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Tag: Indie

  • The Art of a Fake Laugh by HummusVacuum

    The Art of a Fake Laugh by HummusVacuum

    Artist: HummusVacuum

    Album: The Art of a Fake Laugh 

    Release: May 22, 2026; Self Release 

    You may know HummusVacuum as the guy from that one viral TicTok music video apologizing for all the terrible people Ohio has produced over the years. While this maybe true to some extent, I somewhat disagree with the premise of the song. After all, Ohio has also given us some pretty cool people as well. John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and my personal favorite honorary Ohioan, William Henry Harrison, reigning presidential speed run champion. Just to name a few. Disagreements aside, the song was a bop and now that band has released a new full length album. So let’s take a look at “The Art of a Fake Laugh” to see if it delivers more viral bops. 

    Hands down the best song on the album in my opinion is “Whoops! (I think I ruined my life)” . It’s a fun, self deprecating look at trying to survive in modern times. It’s full of catchy rifts and up beat vocals. It is also, thanks to a successful instagram marketing campaign, a fantastic call out song aimed at silver spoon fed nepobabies. They always seem to have opinions about how you should live your life, but no relevant life experience. The chorus is in fact perfect for that. I have endless love for this song. It is honestly another viral bop. 

    “Salt & Vinegar” is another great song. It commentates on the struggles of being politically active versus the desire of certain types of people to keep it ‘civil’. The song instead suggests that perhaps we don’t owe people who aren’t starting in a place of civility the benefit of civility in return. Again, this is set to some pretty dope riffs. Seriously, the guitar is amazing on this entire album but it is peak in this song. At about two and half minutes in, Kevin Cappy yells “Its time to take the low road” the songs transitions to a screamy emo bit and starts ripping guitar hard. Every time it hits I’m like—Damn, That’s good stuff. 

    “Lexapor Skater” and “Big Bummin’” take on mental health in a relatable way that leans on humor to keep things from getting a little too heavy. These two songs really show the strength of Kevin Cappy’s writing. Sure, its funny to think of  skateboarding as analogy for the process of fine tuning your mental health meds but it also get you thinking about how normal it is to go through that process. A similar thing can be said for “Big Bummin’” struggling with anxiety and its effect on relationships is really a thing for a lot of people. I think if you struggle with that, this song reminds you others do as well and it does it set to sick emo vocals and power pop guitar riffs. A masterclass if you are asking me. 

    Last, is “G-U-I-L-L-O-T-I-N-E” I don’t really need to explain this song it is what it says it is on the tin. I absolutely love this song. It is a song that makes me feel that perhaps the “fake laugh’ isn’t pretending to laugh at an unfunny joke and is more lol maybe this is a threat or maybe its a joke. Who knows. 

    With “The Art of a Fake Laugh” HummusVacuum plays the part of the jester’ holding a mirror up to not only power but also the troubles of the common folk. This is what I love so much about the album. The songs often, on the surface, are silly little bits. Deep down, though, they’re a mix of inspiration, solid advice and searing truths.The album also looks at life in an incredible real way that makes you feel like you aren’t going through the hard times alone. 

  • If I Let It Quiet by Josaleigh Pollett

    If I Let It Quiet by Josaleigh Pollett

    Artist: Josaleigh Pollett

    Album: If I Let It Quiet

    Release: July 24, 2026; Audio Antihero

    Long distance partnership sounds like an impractical way to write and produce an album but Josaleigh Pollett and Jordan Watko have gotten it down to a science. Split between Salt Lake City, Utah and Osaka, Japan, If I Let It Quiet somehow provides a flowing exploration of gender, multiversal probability, and sleepless nights spent overthinking all wrapped in a cocoon of dreamy nostalgia despite the distance. Really, it’s what every fan of indie pop could ever wish for. I know, because I felt like this album was pulled straight from my frequent teenage bouts of daydreaming out of a rainy window, maladaptive style. 

    It helps, of course, that this is album number four for Josaleigh Pollett, but the evidence of doubt about the unconventional development of the album is there, particularly in the song “Second Guesser”. It’s a song for all the ruminators out there who have lost the person who could pull them out of their anxiety loops. Which, oddly, isn’t as devastating as it sounds. Like I said, the dreamy nostalgia of the music sort of lulls you into a taciturn existence of sorts. 

    The song that really stood out to me upon first listen was ‘Escape Routes’. Part of it was yet again the overthinker’s paradise of it all, but it had a sort of… optimistic element to it? To me, at least, but it is, of course, just a matter of perspective. There’s a sort of exhilaration when it comes to reckless leaping without a safety net. As the song says, “when you take out your escape routes, you must fight,” as if that isn’t the ultimate show of faith in your own abilities to get what you want. 

    In all, there’s a sort of frenetic energy about the album that leaves one jumping from one change to the next, one possibility to another, and the love and hope mainlined through it all. Which, I think, is the real appeal to this album. The hope for more and better. The hope of unburdened expression (gender or creative). Developing love for yourself and your creativity. Hell, even the acceptance and love of an unknowable universe. 

    Maybe that’s just me being a sucker. However, it’s been a while since an album that was so genuinely melancholic at its core invoked such a creative spark in me. What’s the point of all this overthinking and anxiety spirals if nothing changes, right? 

    Without bearing my soul too much here, I think at least one song from If I Let It Quiet would make it onto the playlist if my head was projected onto a movie screen. As for the song, I’ll keep that to myself. I’ve got to retain some element of mystery here.