Brooklyn-based collective, Team Genius, are just that: a team of genius’. Musical, of course. They create text-book pop, all hooks and precision, with just the faintest whisper of soulfulness underlining the triumphant pop melodies. True to form they compiled their Secret Playlist as a collective. Ain’t cohesion a grand thang.
Queen / Don’t Stop Me Now [Drew]
It’s just a great pop tune, fearlessly corny with pure honesty. It captures that amazing vibe that Queen had that no other group ever figured out: really intelligent sense of humor, great songwriting chops and a grandiose energy. It’s impossible not to enjoy this song on some level.
Bound Stems / Andover [Scott]
The whole album is produced amazingly well. Very different than most current stuff. The bass drives most of the songs, and there’s very little guitar. But the sound still comes off as good rock music. This tune in particular has an amazing bass line. Overall, it’s great song composition which does a quality job of staying away from the obvious stuff.
Grizzly Bear / Knife [Drew]
This is pretty much a classic 1 chord, minor 6th chord type of tune, but this Grizzly Bear take gives it a hell of an update. The way they heavily layer the synth and gorgeous vocal harmonies is really exciting and unique. It’s very original and extremely pretty. It’s a very close musical description of being drunk and hovering between REM sleep and awake. It’s like a mellow waking dream.
She and Him / Why do you let me stay here? [Chad]
I’ve been listening to a poppy little folk-rock tune called Why do you let me stay here? by She and Him, a new band consisting of Zooey Deshanel and M. Ward. Its a very catchy song with fun backing vocals, some nice piano, and a Buddy Holly-esque guitar solo. I also like the song because the image of the extremely cute Zooey Deshanel comes into my head every time I hear it.
The Start of Something / Voxtrot (Raised By Wolves) [Emma]
Does it get better than this? Maybe, but if it does, I don’t wanna know. You could be in a crappy mood, your dog maybe got run over, you lost your job and your girlfriend dumped you, and this song comes on and you’re tapping your feet and swaying from side to side and dancing around your cramped living room despite yourself. Bravo.
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down / Geography [Erin]
It’s a laidback vocal line layered smoothly over a blues-y piano line and lackadaisical beat. Thao Nguyen’s voice is sweet and playful, like Mirah peppered with a twinge of seriousness. With a swinging, harmonized chorus, this short and sweet track is catchy enough to sing along to.
Toots and the Maytals / 5446 Was My Number [Drew]
What a fucking rad song. Completely free-form jam with one of the best grooves ever made. Every once in a while some savvy kid will put this on in a bar and everyone in the place perks up, even if they have no idea what the hell it is. For a relatively old song in a relatively underexposed genre, that’s pretty impressive. Toots’ vocal is amazing. The dude is clearly loving every second of it and just letting it all go with whatever comes into his head. A brilliant party song.
Orchestra Baobab / Werente Serigne [Chris]
This Senegalese band of the 70s & 80s mixes African and Cuban sounds to create the coolest, multi-layered, ethnic music you’ll ever hear. Long guitar lines and saxophone trade melodies over a simple, repeating offbeat bass line and steady percussion. Vocals trade back and forth, as well, and even though no instrument starts its line at the same time, the song somehow comes off as a cohesive, rhythmic whole.
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