Let's Ketchup, Vol. 1


Sometimes, you can't cover everything - and it looks like we have some catching up to do. Here's a brief roundup of recommendations from the Osmosis Tones staff that we haven't had the chance to formally review! 

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Cape God - Allie X

Cape God is half exuberant pop and half “gothic pop” - in the grandiose, theatrical sense rather than eyeliner and candles. Allie knows when to go over-the-top, turn the brain off for a bit, and when to hold back to let the melodies breath and grow on you. The album’s also got more hooks than a fly fishing store, it’s nicely sequenced, and it covers a diverse set of sounds and topics within its run time. Its Allie’s most fully realized release, showing her growth as both an artist and as a person. Yeah, this is one of the great albums of 2020 thus far, check it out. - Greg Wiacek


Printer's Devil - Ratboys

Chicago's Ratboys have channeled the Americana and alt-country influences of their previous work into a tightly performed, fluidly sequenced and tonally engaging record that serves as their finest statement to date. Highlights include "Alien With A Sleep Mask On," "My Hands Grow" and "Victorian Slumhouse." - Zach Zollo



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Superstar - Caroline Rose

Superstar, the fourth record by Burlington, VT's Caroline Rose, is as much a statement of self-worth as it is a proclamation of individuality. Rose, using flippant humor and reassuring confidence in her lyrics, crafts a singularly shining synth-pop album, one with the glitz and glamor of both 80s new wave icons and contemporary femme fatales. It's the type of album that pairs best with a screwdriver as you sunbathe, or dancing yourself clean in the mirror. - Zach Zollo


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Anyways - Young Nudy

In three words: Thinking Man's Sizzurp. Building off the success of last year's collaborative mixtape with Pi'erre Bourne, Sli'merre, Young Nudy amps up the flows, vocal control and lyrical grime on his debut studio album, Anyways. The production emanates many of the same psychedelic, hypnotic, and audibly delicious charms found on recent ATL records, but Nudy protrudes from the trends with exceptional rapping in the Dirty South tradition. - Zach Zollo




Dreamboats 2: A Real Chill Sequel - Sleeping Bag & Rozwell Kid

To say I've been ravenous for a new Rozwell Kid record is like saying the world's falling apart: an understatement. While not a full LP, I'm happy to report that the sequel to 2013's (humbly exceptional) Dreamboats EP with Bloomington, IN's Sleeping Bag has satiated my appetite. The two acts have captured lightning in a bottle once again, their slacker-meets-power pop melding together to make bop after bop after bop. - Zach Zollo

More From Osmosis Tones

Review: Likewise - Frances Quinlan

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By Greg Wiacek I’m going to try to review Frances Quinlan’s debut solo album without mentioning her voice. Fuck. But what a voice. It’s often the first thing people notice when they hear her band, Hop Along . Raw and powerful yet tender, Quinlan constantly takes it in unpredictable directions, at times pushing it to what sounds like the physical limits of the larynx. Her erratic melodies and penchant for drastic shifts in dynamics (literally going from a scream to a whisper at times) would likely sound like a complete mess if sung by anyone else. But she’s a master at controlling the chaos, making it sound composed, natural, and ultimately captivating. Take, for example, “Waitress,” where her voice sinks with the lyrics “and my heart just sunk,” only to go on to belt out during the climax of the song in one of the most cathartic releases I’ve ever heard.  When she announced that she was releasing a solo album, I was certainly intrigued (particularly with how sh
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We Need To Talk About... #1: Rosy Overdrive, Part I

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  Presenting We Need To Talk About... , a new feature where a certain artist(s) is examined, appraised or defended. In this first issue of a two-part discussion, I (Zach) spoke with  Rosy Overdrive  about some bands that we both feel need more recognition: The Cleaners From Venus, Pere Ubu, Brainiac and The Flaming Lips.
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Review: I Disagree - Poppy

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By Kenny Cox From the beginning of Poppy’s career, something always felt off. The 25 year-old YouTube star turned musician got her start making videos that, while seemingly innocuous on the surface, carried an eerie, enigmatic darkness that made her a viral sensation. As Poppy pivoted to music, she kept up this balancing act, making bright, sunny electropop with something sinister lurking just beneath the glittering synths and dance beats. But with her newest record, I Disagree , Poppy shatters her persona, trading bubblegum pop for thrashing nu-metal, and creates a bewildering new identity for herself. While Poppy’s sudden transition to metal might seem out of the blue, it’s something that the artist has hinted at ever since her 2018 record Am I A Girl? , with the record’s last two tracks steering away from impeccably produced synthpop to downtuned guitars and heavy distortion. Poppy’s new sound also follows the growing influence of nu-metal on pop artists, like Grimes’ “W
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