This month, I explore recent releases, underrated ‘90s bands, and lessons from radio professionals.

Column By Sam Cohen
Sam Cohen here, back with another volume of College Radio Roundup. If you missed the first column, I’m a DJ at WRSU, the voice and student-run radio station of Rutgers University, and a fanatic of all music that falls under the college radio umbrella.

Now that last fall’s releases are in the rearview, we’re focusing on the bands keen to own 2026. In January and February, multiple artists made their debuts and dominated WRSU’s airwaves. While the return of Baby Keem and A$AP Rocky may be exciting to some, WRSU’s focus is on new music from Ken Park, Fcukers, and the return of Victoryland. 

2026 is off to a hot start, but as much as college radio discovers the new, stations always rely on the classics. For this month, I’m looking into fresh bands, ‘90s overlooked classics, and what I learned at a recent college radio conference.

New Music We Can’t Get Enough Of

Coming into the year, 2025’s albums seemed difficult to top. Wednesday’s Bleeds developed its knack for a timeless love song and showcased the aftermath of bandmates Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman’s breakup. This is Lorelei’s new compilation album, Holo Boy — which dropped after many year-end lists were already out — emphasized that Box For Buddy was no fluke. And, of course, the indie champion of last year: Geese. However, the NYC band’s dominance didn’t deter other bands from trying, and breathed life to a withering age of tasteless indie rock.

Witch Post, the Scottish-American Duo of Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid, docked late last year. The duo’s debut EP, Beast, unleashed a penchant for melancholic rock anthems with notes of dreamy aura. Its follow-up EP, Butterfly, comes out on March 20, and the lead-up singles are daring, lavish, and uncluttered. Fraser’s vocals mirror the sounds of thrashy indie bands like Friko and Momma, and Reid’s harmonies always seem to enter at the right time. Signed to Partisan Records, where the band is labelmates with Geese and Blondshell, Witch Post are in one of the most promising positions in indie rock.

With one of the best band names, it’s difficult not to obsess over Cootie Catcher. The Toronto quartet of Sophia Chavez (vocals, synths), Anita Fowl (vocals, bass), Nolan Jakupovski (vocals, guitar), and Joseph Shemoun (drums) each find their own groove in the band’s collective vision. On the new album, Something We All Got, the quartet scrambles its senses and learns how to record in a studio (rather than a basement). Tracks consistently change lead vocalist, while balancing slippery drums and gushing guitar. The band’s whimsical arrangements march to the beat of a very distinct drum, and add a pep of vivacity that everyone needs in their lives.

Diggin’ The Library For College Radio Classics

This month, we’re diving into a pair of ‘90s necessities. Spring has sprung, and so has my obsession with the zippy, lo-fi, and psychedelic The Apples In Stereo. The 1997 album, Tone Soul Evolution, came across my desk after searching for songs with the same atmosphere as Yo La Tengo’s “My Little Corner Of The World.” The analog-adoring sound clicked as a precursor to bands like Sharp Pins and Horsegirl.

Tone Soul Evolution emerges from an intersection of The Zombies and Belle and Sebastian: succinct tracks imbued with purpose and passion. Not the easiest recipe to come by these days. “About Your Fame” is a stripped-back stroll, inclined to slot into a “Sunday morning” playlist. It captures the peaceful side of The Apples, while “Shine A Light” leans into a rowdier power-pop aesthetic. The latter is a supremely spring-feeling song, and deserves airplay the second it’s warm enough to roll all the windows down.

The next band I’m ready to champion is Bettie Serveert. Introduced to me by Noah Learmont of Radio Free Alice, these Dutch rockers are too good to be lost in the indie rock atheneum. Forming in 1991, Serveert served as one of Matador Records’ first major finds. Its debut record, Palomine, hinges on all the elements of a classic indie record: earworm riffs, a sharp vocal fry, and gloomy builds for thrashing payoffs. Track three, “Kid’s Allright,” sounds so much like a Dirty-era Sonic Youth song that had to check if Kim Gordon was a co-writer.

Serveert often manipulated its live performance. Outside of playing album hits from Palomine and follow-up, Lamprey, Serveert often covered contemporaries. A 1992 cover of Pavement’s “Trigger Cut” is one of the best covers of the slacker-rock titans around. Serveert also frequently played Sebadoh’s “Healthy Sick” — another ‘90s band lacking the appreciation it deserves. Bettie Serveert’s cover also honored its idols; in 1997 in Amsterdam, they performed a full set of Velvet Underground cuts.

Live from the College Radio Conference

Every year, the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System hosts a conference in Midtown Manhattan to celebrate college radio. I attended sessions led by music industry professionals eager to share their experience. Here are nine things radio specialists wanted college DJs to know:

1. Ride an already-formed wave 
2. Don’t chase vitality — it can pigeonhole you into a grey area
3. Create a structure that people can depend on 
4. Participating in trends is not the only way to find a following  
5. Go for it, and if it bombs, who cares 
6. It can be a slow burn for content to catch on
7. Be passionate about voice, tone, taste, and opinion
8. Indie labels will always rely on music journalists for support
9. Find how much of yourself you’re willing to put out there, and don’t be ashamed of it.

Wrap Up & Rewind

This spring, rather than falling back on your comfort bands, test the waters and tune into college radio. Maybe you’ll dig what’s on air, maybe you’ll hate it. Either way, the fun part is the exploration. College radio is all about exposing audiences to untried sounds, so if you have the opportunity to support your local station, listen, and you might just find your next [insert favorite band here].

Thanks for returning to College Radio Roundup. I hope you enjoyed this month’s news, and make sure to tune in to Slanted and Enchanted Radio. Live on Thursday from 1-3 pm EST on wrsu.org.