ECU students reveal their picks for underrated music releases of the year
- blessing aghimien
- Jan 11, 2019
- 3 min read
The year of 2018 has brought the world short-lived trends and crazes, from the “Mo Bamba” mosh pits to the “In My Feelings“ challenge. Since January, the neverending cycle of mainstream has flowed, which can lead some to pose a question: where lies the underground and the underrated?
Finding her own sound after lending her vocals to Drake for his latest album is British singer-songwriter Jorja Smith, who released her debut album “Lost & Found” in early June. The release fuses R&B, soul and trip-hop in a 12-track body of work as Smith’s sultry vocals narrates through lyrical storylines of love, insecurity and the pains of youth.
“Lost & Found” was met with high acclaim after its release, as the album received high ratings from music outlets such as Pitchfork and Metacritic. Smith’s debut album also dominated the United Kingdom’s music sales during the week of its release, as “Lost & Found” topped both the UK Independent Albums and UK R&B Albums charts, according to the Official Charts Company’s records.
While “Lost & Found” made a huge impact on Great Britain on the charts and album sales, the album has yet to make waves on American soil, thus hindering Smith from breaking into the international market. “Lost & Found” peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard 200 chart and failed to make a spot on the Independent Albums and R&B Albums U.S. Billboard charts. ECU senior Chelsea Williams said she it is “disappointing” Smith’s voice hasn’t made its way to the ears of more Americans.
“With a voice like hers, Jorja (Smith) is really out here sounding as good as English powerhouses like Adele and Amy Winehouse,” Williams said. “It’s a shame how underrated she is. ‘Lost & Found’ is for sure one of the best albums released this year in my opinion.”
Quickly proving themselves as a formidable duo in the music world are Jackson Foote and Emma Lov Block, better known by their performing moniker — Loote.
The electropop duo started out by writing songs for commercials and mainstream artists such as Demi Lovato and Cheat Codes. In mid-June, Loote released their six-track debut album, “single.” With the feel of an EP, the duo’s release is small yet mighty when it comes to their sound, incorporating high energy sampling and basslines in the productions of their tracks.
Naomi Wright, a sophomore hospitality management major, said she believes Loote is “a group to watch out for in 2019."
“Loote is definitely underrated in terms of who’s hot and who’s not in music today,” Wright said. “It’s hard to stand out as a vocalist in today’s music scene and this group has a sound good enough to break the mainstream.”
Wright added fans of EDM artists such as Zedd and Martin Garrix will enjoy “single,” citing the duo’s feature with DNCE’s Joe Jonas as a song to start off with if one wants to “get a taste of what Loote has to offer.”
“The song ‘Longer Than I Thought’ is one which deserves more radio airplay than it gets,” Wright said. “It has a feel-good beat that is familiar to fans of today’s hot DJ’s like Marshmello and The Chainsmokers. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Reaching both secular and spiritual audiences with her third studio album is Lauren Daigle, a worship leader from Louisiana and former American Idol auditioner. Daigle’s latest release “Look Up Child” released this September and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 200, which made it the highest-charting Christian album by a woman on the Billboard 200 since LeAnn Rimes’ “You Light Up My Life” peaked at No. 1 in 1997.
“Look Up Child” gave Daigle the chance to grace mainstream media, as the 27-year-old vocalist made her way to perform on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Garnering comparisons to female vocal powerhouses from Adele to Amy Winehouse, Daigle is receiving attention typically not given to many Christian contemporary musician, a nod junior communication major Grace Willis cites as “unfortunate.”
“Personally, as an agnostic, it upsets me to think that people as talented as Lauren (Daigle) are unintentionally pushing people away from her music just because she chooses to sing about her spirituality,” Willis said. “Music transcends all genders, races, genres and religious ideologies. To say you won’t give a Christian musician a listen just because you don’t subscribe to their religion is a pretty poor reason in my view.”
As the year comes to a close in a matter of days, it’s important to highlight the records which went under the radar for the sake of diversifying playlists and discovering the good within the underground music scene. For more information on these underrated albums and more, each of them are available on YouTube and all music streaming platforms.
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