“I love how Unknown Mortal Orchestra pairs the punchy drums and funky bass guitar with the soft and tender vocal and guitar leads on this song. The song reads like a dancable lullaby that slowly builds to an emotional guitar solo at the climax.”
“Something about his voice always adds such a heartfelt tone to their songs. This song reminds me a lot of Multilove in that pairing of tones you were talking about.”
@Robert "Just went and listened to Multilove and a few other of their songs. You're so right about the pairing of tones across their songs. Have you listened to Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark Does)? If you like Multilove you'd probably like that too!”
@Olivia “I haven't, but I'll definitely check it out, thanks!”
“Generally speaking, listening to Deathgrips can be described as being assaulted by sound. Super distorted, screeching synths greet you immediately on this song. It has this boom clap beat that gives it a frantic drive that pushes this song forward. MC Ride comes in at an 11/10, barking lyrics at you about witnessing acts of violence and brutality in real life and online. This furious delivery and intense instrumental give a chaotic, riot-like sound comparable to Rage against the machine. This song is pretty abrasive on the ears but can be just what the doctor ordered from time to time.”
“I love the comparison you made to Rage Against The Machine. I feel like out of all the Deathgrips songs I've heard, this one feels the most like a protest song than any.”
“I feel like this song really reflects growing up and more specifically how literature likes to describe the 'loss of innocence.' I think it provokes a commonly shared feeling of how it feels to reflect on the past and how our memories of our childhood feel so shiny and happy. It reflects on how what we used to take happiness from changes overtime and that life becomes more complicated as time goes on. The simple instrumental in the background and the softness of the singer’s voice really brings it home. Let’s just say this song was added to my playlist I like to play when I really want to feel something.”
“I’d never heard this song before, I love how the singer talks about those childhood memories and frames them in a way that makes them so relatable for anyone listening. Like even though they’re talking about their personal experiences, the feelings they brought up made me think of my own childhood memories.”
@Charlotte “I feel the same way! I’m glad you liked it!”
“This song is so strange to me. Everything is passed through this filter that makes it feel like you’re listening to music on someone’s car stereo. The instruments on this song feel very unrefined in their delivery, but it fits kind of perfectly with the singer’s soft, almost lazy delivery. The part of the song that ‘sells’ it for me is when the background vocals come in as the only part of the song without the fuzzy filter on them, making them feel closer to the listener than the rest of the song. It gives the whole thing a really eerie feel that I can’t get enough of.”
“This reminds me a lot of Call It Fate, Call It Karma! It has that heavily filtered ‘music box’ sound. Another song I really like by Inner Wave is Mushroom, have you heard it?”
@Robert “Yes! Definitely a different vibe than this song, but it’s super good. I’ll have to listen to Call It Fate, Call It Karma!”
@Jarrod “Check it out, for sure.”
“I love how dynamic this song is. The contrast between the subtle, intimate verses and the booming choruses meshes perfectly with what the lead singer is talking about. He’s so conflicted about this girl he likes who is possibly interested in another guy, that he just doesn’t know what to do. He goes from a very pragmatic view on the situation when he’s talking about it in the verses to a rash, emotional place in the choruses. The subject matter of this song is super relatable but what I think elevates the song to a level that really connects with listeners is the lead guitar. The whole time the lead singer is flipping between moods on this song the lead guitar is right there with him switching between complex and delicate riffs on the verses and thundering power chords on the choruses. This is a good song in theory and an excellent song in execution.”
“I totally agree with your point about the dynamic nature of the verses and choruses, I think it does a great job of keeping the song really engaging throughout. Especially towards the end when the guitar solo comes in after the second chorus.”
@Jarrod “I love the guitar solo on this song. It feels like the singer is just like so fed up with the situation he’s singing about that he kind of throws his hands up and lets the guitar player take over the song for a bit.”
@Charlotte "Haha, that's such a fun way to think about it."
“Sugar Candy Mountain’s blend of lounge music and psych-rock on this song is so good. When I’m listening to Windows I feel like I should be drinking a martini by the pool in California. The singer’s voice just floats above this bed of lazy guitar and vibraphones and makes you feel like there isn’t a worry in the world. I picked up this album on a whim from a record store a few weeks back never having heard anything off of it before and I’m really glad I did because it’s turned into one of my favorite albums in recent memory.”
“This song has always filled me with a strange kind of longing for something I never had. It transfixes you for no apparent reason and makes you ache along with it. The lyricism is confessional and the instrumentals are almost mechanically punchy with an undercurrent of melancholy.”
“This song eases into the strong overlapping chaos that Foxing has started to create in their new album ‘Nearer My God’. This album feels a little bit more ‘mainstream,’ and if I was to introduce someone to the band, I might choose this album over their previous two. The title of the song relates to GameShark which is a line of video game cheat cartridges. This song alludes to trying to cheat death and the devil. The line, ‘gainer from the balcony – swan dive into the concrete,’ relates to deliberately throwing yourself in harm’s way. This song combines elements of indie rock or post rock. I think it’s worthwhile to check out some of the other songs off of this album. One of the remarkable aspects is the song ‘Nearer My God,’ which the band has translated in 5 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese). Something that I don’t think that I have ever seen before.”
“That’s super cool about them translating that song into 5 different languages, I’ve never heard of a band doing that before! I liked this song a lot and checked out a few other songs off this album, they’re really good!”
@Robert “If you like Foxing you should also check out Tiny Moving Parts! I really like their song Caution.”
"This song has fun, bouncy drums filled with clicks and beeps. The instrumentation has a certain coolness that provides the perfect platform for each member to have their time in the spotlight. The thing I love about BROCKHAMPTON is that each member as their own unique delivery style, and GOLD is the perfect song to show off the diversity of the group. Kevin Abstract ties all the verses together with an incredibly catchy hook: 'Keep a gold chain on my neck, fly as a jet, boy better treat me with respect.' GOLD dropped as a single prior to the release of the group’s ‘Saturation’ project and managed to generate a lot of hype. The fun beat, expressive deliveries, and catchy hook on this make it one of the groups most influential songs to date."
“This is like the perfect introduction song to get someone into BROCKHAMPTON because, like you mentioned, it gives everyone a chance to show off.”
“Totally!”
“I actually can’t get enough of this song. Something about Julian Casablancas’ voice on this song just floats right into your heart each time. It has such a funky, catchy melody that you could just loop over and over again. The most amazing part is that soft melodic ‘take it… I don’t wanna sing anymore...’ that fades into that amazing guitar solo. A masterpiece.”
“This song is the ultimate realistic morning anthem. The relaxed, slightly hopeful guitar part really sets the scene for the topic of the song. From singing 'wake up in the morning, it just hurts ... I think of all the little things, you and I could do.' to the climactic 'I will leave it in my dreams,' the tone goes from somber to 'optimistic for a new day' in a matter of minutes.”
“The arc of the song has always been one of my favorite parts about. Like you were saying, the way it starts kind of timid then builds to Julian basically screaming the final chorus is such a fantastic way to start the album off.”
@Hayley “Him belting the chorus at the end of the song is my favorite part. His range in this song, really the whole album, is fantastic.”
@Charlotte “Especially in Permanent High School a few songs later.”
“Kevin Parker is so good at taking the whirling, colorful, walls of sound that come with most modern psychedelic rock and refining them to the point where they’re almost inhuman in nature. Everything on this album is mixed so meticulously it’s hard to believe it was all done by one guy. I feel the thing that sets Let It Happen apart from Tame Impala’s other songs is that it’s almost a half-and-half mix of Kevin’s classic psych-rock roots, as well as his love for synthesizers and dance music. While his earlier albums like Lonerism and Innerspeaker tend towards the fuzzy, overblown guitar sounds of early psych-rock, and his latest album, The Slow Rush, is more disco and funk than rock, Currents marks a transitional state between the two. Let It Happen is a multi-phased rock epic similar to something you’d hear from Led Zeppelin or The Doors, but written by someone with an electronic producer’s mind.”
“The first time I listened to this song I remember thinking there was something wrong with my Spotify when the beat starts skipping at the midway point. Then those rumbling strings came in and the drums started back up again. I remember thinking before that point that the song was starting to get stale, but after hearing that I was so in.”
@Charlotte “I had the same thing happen to me, and then again when that guitar solo comes in later in the song.”
“This song just makes you want to get up and move. It hints at taking time to find gratitude in things you see in everyday life. When things start to feel a little lackluster in life you have to find the time to look around and notice the little things that are able to spark joy in your life. I think the fact that the lead singer sounds like he has a smile on his face while he is singing really adds to the upbeat rhythm of the song. This all with the added trumpet really makes the song feel big and bold. I think this band really shows how good music from a DIY scene can be.”
“I love this song! It has such an infectious groove to it, and complemented by some dodgy synths in the background, it makes the perfect song for Anderson .Paak’s voice. The lyrics are simple, outlining the atmosphere of a dance floor. The lack of complexity lets you enjoy this song for what it is, a soulful funky dance track. ScHoolboy Q comes in with an incredible verse on the second half of the song. Super expressive and high energy. With a trumpet solo finishing off the song, Anderson .Paak delivers an absolute gem worthy of playing on repeat all day.”
“This song feels like if Boyz II Men exclusively wrote their ballads while running a fever, and I mean that in the best way possible. Clarence sets the mood for us with a rainstorm straight out of Eminem’s ‘Stan’ followed almost immediately by a drum fill that sounds like a grown man falling down the stairs. The hook on this song is very catchy but also unsingable because I have no idea what he’s saying. I have two main critiques for this song. Firstly, the name ‘Bloodbarf’ is an assault, but mainly I think it’s just a little too repetitive. Even with the song only being two minutes and forty-five seconds long, it feels like it’s overstayed its welcome by the halfway point.”
“I have a feeling this was supposed to be the big hit off Glass Animals’ new album, ‘Dreamland,’ but in my opinion it perfectly represents where the band went wrong with their shift in direction after their last album. The band’s first two albums, “Zaba” and “How to be a Human Being,” were filled with sound effects and glitches that evoked a sound unique to Glass Animals alone. They had a really unique sound that - at least in this song - they traded in for… pop/trap drums and baby voices? There are a few redeeming songs on this album, but this isn’t one of them.”
“You didn’t like this song? I thought it was one of the stronger songs on the album and super catchy! I get what you’re saying about the sampling on this project compared to their previous stuff, it could definitely be seen as going more mainstream but I feel like they still have a unique sound.”
@Charlotte “To me, their appeal has always been the instrumentals and the unique sounds they create with them but songs like this one feel like they could’ve been made by one guy and his computer. I agree, though, they still sound different than most artists. Just not like the Glass Animals I was hoping for, I guess.”
“The delivery of this song is what pulls me in every time. This feels less like a post-punk band and more like a play actor delivering his lines to the back row. The vocals on this song are supported by everything from a marching snare to what sounds like a full orchestra. Every element of this song comes together to create an experience that really pulls you in when you hear it.”
“This song feels like it should be a James Bond theme! I love the bass piano notes pounding away in the background, it makes the whole thing feel so much more sinister.”
@Hayley “If you like this song you should check out ‘Sour Times’ by Portishead. That’s another tune with crazy James Bond vibes.”
@Robert “Will do, thanks!”
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