On a very spooky Halloween night, one of Atlanta’s most adored venues was turned into Luigi’s Mansion by the five-piece indie-rock band, flipturn, whose members had each dressed up as Luigi from Super Mario Bros. This special Halloween show at the Tabernacle attracted fans from all over Georgia and even out of state to come out and participate in what some fans called “flip-o-ween.” 

Before the show, the concert-goers lined up in two lines outside the historic venue: one, those in hope of getting a good spot on the floor to watch their favorite band, and the other, a VIP line that included early entry into the venue and a pre-show meet and greet with the band along with a private acoustic performance. 

Fans could be seen dressed up in all kinds of costumes, some trying to be on the theme with outfits based on different flipturn songs. In the crowd, there were numerous “space cowboys,” “hippies,” “rodeo clowns” and many others related to song lyrics and titles. There was also the occasional Charli xcx and Joe Cool littered in.

A few weeks prior to the event, the band had started teasing the release of their new sophomore album called “Burnout Days,” which is set to release in January of 2025. To hold their devoted fans over until then, they have released two singles, “Rodeo Clown” and “Juno,” from the upcoming project, with more likely on the way. Ironically named after the exhaustion faced from touring, “Burnout Days,” is an album about the genuine love they have for their fans and how they would not trade the burnout for anything else in the world. 

They opened up their set on Thursday with their newest groovy single, “Juno” which was written about their tour bus, Pegasus (also known as Peggy). Vocalist Dillon Basse sings, “Peggy’s got a V6, she’s iconic.” The song’s name comes from the synthesizer that the keyboardist, Mitch Fountain, dropped one day, and the sound that it made colliding with the ground is what listeners will now recognize as the energizing opening riff. 

After “Juno,” they played a string of older songs and some from their most recent album, “Shadowglow,” including fan favorites, “Sad Disco,” “Playground” and “Space Cowboy.” Then, they performed a few from their 2018 EP, playing “Citrona,” “Six Below,” “Nickel” and their nostalgic breakout song, “August.” They mixed in a few more unreleased tracks from their upcoming album “Sunlight.

The fans could not have been more ecstatic to kick off the holiday season with this new era of flipturn. The entire floor and second level were packed with attendees singing along to every word and jumping up and down with all their hearts. 

Over the years, flipturn has created a community of people who love living life with those that they care about. The band creates passionate songs about friendship and the good times along life’s journey. Flipturn is for people who love road trips, contemplating their purpose in this world and looking back on all the good and the bad and realizing that everything that happens is meant to happen. 

Flipturn is planning to set off in Amsterdam on Nov. 11 for their very first tour stops overseas as a group, and soon after that, they will perform three sold out nights in London. They also have various supporting acts on the bill including Lazy Day, Eleni Drake and the Manatees. 

Roughly two months later on Jan. 18, flipturn will kick off “The Burnout Days Tour” in the U.S. starting in Gainesville, Fla. and finish up mid-April in Orlando, Fla. where they will play much larger venues than their previous tours. Heartbreakingly, flipturn will not be stopping back in Atlanta in the spring, but they made a promise to return soon. The closest the new album’s tour will be to the Peach State is their stop in Birmingham, Ala., the second to last stop of “The Burnout Days Tour.” 

Although they have not announced who will be supporting them during their spring run, fans hope to see some familiar faces on the stage like the Moss, Hotel Fiction or Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners. However, more groups like the Hails, the Backfires or Arcy Drive would be a refreshing sight and guarantee to have concertgoers continuing to arrive at shows early.

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As the flames of “Brat Summer” were breathing their final breaths, Charli xcx threw gasoline on the embers with a new but familiar release, “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.” Not to be confused with its sister album “Brat” released earlier this year, the remix album was produced with a sound almost indistinguishable from the original release and contains new features on every track that are completely foreign to the initial. 

The sensation of Charli xcx is anything but overnight. Charli xcx has been conquering charts since 2012 with her timeless summer hit, “I Love It” alongside electronic, synth-pop duo, Icona Pop. However, the success of the producer’s past work is incomparable to the fame and fortune that the summer of 2024 has brought her. 

After the roaring success of “Brat,” the only direction for Charli xcx to go was to collaborate with some of the dreamiest artists across multiple genres, showcase vulnerability in unprecedented ways and completely revamp an already considered “club classic” album that branded an entire season and its own color. 

With Charli’s consistent partying, boiler room sets and numerous performances of the “SWEAT” Tour coheadlined with longtime bestie Troye Sivan, it is easy to see why she could be tired. Similarly, the dynamic between “Brat” and its twin album could be described as the club’s highs and then the comedown after. The remix album explores many of Charli’s strengths, weaknesses, emotions and inner workings. 

Drawing from past collaborative work, her dream team of features on the remix album include Ariana Grande, the 1975, Julian Casablancas, Bon Iver, Caroline Polachek, A. G. Cook and more, not mentioning the already released remakes with Troye Sivan, Lorde and Billie Eilish. On paper, this is one of the most impressive lineups on a project ever released. Each of these artists, some very unexpected, have touched the electronic world in more ways than one. 

Charli had teased fans in the past before the remix album had been announced though calculated, cryptic billboards all over the world and her famous “PARTYGIRL” DJ sets held at boiler room events where she sampled the electrifying “365” featuring shygirl, the supporting act for “SWEAT” Tour among excerpts from some of the other new tracks. 

Aside from the social media stretching release, “Girl, so confusing,” featuring Lorde that many attribute to Oasis “working it out on the remix,” the most highly anticipated track from the project was the remake of the already cutthroat song that shows even icons have deep-rooted insecurities is “Sympathy is a knife” featuring Ariana Grande. Twisting from jealousy and envy, the newest version of the song explores the backhandedness of society and the inevitable moment when everyone will start preying on the downfall of a powerful woman, which both Ariana and Charli are familiar with. 

Collaborating with close friend and “brother,” Matty Healy from The 1975, was not a shocker to anyone by any means. Known for his sharp tongue and lack of filter, it is refreshing to hear him on a track that is about saying “something stupid” and regretting it afterward. Healy and Charli have gotten close over the years, and she is currently engaged to his bandmate on the drums, George Daniel. 

“So I” was originally written as an apologetic letter and tribute to late friend, SOPHIE, who was a major influencer of Charli’s past work. With A. G. Cook on the most recent release and more time to heal, the listener is now left reminiscing on “all the good times” on a new spirited beat. 

“Mean girls” featuring Julian Casablancas brings an early 2000s, downtown New York vibe to the record. Casablancas is no stranger to experimenting with electronic sounds between his collaborations with iconic duo, Daft Punk, and his own work with the Strokes. 

If ethereal was a flavor missing in the original release of the album, Charli served up a four-course meal with Caroline Polachek in “Everything is romantic,” and it has listeners continuing to “fall in love again and again.” This track, contrasting with its predecessor, has a more ominous tone needing reassurance that “everything is still romantic, right?” 

For any students who may ask themselves, “When did it get so hard?” find solace in the fact that Charli xcx “thinks about this all the time” and wrote a song with Bon Iver that leaves all her vulnerability unguarded. Iver’s added touch of loneliness and haunting vocals contribute a more experimental and immersive sound that will resonate deeply in any burnt-out soul. 

“Club classics” featuring Bb trickz and “B2b” featuring Tinashe are both tracks that tie this album into a proclaimed club record and heighten the energy in any room. 

Charli xcx uses “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” to navigate breaking the traditions of pop and generating an album. Its sister is explosive in nature, proving time and time again that she is a lasting figure in the world of pop music. “Brat summer” may be over, but the impact that the album made will last much longer than just a season.

The post The party never ends with “Brat” remix album appeared first on Technique.

On Friday Sept. 13, streaming services were graced with the release of local Atlanta band Lunar Vacation’s most recent project, “Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire,” a nine-song work of art. To commemorate the long-awaited release, Lunar Vacation’s fans from all over the city and beyond came to the Criminal Records stage to see the sophomore project performed in full along with time for the band to sign records purchased from the local record store. The scene was beautiful and intimate, and the fans were overjoyed.

When speaking with lead singer, Gep Repasky, the Technique got a real, vulnerable feel of the love and emotion that went into the stitching together of this album. 

“We’re excited for people to see how we’ve been seeing ourselves and how we’ve been growing,” Repasky said. The album had a roughly equal songwriting split between all of the members, which is new territory for them. This would add a newfound cohesiveness to the production and performance of the songs which was seen with the band’s smiling faces on Friday afternoon. Alongside Repasky, Lunar Vacation includes four other notable members: Maggie Geeslin on the guitar, Matteo Delurgio on the keyboard, Connor Dowd on the drums and Ben Wulkan on the bass. 

A relatively unknown fact about Lunar Vacation is that they have shared a quaint house together in Decatur, Ga. since 2022. This house is to thank for the close-knit relationship that the group has fostered. Making more music together and creating a strong family structure has helped the band “let go” with their songwriting, and Repasky called this new album more of a “communal project” due to how much heart and soul each of them dedicated to it. 

The band had been teasing fans over the summer with dreamy new singles like “Set the Stage,” a distorted love song, and “Sick,” a song about modern society collapsing. The initial single was joined with a video release directed by rock singer and “Stranger Things” star, Finn Wolfhard, and this is not the first time they have crossed paths. Back in 2018, Wolfhard’s band, Calpurnia, which has since disbanded, had asked Lunar Vacation to support an Atlanta show they were having, and the rest was history. Bonding over music and small artists, they all stayed close friends over the years. 

That is one of the reasons that the video for “Set the Stage” is so special to the group. It was created by their dream team of friends and family who wanted to bring a vision to life. Repasky called the whole process a “friendship labor of love” that they could not have been more grateful for. 

Sappy feelings are present inside the production of the album just as much as the outside. The project is filled with songs that connect to the listener on a much deeper level than their previous work. 

“Erase All the B’s” is the fourth track on the release, and it is the only song in Lunar Vacation’s discography to have been recorded in one take. Repasky said, “Since I believe in it so much and love it so much, it’s okay for it to be that bare.” The essence of the emotional songwriting is felt with every word leaving the listener just as stripped. 

“Bitter,” the sixth track on the album, has a bit of a more upbeat tune. The sound is similar to singer-songwriter Clairo’s discography or local Athens band, Hotel Fiction. Several songs on this release, just like “Bitter,” were created out of fun group jam sessions and iPhone demos made in the van. 

In the past, Lunar Vacation had the chance to support their friend group favorite, GROUPLOVE, an alternative rock band that has played many headline tours, festivals and high-capacity venues all over the country. The band asked Lunar Vacation to support their show at the Tabernacle, a local Atlanta venue, and they were over the moon. Repasky describes the experience as so surreal and wild. It is one of those moments that go by in the blink of an eye. She said that GROUPLOVE were some of the kindest people she has met and would not think twice about supporting them again in the future. 

When asked about their upcoming tour in the fall with neighboring Atlanta alternative band, Manchester Orchestra, the singer was more than eager to talk about it. However, it is not as glamorous as it seems. The band consists of a group of health-conscious people who do not want to burn out while they are away from their beds for a month. Tour snacks consist of a lot of yogurts and kombucha. Needless to say, they would not trade the experience for the world. Lunar Vacation is always up for an opportunity to share their music with others on stage and have fun doing so together. 

In the future, Lunar Vacation hopes to work with different pop/rock artists and expand their style. A bucket list goal for Repasky and bass player, Ben Wulkan, is to open for indie-rock band Wallows by 2026. At this rate, that does not look so out of the question for the Atlanta band. They also have dreams of doing international tours with other pop/rock artists and working with more pop artists in general. Growing up on pop music, Repasky looked up to artists like P!nk and Demi Lovato. Nowadays, she wants to work with pop star icons like Chappell Roan. 

“Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire” is an album that was made with much tender love and care. It represents the band at the point in life where they are currently at, and it will be looked back on over the years for reaching many people all in similar stages of life. Sometimes, all someone needs to hear is the words that they could never say on their own. Lunar Vacation has captured that feeling and turned it into a beautiful album with emotional ups and downs and accomplished their main goal: to make the listener feel. 

Listen to “Everything Matter’s, Everything’s Fire” by Lunar Vacation on any streaming service and keep up with them on Instagram at @lunar_vacation. Catch them on tour this fall with Manchester Orchestra.

The post Lunar Vacation talks new album appeared first on Technique.

It is no secret that Atlanta is home to a rich, diverse culture of the arts. This includes live music, visual arts, photography, dance and many other kinds of expression. It is important that the people of Atlanta take pride in this culture that makes the city stand out from amongst the sea of others. The local production known as the EarWorm Photo and Art Expo managed to support this culture and uplift it in such a beautiful way. 

On Thursday, Sept. 5th, connoisseurs of live music and live music photography gathered in an intimate setting known as the Supermarket, a new local creative event space founded this year. Attendees came to the venue to connect, enjoy a good song and appreciate the eyes of many of Atlanta’s upcoming and veteran concert photographers. 

There were many photographers present at the grand display, including Rayna Sklar, Lane Bickett, Amanda Florence, Hannah Midd and Sam Kapoor. They have had the opportunity to shoot for artists and groups like the 1975, flipturn, Hozier, The Marías, Queens of the Stone Age and some well-known Atlanta-area bands, hallpass and Recess Party. 

Another notable photographer whose work was on display at last week’s expo is Terence Rushin. Rushin is well-known in the Atlanta photography community for his energizing festival and live music work. Believe it or not, professionally making people look like rock stars is just a side hustle for him to express his creativity. Rushin’s true home is here at Tech where he works in the College of Computing. Rushin has had the opportunity to take pictures of world-renowned artists and household names like Taylor Swift, OutKast, Kendrick Lamar, Korn and Miley Cyrus. Terence’s work was up for display at EarWorm with prints available for purchase. 

Mentioned earlier, Sam Kapoor is another one of the live music photographers who presented his work at the celebration on Thursday. He has made a name for himself by keeping the people in the loop with the local music scene. Kapoor’s “Kapoorhouse” was created in 2019 with the intention of holding house shows for local musicians and promoting them. The platform gained popularity, and as it grew, Kapoor moved from house shows to covering gigs at local venues and doing pop-up shows. 

Now, Kapoorhouse’s content includes live music sessions posted online, concert photography, concert reviews and a weekly post containing a list of local musicians performing live that week and another with all new music released. What some call “the hub of Atlanta’s sound,” Kapoorhouse’s content can be viewed through the Kapoorhouse Instagram, the “Atlanta Sound” Spotify playlist and the Kapoorhouse website.

Aside from the beautiful displays of talent that covered the walls of the underground venue, there was a small stage in the next-door room that housed a silky-smooth acoustic performance from local musician, Meredith Tilton, and an engaging DJ set from Cole Mosner. Tilton has been compared to singers like Lizzy McAlpine and local Athens musician, Clover County. She currently has two songs, “Tired” and “Doing Fine,” both released on streaming platforms, and she plans to put more of her work out soon. 

All of the artists at the event had their work on display so that the viewers could easily see every hour of hard labor, color-grading and editing that it took them to get there. Everyone left the Supermarket on Thursday night feeling inspired to create and feeling proud of the city that they get to call home.

“Support live music!” or “Support local art!” are common phrases, but many fail to fully grasp the importance of the message being relayed. Each year, the music industry generates billions of dollars for the United States economy due to ticket purchases, travel, restaurants around the venue and streaming on Spotify or Apple Music. Listening to the most popular artists on the charts can help contribute to the music industry, but it is even better to support the small musicians too. For example, if no one had taken a chance on pop princess Chappell Roan, she would never have supported chart-topper Olivia Rodrigo on her “GUTS” tour and would not have received the much-deserved audience that she has today. 

Some attractive features of supporting local or small artists include cheap ticket prices, intimate venues, less traffic, more emotion and passion with each performance and genuine interactions with fans. Also, supporting local art, businesses and music creates a strong foundation for the community, and it is the backbone of the music industry. 

Needless to say, creative expression is critical for society.. Living in Atlanta makes it almost effortless to find local musicians and artists to support. Go be inspired!

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The undeniably stellar group KHALIKO, a four-piece alternative-rock band from Atlanta, electrified Smith’s Olde Bar on Friday, Aug. 30. KHALIKO performed alongside local Athens band Recess Party and Nashville natives Connor Kelly & the Time Warp. 

The Technique was able to chat with the group before the show and capture some remarkable scenes of the night. The band was incredibly happy to be back playing at the iconic Atlanta venue again after just releasing “Breakdown (Live at Smith’s Olde Bar),” the most recent version of their hit summer single. The Technique gained some insight into what sparks the fires that make KHALIKO really burn. 

KHALIKO ended last year wanting to make some major shifts. By shift, they mean a new catalog, new sound and a fully new era. It is safe to say that these changes have been for the better. 2024 has been an outstanding year for the band, as they have played shows at venues as large as the Tabernacle, where bands such as Guns N’ Roses have graced the stage. Coming into the year as a three-piece looking for a new direction, they were forced to act fast when approached with that opportunity back in January.“It’s crazy how much the songs have evolved from the Tabernacle until now,” lead singer Sam Epstein said, 

Drummer Ethan Parks talked about connecting with their latest music on a deeper level. He said “it’s a good middle ground to find” when they create something that they can relate to, enjoy and know that the listener will do the same. The most recent addition to the group, Danny Griffin, agreed and said that the new sounds were an attractive feature that made him want to join in on the production. 

When talking about their creative process for their new era, KHALIKO had an entire melting pot of inspiration. They drew from earlier sounds such as Led Zeppelin and Queens of the Stone Age along with more recent sounds like the 1975, Quarters of Change and Fontaines D.C. 

“Despite being several years into it, it’s still very fresh,” said Elijah Haller, bass player for the group. The members of KHALIKO have been playing together since childhood, but the group itself has been official since 2021. Going to concerts and Heely-ing at such an early age also helped foster the love they have for performing and making music. These kids could be found at shows like AC/DC and Pierce the Veil, not to mention crowd surfing at shows at Variety Playhouse for punk-rock band Gogol Bordello. 

Aside from writing sonically pleasing guitar solos and participating in “normal band activities,” KHALIKO has many other interests. This includes being kings of soccer, construction, golf, watching the Oasis documentary and being baristas at a local coffee shop. Two members of KHALIKO, Danny and Ethan, are also a part of an indie hyper-pop band called Zija that just released their debut EP, “Red Cardinal Baby,” on Aug. 15. 

So, what can be expected from KHALIKO for the rest of the year? They have confirmed at least one more single, to which the name is still a topic up for debate but will most likely be called “Never Be Alone” or “Alone,” and they will potentially release one more single after that. These songs are still a part of that “new package” of material that has allowed the band to expand their sound and venture into new territory with their work. 

KHALIKO wants people to know that they are passionate artists who love what they do. They are grateful they get to make music that people want to listen to and enjoy. “[We] take the music seriously but don’t take ourselves too seriously,” said Elijah Haller. Anyone in the audience Friday night could tell that these words hold true. 

The people in attendance at Smith’s on Friday heard KHALIKO play around with songs old and new, and they also heard the fan-favorite, “Say What’s on Your Mind” which was released back in March of this year. KHALIKO said they wanted to play the loudest they could, and the performance of “Breakdown” fulfilled that wish. The crowd could feel the energy in the air after they finished their set and were left wanting more. 

Listen to KHALIKO’s two newest singles, “Face to Face” and “Breakdown,” on any streaming platform and be sure to catch them at their next show. Keep up with them on Instagram at @khaliko.band.

The post KHALIKO rocks Atlanta bar appeared first on Technique.

If you are looking for a movie with just as much drama in the real world as in the fictional, you are in the right place. Bookworms and movie enthusiasts alike have been in a frenzy over the past few weeks due to the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, “It Ends with Us.” This highly anticipated movie reached theaters Aug. 9 and has since been surrounded by controversy from all angles. Cast members and directors are pushing boundaries, fans have witnessed multiple rude interactions in interviews with the cast, and many accuse the movie of being tone deaf. So, what did this movie do right? 

The long-awaited production has put the film’s cast under intense scrutiny, especially the main woman, Blake Lively. Some might say the backlash she is facing has reached even more attention than the movie itself. Between suspected feuding with Justin Baldoni, her co-lead and director, and body shaming a talk show host years ago, many fear that this production could mark the beginning of the end for her. 

A video clip of Blake from 2016 circulated of her being congratulated on her baby bump by a journalist. She is then heard returning the favor even though it is evident that the journalist is not in a similar condition. She was also recorded invalidating pregnancy cravings when asked about them by reporter AJ Calloway who she then called a “sucker.” She claimed that they do not exist and are simply a way to manipulate men.
This 2014 interview clip can definitely be interpreted as insensitive to all pregnant women who are not as lucky when it comes to pregnancy symptoms.

Were these both remarks with not a lot of thought behind them? Yes, absolutely. Does she deserve for all of society to start hating her all at once? Probably not. 

Normally, on press tours for upcoming movies, cast members are seen celebrating together and experiencing the joys of a new movie release. Not in this case. Lively and Baldoni have yet to be pictured together post-release, and it is evident that there is tension between the two. Additionally, Lively and Hoover do not follow Baldoni on Instagram, but they follow the rest of the cast on the platform.

Fans speculate that the beef between the two is due to many uncomfortable interactions on set. Page Six sources say that the star felt “fat-shamed” by the “Jane the Virgin” star after he made a comment about her weight. For context, Lively had given birth to her fourth child months before production began. However, it is important to consider the fact that Baldoni has a history of back issues and wanted to know how he should train himself to avoid causing pain. 

Despite no comments on the drama from Lively, Baldoni has nothing but good things to say about her added feminine touch. He expressed that she “made the film better, from beginning to end.” He even said that she should be the one to direct the sequel if or when it should start production. 

As a whole, the movie could have been interpreted in many ways. In one way, it looks like a movie romanticizing red flags and domestic violence in relationships, which is an extremely delicate and real topic. It basically glorifies the kind of man that you should run in the other direction from.
Due to this expected perception, the team reached out to domestic violence organizations for input. The resulting input led to a noticeable change from the novel’s original plot point. While in the book Ryle is still a part of the child’s life after her birth, the movie does not show Ryle again after the last hospital scene. 

The promotion of the film should have been executed in a way to better represent the movie’s difficult topics. The trailer, set to Taylor Swift’s “My Tears Ricochet,” made the movie look to be about a romance in a cute little flower shop on the corner. Many were also rubbed the wrong way by Lively’s encouragement to show up to the movie with your friends and your florals. However, she says otherwise. “No experience can define you. You define you.” 

Each person who had a part in the making of this movie knew what they were signing up for and were not surprised by the criticism they received. Sometimes they must appear a certain way to reach an audience who really needs to receive the message. 

Regardless of the skeptics and critics, some viewers have finally found the courage to come forward with their stories of domestic abuse. Many have gotten themselves out of these impossible situations, which makes it all worth it. 

“It Ends with Us” is currently only available to watch in theaters. However, it is expected to join streaming services like Netflix sometime in December.

If you need help or know somebody who needs help, please do not hesitate:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.7233
Georgia Tech Domestic Violence Support: 404.894.9000

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