It's been a long three years since we've had the pleasure of getting a full album of new music from University of Chicago's The Ransom Notes. And for some, it has definitely been worth the wait. RN FM is a fantastic smorgasbord of music. But the resulting tracklist is definitely for a particular taste. I mean, the album has 13 tracks — a number just up my alley, but not so much for others.

Though my tastes tend to lean towards mid-level pop music as an escape, I can appreciate a nice electronica and EDM experience occasionally. And thus springs forth my enthrallment with what The Ransom Notes have attempted here.

Maybe not as much today as it was in the late '90s and early aughts, but this album seems polarizing in the collegiate sphere. When a group leans too heavily into over-production and modification of the voice — the alt-pop/alt-rock genre (college radio sound) back in the day — it creates a highly niche listening experience on a song for an audience. RN FM is what happens when you intentionally or unintentionally push against the status quo and attempt to move the art forward or at least expand the base. Much like Code Red by The Beelzebubs when that album nearly created a devastating chasm between traditionalists and experimental a cappella purveyors with the use of (gasp!) electronic manipulation of the voice that couldn't be replicated live (at the time). Contemporaries of The Ransom Notes that come to mind are Gestalt from UF and The Harmonics from Stanford. These two groups have also created concept albums during the past decade that pushed against the edges of "palatable" pop a cappella at the time with extreme amounts of distortion and augmentation to the human voice.

I'm assessing RN FM as a "5", though I'm in the same boat and mindset that I was with their last album, Built to Last, with a wavering between "4" and "5". Each track has moments of "Ew, I wish they hadn't done that" or "Argh, why?" that briefly takes me out of the experience. So even though all of the tracks aren't bangers for me, the created immersive world and the almost stereophonic cohesion presented is a super artistic challenge and accomplishment. Overall, I can't really decry RN FM's greatness.

I love the randomness of the tracks themselves (which alludes back to the "FM" in the title, I'm assuming), and particular selections that sort of work when they really shouldn't. Like, what standard "pop" album could you imagine that would include The Corrs' BREATHLESS and Olivia O'Brien's NOW YOUR TURN? The inclusion here borders on the brilliant. Even if the soloists aren't seniors, it comes across as a next-level yearbook album and I'm here for it. And SAVIOR COMPLEX works much better in this context than it does as a standalone track.

Apropos is the execution of the song running an errand. It sounds just like its title. There are at least three different song stylings mashed together. Not in some medley fashion, but like having to make multiple stops at a grocery store, hardware store, the dentist, and the post office on the same morning. Maybe even the Walmart of music, if you will.

The Jai Paul track meshes well with the album closer HOLD ME. Together they sum up this electronic dreamscape created by The Ransom Notes so very nicely. And I've added this album to my frequent rotation playlist because the group and their sound and creativity is holding my heart and head for ransom. And on that note, I'm outta here! Get you some radio time and make it RN FM — W/K2024!

More art film than a cappella album, RN FM showcases the arranging dynasty era of Wonyoung Jang.

RN FM opens with RARB's 2023 Single of the Year, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT. Though I've now heard it quite a few times, both during that judging process and reviewing the album it's drawn from, believe me, I'm still taking notice when a song starts with historical audio clips and a haunting chamber choir in the background. In that review, I said, "If we're recording for the apocalypse, this is what we'll use." Turns out there's an entire album that sounds ready for the apocalypse, and this is it. If you run an a cappella podcast, it's Jang you want as your guest.

Though RARB has previously reviewed two tracks here (TAKE WHAT YOU WANT and SAVIOR COMPLEX), they both make a lot more sense nestled into this release of message-driven a cappella that embraces our political culture while comparing our past and future selves. There are carefully chosen historical clips a plenty, and lot of soundscapes; not always singing, sometimes just swirling sounds. Someone has to ask: how would this sound at an album release party? What would be performed? What couldn't be performed?

One song I'd love to hear at the party is BREATHLESS, which is what electronica a cappella should be modeled after. If I had heard it before I ever heard TAKE WHAT YOU WANT as a single, it would have been joyful and fresh enough to be a Pick of the Year, too.

How far is too far to take your art? running an errand is basically spoken-word poetry performed by robots. (That's definitely a sentence I've never written before.) From a construction standpoint, the production is fascinating. It's not, however, very musical. The ending refrain states "strange and unproductive thinking", which is a motif the Ransom Notes certainly want amplified on RN FM. SAVIOR COMPLEX has a bit of this style, too; original reviewer TeKay wrote that this track "creates an environment that my mind can just float around in". And, taking this style to the extreme, Jang presents )✧*, which features the historical clips with chamber choir overlay again. Except now, with more horror: "Two-headed boy, she is all you could need. She'll feed you tomatoes and radio wires." A terrifying lullaby. If you came for the Taylor Swift bops, she ain't here.

I'm glad we get another track after that, the closer HOLD ME. We receive a nice full ensemble sound with solo showcases. It's tidy but still unique. Works like these, plus the straightforward singing-centric bangers (NOW YOUR TURN, SPACE, RUN, JAIL, and EARFQUAKE), ground RN FM into a traditional album-like release versus a fully conceptual release. This was wise. Also wise: having at least one track that demonstrates beautiful, human musicality through natural dynamics, blend, and growth, and that comes to us with GOOD ONES.

Things you'll never say about RN FM: I wish it was bigger, I wish it was louder, I wish it pushed everything further. This is statement a cappella, and you'd better queue it up quick.

A cappella electronica is a very polarizing subject. It's no secret that the recording studio offers tools that a live performance cannot. Groups utilize pitch correction to help make the chords truly lock in. With multitracking, it's possible for groups of eight members to sound like 100. As a listener and a reviewer, I've never minded tools such as these. However, I believe overt digital effects should remain a tool to enhance the group, rather than replace the group. RN FM is absolutely bursting at the seams with this digital integration. As I listen to this album, it often feels like The Ransom Notes flew too close to the sun. The group invested heavily in the electronic sound, but the choral foundation provided is at times simple and uninteresting. The result is a release that fluctuates drastically between highs and lows.

Let's look at both sides of the balance. For an example of heavy electronics, we look no further than running an errand. The backing tracks have a heavy digital distortion, to the point that I can't tell what vowel each part is singing. However, the parts are really just doing a vamp with other sounds being overlaid. In the foreground, we have a spoken lead line. There is nobody credited as the soloist, but it features a heavily pitch-corrected and harmonized voice spouting almost nonsensical stream-of-consciousness thoughts. I have so many negative feelings about this track, most notably because I have so much trouble simply remaining engaged for the entire length of the song. There are virtually zero points of intrigue for me. Something as simple as a small key modulation, a handful of moments that play more with dynamics, or even just some harmonic backing lines would go a long way.

On the other side of the coin, we have JAIL, the eighth track of the album. This is the first point where I start believing this is actually a vocal group. Here, it feels like the group is more using the electronic sound as an enhancement of their own sound, rather than a replacement. The chords are starting to be more colorful, letting some of that natural resonance shine through. GOOD ONES continues this, starting to play more with soloistic and group elements. EARFQUAKE has the most choral foundation, and almost unsurprisingly it's my favorite track on the album. This piece continues to add new and interesting chords and rhythms at each twist and turn, leaving so many things for the listener to latch onto. I looked into it, and sure enough these three tracks together were an ICCA competition set. These tracks capture the Ransom Notes as a group that has the technique but is playing with the art form.

The duality between these two facets of the group make scoring the group so incredibly challenging. If we remove the highs and lows, the closest approximation I have that captures the average track from this album is either SPACE or BREATHLESS. There's still a lot of distortion in the lower and middle parts to the point that the parts feel like sustained synthesized notes rather than human singing, but there's fun rhythmic patterns playing around. The upper voices generate more interest with countermelodies, and there is some playing with dynamics. These pieces have good fundamentals, but there could be so much more impact and intrigue that would take them to the next level.

I can clearly see the intentions of the group in this album. It's meant to push the envelope. However, the art form sacrifices the human element too much for my taste. I worry that if I were to hear this album performed live, it would be incredibly boring. I have listened to this album and noticed myself subconsciously treating it similarly to the radio as background music in the car. Conversely, if this album is viewed for the artistry and creativity that comes from the heavy use of electronica as a genre, I can easily see how other listeners may heavily favor RN FM. If the best art elicits a conversation, the Ransom Notes might have succeeded to create the ultimate a cappella conversation starter. Take a listen and see which side you're on.