Another year down, another year of local artists writing songs, playing shows, and, of course, releasing music! This was a busy year for Athens artists, dropping singles, EPs, and full lengths left and right. Here is a highlight of some of WUOG’s Local Music Staff’s favorite releases from 2024.
Wieuca – Truth Management
Wieuca’s fifth album, “Truth Management” is an encapsulation of their live shows, their creative energy, and their willingness to just not give a sh*t. The album is mathy, it’s metal, it’s trap, it’s psychedelic. Truth Management bridges the gap between the more leisurely, twangy sound coming out of the Athens music scene and the darker, edgier sound of the Atlanta punk scene. Impressively, Wieuca still stays close to the sound they established with their first album, There Is No Balance, released back in 2013.
Wieuca is able to do something more than simply blending genres, and they do this by taking elements of different genres and combining them to make something unique and recognizable. Take the transition between the screamy, dance-punky “Six Flags Over Jesus” and the more subdued “Gauntlet.” I don’t think there’s any band other than Wieuca that could pull off putting a cloud rap track immediately after a post-hardcore ballad with math rock riffs and screamo ad-libs.
If you’re not (yet) a fan of the album, I would humbly implore you to see the band live if at all possible. I won’t go as far to say that their recorded work doesn’t do their live performances justice, but just trust me on this. Now that I’m trying to think of ways to describe their stage presence, one word comes to mind: circus. There is always some new trick up their sleeve, or some random piece of chaos that comes fresh with every show. Wieuca is truly a spectacle to behold in both the Atlanta and Athens music scenes.
– Elizabeth Kim
Violent Violet – Music for Medication Commercials
During my first semester as a WUOG DJ-in-training, I became enamored by local surf-rock band Violent Violet’s electrifying sound. Music For Medication Commercials is Violent Violet’s third EP featuring nine punchy tunes that are sonically more ’90s grunge inspired than their previous work on Six Songz and Practice Demoz. Songs like “Hate Me” feature impressive electric guitar shreds over Kyle Anthony DeMartino’s energetic vocals. Other songs—“Watching” being a good example—are a bit more stripped down with defined bass lines and infectious drum beats. The production on Music For Medication Commercials is very fun and nostalgic, and its vocals include some of my favorites from Violent Violet. The band’s lyricism is also strong on this EP from beginning to end. I personally love the lyrics on “Intro” that open the EP: “Don’t know what you want from me / Can’t see what you want me to see.”
From their performance alongside Johnny Falloon at Starland in April to New Years Eve at the 40 Watt Club with Nuclear Tourism, Pylon Reenactment Society, and Delta 8, 2024 has arguably been Violent Violet’s biggest year yet. Music For Medication Commercials feels fresh and familiar, and it has me looking forward to the bright future Violent Violet has ahead of them.
– Arianna Flynn
Split Silk – Bitter
Atlanta-based band Split Silk returns with an angelic yet aggravated presence on their third EP release titled Bitter. Split Silk is a trio composed of Lucca Carver on guitar and vocals, Will Morris on drums, and Lucía Carreño on bass. Split Silk has its roots deep within the Athens DIY music scene, with the band playing numerous shows in staple Athens DIY venues, along with two of the members (Lucca and Will) being members of WUOG during their time at the University of Georgia. Split Silk was originally created as a solo project by Lucca Carver, but soon after its inception, members Will Morris and Lucía Carreño were added to the band and the group began to create new material covering a wide range of screamo and post-hardcore troupes, adding influences from femme punk to noise rock, as well as an undeniable testimony of queer identity into their music.
This EP is composed of four songs, two of which are new unreleased material, recorded by Al Daglis at the Poolhouse. The last two songs on the record are two live versions of previously released songs, recorded right here at WUOG from a Live in the Lobby segment that took place on March 20, 2024. All songs on this EP were mixed by Split Silk themselves and mastered by Joel Hatsat (High Jump Media).
The first song of the record is the title song of the EP, “Bitter.” The track opens with screeching guitar feedback immediately followed up by abrasive drums, a very thick and hearty bass tone, and distorted guitar. This track makes the perfect introduction for the EP, by setting the tone with its incredible “in your face” nature, demonstrating that this EP is not to be overlooked. The song slows down before picking up for the main chorus, accompanied by loud, yet clear vocals from Lucca, speaking on the irony and disillusionment that plagues modern society today. The main chorus is abrasive and falls into line with a lot of modern day post-hardcore troupes. After the chorus, there is a long bridge section, which comes off as very dark and foreboding. The bridge into the second iteration of the chorus utilizes almost breakdown-hardcore adjacent instrumentation, depicting the aggressive nature of the song, before hopping back into the second chorus. The end of the song rings out with more feedback that transitions into the second track.
Guided in by the feedback of the previous track, “Glimmer” follows a vastly different layout than the opening song to the EP. This song starts with a very melodic and slow distorted guitar and bass that can be defined as “airy” and introspective in nature. The lyrics on this track draw inspiration from Victorian era children’s books like Anne of Green Gables and The Little Princess, featuring lyrics covering subjects such as being trapped and mourning. This track is by far the most emotional on the EP, and sticks out due to its slow tempo. This is not a negative however, for the track features intricate and angelic guitar work that grabs the listener’s attention and shows off the musicianship of guitarist Lucca Carver. The main chorus of the track is more abrasive than the remainder of the song, but it is well encouraged through the bridge into the chorus, and helps to develop the themes of mourning and isolation. The song ends how it began, with a heavy amount of guitar feedback before falling into silence.
This live rendition of “Attune” piggybacks on the emotional nature found in the previous track and does not sacrifice any of the emotion or instrumentation found on the studio version, but instead builds upon it through a live setting where the musicians have a history. The track begins with an instrumental segment that builds up to the chorus. Lyrics come in roughly a minute into the song, and they discuss an introspective look into oneself and the trials and tribulations that come with sacrificing oneself in hopes to help others. The themes expressed in this track help to make “Attune” a very beautiful live experience, with the band creating an atmosphere that merges the parallel emotions of mourning and perseverance. The chorus of the track is almost ethereal and carries on the theme of introspection on the record. The end of “Attune” has a very pronounced buildup, creating anticipation for another drop, but the track ends very abruptly. “Attune” is the quintessential track for anyone wanting to check out Split Silk, and gives listeners a healthy taste of what they can expect from the band.
The final track on the record is a live rendition of “Ocean Heart,” appearing alongside “Attune” on the band’s Drown EP from 2023. This track offers a strong punk presence compared to other tracks on the record, with a stronger and more aggressive attitude on this live rendition. The guitar progression on this track offers a very spacey and bittersweet tone, assisted by the use of a phaser effect on the guitar that creates guitar progressions that switch between depressing and upbeat. Lyrics on this track, inspired by James Cameron’s Titanic, emanate a sense of longing exhibited through analogies about romance and the ocean. This track is a perfect farewell for the EP as it ends on a bittersweet note and leaves listeners wanting more.
– Cannon Deringer
Bog Bod- Blue Lagoon
This summer, Athens swamp-punk band Bog Bod released their first—and last—album, Blue Lagoon. This album blends singer-songwriter sensibilities with classic Athens punk energy in a way that’s rowdy and intense without ever being crass—there’s still heart. Their last release, 2023’s Clean Teeth EP, sounded more like a garage-y slacker rock than punk—and Blue Lagoon is more of the melodic punk sound that I associate with Bog Bod’s live shows.
The first three tracks, “Walking,” “The End,” and “French” all flow right into one another, à la symphonic attacca movements (so don’t you dare put this album on shuffle). This trio of songs is a driving and immensely fun way to start Blue Lagoon. “Walking” and “The End” chug along with auxiliary percussion and synths, featuring Joy Tassoni on lead vocals and Alex Solomon on secondary vocals. “French” is a perfect way to end this, complete with tempo changes, name-dropping of Athens establishments Ciné and Buvez, and an ascending vocal melody in the chorus that tugs listeners upwards with it. For me, “French” is the album’s high-point.
This is a mostly sweet album. Solomon singing “His name is Michael, and he has brown eyes / That’s why we call him Michael Brown Eyes” on “Michael Brown Eyes” is wildly endearing. But around two-thirds of the way through Blue Lagoon, the album’s tone takes a left turn. “Blue Lagoon” is where things start to mellow out, with Solomon’s meditative “Say what you want to / do to me / do to me / do to me” repeated over psych-rock style guitars. “Burn You” and “Give It Up” pack some anger behind them. This was a bit of a surprise, since nothing on Clean Teeth is what could be described as inarguably “angry-sounding” music, and I only recall Solomon screaming the end of “Clean Teeth” live in 2024. But I welcome this darker mood, and the ending of “Give It Up” can bring down walls.
This may be read as a weird and discordant choice for Bog Bod, and it certainly feels a bit jarring. But it’s actually an incredibly smart and effective way for a band that had cemented themselves as an Athens party-punk powerhouse to showcase their range as songwriters and performers. Bog Bod is no longer active—I know Tassoni is making folk music up north—but their time in Athens certainly left an impact on me, and many others in the Athens music scene. R.I.P. Bog Bod, long live Bog Bod.
– Joseph Mazzola
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