Press

“A tight 10-song disc with no filler.”

-NY Post

Want to hear more of The Colour Revolt? Tune in to 88.7 The Wave, where "The Cradle" enjoys regular rotation.

Album Review: Ra Ra Riot "The Orchard" (via Parkland Prospectus)

A friend handed me the CD and had this to say about it:

"It sucks and sounds nothing like their previous work."

That was all that I had to go off of with regards to Ra Ra Riot's new album, The Orchard. Quite frankly, that was terrifying. Here I was still reeling from the 2008 release of their dazzling album The Rhumb Line and now I'm told that their new material is crap? I was crushed.

Could it be true? Could new Ra Ra Riot indeed suck something fierce? It wouldn't be surprising, as this tends to happen to wildly popular debut bands and albums. They start out strong, but then fizzle with their follow-up musical efforts *cough, MGMT, cough*.

Luckily, Syracuse locals Ra Ra Riot have produced yet another outstanding album with recording and mixing assistance from Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla. And Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij even chipped in to help with mixing a track, because why not? Batmanglij and RRA's lead vocalist Wes Miles routinely collaborate for their side project, Discovery. But that's an entirely different story. Let's focus on the album.

The Orchard is classic Ra Ra Riot, blending Wes Miles' voice with the usual alt-rock drum, bass and guitar, as well as the unique sound of classical string instruments like the cello and violin. At first listen, you think that the album is going to be slow paced, as the title track is very…well…slow. But the tempo definitely picks up with the faster tracks "Boy" and "Too Dramatic." And a nice surprise awaits listeners when they get to "You And I Know," because lead vocals come from cellist Alexandra Lawn.

I definitely like this album. I like that it sounds like old Ra Ra Riot and new Ra Ra Riot at the same time, and I like that they haven't lost anything between albums. Pitchfork (that popular, Chicago-based, online music magazine) gives The Orchard a 5.7 out of 10, but I personally think they could've went a teensy bit higher. This is a great album and totally worth giving a listen to. If you need more convincing, you can always maneuver your way through the Interwebs to their site at www.rarariot.com or request their music on WPCD 88.7 The Wave.

For questions or comments about this article, music and 88.7 The Wave, email Patches@887thewave.com.

The Wave Reviews: Band of Horses' "Infinite Arms"

We knew that Band of Horses had been in the process of recording their third album Infinite Arms since it was announced last May by producer Phil Ek. At first, it looked like the new album was to be titled Night Rainbows, but in March of this year, the band confirmed that the album would be in fact called Infinite Arms.

Needless to say we were excited, along with everyone else all around the world. Soon though, our excitement began to fade as we looked at 2 important pre-release facts:

1) Band of Horses released their first two wildly popular albums Everything All the Time and Cease to Begin on Sub Pop Records. Infinite Arms was to be released on Columbia.

2) How do you top those previous albums? It's not an easy feat. Especially after 3 years.

So that was what had us worried. In a nutshell, Band of Horses was either going to dazzle us with this new album and top their old work, or they weren't. New Band of Horses would be an eargasm, or it would suck exponentionally. There really wasn't any "in between" so to speak. And that is the price that a group pays for making such amazing music: they have to live up to expectations.

Luckily, Band of Horses did not disapoint.

Infinite Arms was released today (May 18), but we had been listening since mid-April to the first track "Factory". It was good. Very good.

Vocalist Ben Bridwell impressed us with his ability to sound the same while still sounding completely different and new, something that will make sense upon hearing the album. While tracks like "Factory" and "Blue Beard" remind us of the slow, somber "Funeral" from 2006, "Laredo" and "NW Apt" closely resemble the upbeat "Islands on the Coast" from Cease to Begin.

Overall, this is a solid album, the likes of which only Band of Horses is capable of. We're sorry for ever doubting them and will not make the mistake again. If you don't want to take our word for it, listen to the entire album, being streamed here.

If you want to hear the new Band of Horses on 88.7 The Wave, you're in luck. "Factory" can be heard in regular rotation, with more new tracks to follow.

(P.S. The album artwork kicks some major ass too...)

Battle of the Bands airing on PCTV

If you missed it in person, here is your chance to see the Battle of the Bands Concert! 

Eight bands competed for the top prize of cash and studio time at Pogo Studios in Champaign.

PCTV (available on Comcast Cable channel 9, Mediacom Cable Channel 10, and AT & T Cable Channel 99) will be airing the Concert in installments beginning on Monday, May 17th at 9pm. The rest of the episodes will air on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9-10pm.

If those times aren't good for you, the concert will be aired again on Saturday, May 29th at 6pm and Sunday, May 30th at 8pm. Tune in to find out who won!

Winner of the Battle of the Bands

Sun Stereo is the winner of the First Ever Outdoors Earth Day Battle of the Bands Concert!  Second place was taken by Year of the Bobcat and third place went to Seldan.  Congratulations to all of the bands who participated and gave an amazing concert.