Lancer Spirit Online

Marching Lancers return to the ‘Big Apple’ after 4-year hiatus

Since their 2020 trip to NYC was canceled due to COVID-19, Londonderry High School's marching band has been unable to join the St. Patrick's Day festivities until this year.

Kelly Egan, Editor-in-Chief | March 29, 2023

On March 12, 2020, the students of the LHS Marching Band were anxiously awaiting their trip to New York City for the annual St.Patrick’s Day Parade. They were leaving in two short days. The freshmen...

Londonderry’s orchestra community to string together a musical performance

Alisha Khalil, Online Chief | March 21, 2023

The time for the annual Londonderry District Strings Festival has arrived. Today, Tuesday, March 21, 2022, North, South, Matthew Thorton, LMS, and Londonderry High School’s orchestras will come together...

LHS annual Prism concert set for Saturday, October 30

Alisha Khalil, Online Chief | October 27, 2021

Prism is an event in which the LHS Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Jazz Ensemble, and individual performers showcase their talents. The event consists of two concerts, with the first starting at 3pm and the...

James Blake spins melodic melancholy on ‘The Colour in Anything’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 13, 2016

There's nothing wrong with tragic storytelling, the problem is that there's simply too much of it. Seventeen tracks, seven of them crossing the five-minute mark, is a lot of music to take in. James Blake may not sound like anyone else with his eclectic blend of electronic, ambient and R&B, but that sound barely evolves over the hour-plus runtime of 'The Colour in Anything.' The album begins to drone on, melting into the background far more than Blake intended.

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Radiohead mix ambiance, emotion on ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 12, 2016

A Moon Shaped Pool, the long-awaited ninth LP from the British experimental rock quintet, traces its roots through the band's thirty-year history: "Burn the Witch," its lead single and manic, bubbling beating heart, was first worked on during the 2000 sessions for that year's acclaimed Kid A. The orchestral post-rock of closer "True Love Waits" was debuted as a tender, folk-flavored dirge in 1995.

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Death Grips astound, confuse with ‘Bottomless Pit’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 6, 2016

That's not to say Bottomless Pit is a mellow affair. It's about as mellow as a bad acid trip while skydiving; from the impossibly fast black metal-accented drums that spring to life fifteen seconds into the album's opener, "Giving Bad People Good Ideas," to the post-apocalyptic, overdriven drone of the eponymous closer. Bottomless Pit is what would blare over the blown-out, sand-caked stereo in Mad Max's Interceptor, and to hear its second single debut on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 Radio show earlier this week is as jarring and unexpected as it is hilarious.

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‘Lemonade’ a cinematic concept album

Beyonce's second "visual" album is grandiose yet contained

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 4, 2016

While the rallying cry of "Formation" is left for bonus track (or end credits) territory, its visceral sound and empowering message is felt in ripples throughout the rest of Lemonade. This is pop music untethered; an organic fusion of pop, rap, electronic, R&B, and even rock elements. Her choice in collaborators is top-notch, as evidenced by contributions from everyone from The Weeknd to James Blake to Kendrick Lamar. The dancehall-esque pulse of "Sorry" stands in sharp contrast to the gutsy blues of Jack White duet "Don't Hurt Yourself," yet the dissonance lends itself to cohesion.

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Jason Coburn’s keys to success

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 4, 2016

“I do what I do for myself,” Coburn said. “I’m not so interested in building a fanbase or anything. I think that people are starting to lose track of the fun in music, but I’m trying to keep that alive and keep myself from going down a similar path. I’m a huge admirer of [Nirvana drummer/Foo Fighters frontman] Dave Grohl, because he takes that idea of fun to its extreme.”

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Drake underwhelms with ‘Views’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 3, 2016

Ultimately, Views falls short of greatness. Drake has portrayed this release as his evolution; an expansion on his signature sound that would propel him towards legend status. It's reflected in the album's cover - Drake, solitary and sullen above the rest of the world, poised to strike from atop the CN Tower. In the end, though, Views is enjoyable, but more of the same.

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Deakin lives up to six-year expectations with debut

Joe Conry, Reporter | April 8, 2016

'Sleep Cycle,' Deakin’s first solo album after his departure from experimental-pop group Animal Collective, is a psychedelic freak-folk-accented trip into the hazy, ethereal memories of Dibb’s past. With the exception of Tim Dewit who plays drums on “Footy”, 'Sleep Cycle' is a solitary self-reflection into Deakin’s worrying thoughts and emotions surrounding his future.

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Don’t need your help: The unlikely resurgence of cassette culture

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | March 31, 2016

Even back when they were all the rage, it was hard to explain what made cassettes popular. Quality-wise, they were terrible. The ultrathin, wiry spools of tape could tear, knot, or burn out with ease. But they were cheap, and they were portable. As such, the cassette tape ruled. It has lain dormant since the advent of the compact disc, but with the popularity of vinyl, what's to stop a slowly-growing movement of entrepreneurs and self-starting indie outfits from mounting a tape comeback?

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Iggy Pop and Josh Homme merge art-rock with Detroit punk on ‘Post Pop Depression’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | March 14, 2016

Taking in the bold new sonic directions that Iggy Pop has taken his decades-honed sound in is a heady task. It's a puzzling trend, considering the relative success the reunited Stooges have had in the last half decade, but in an odd way, it suits Iggy. He embraces his elder-statesemanhood with all the grace the man responsible for "I Wanna Be Your Dog" can muster, and Josh Homme is the perfect muse for Iggy to experiment on/with.

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