"How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?" by Bombay Bicycle Club was a welcome reminder of the second to last Word of the Hour set Lizzie and I broadcast this semester. Also, I happen to just love this song. It starts with soft, Fleet Foxes-style harmonizing over an acoustic guitar which is nice, but things get much more interesting when the kinetic drumming and terrific bassline kick in to propel an unexpected melody through a satisfying arc. I think it's one of the most perfect songs I've heard lately. (Oh, and that music video that's linked to above is also wonderful. Yay, stop motion!)
The next several cuts were all revelations of a sort. "Bellio" introduced me to Dutch Uncles, and judging by this one song, they sound quite intriguing. "Bellio" is a weird song with a glitchy rhythm that is so unpredictable it is captivating. Next, "Were Before" is a cut from Cults' new album that introduced me to a different side of their sound. I was surprised by the violin that gives the chorus an unexpectedly plaintive tone; overall, this track is somehow more complex than what I normally think of with Cults, and I'm digging it. The ridiculously-named Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin have a moniker that's hard to forget, but though I recalled hearing of them before I had never listened to the band until Lizzie put "Young Presidents" on this mix. As it turns out, "Young Presidents" is a fantastic song. The hooky melodies and bouncy beat are enough to make anyone like the track upon first listen, but little details in the songwriting make you come back for multiple listens. I especially love when the singer says "stop; go" and the music follows suit with these directives.
Next up, "Coquet Coquette" is a superb sample of "False Priest," my favorite Of Montreal album. It has churning, aggressive guitars mixed with more laid-back verses and memorable lyrics ("You give me emotional artifacts that can find no purchase!"). The frenetic energy of that song is shared by the following selection, "Quesadilla" by Walk the Moon. All I can really say about this one is the commentators on songmeanings.com are right: it's not about quesadillas.
Lizzie wrote on this mix that Everything Everything may be her Frightened Rabbit of the season. Based on how many Frightened Rabbit tracks made it onto our earlier mixes, you can probably tell that this is high praise. I think "Radiant" shows a kind of kindred spirit between these two bands. It has a grandeur and bombastic beat that call to mind Everything Everything's Scottish fellows, while other aspects of the band's sound remind me of Foals. Yet "Radiant" also sounds uniquely like itself. I especially love the ringing guitars used throughout.
"Frayed" by The Naked and Famous is quite unusual too. It takes the male-female harmonizing commonly used to smooth effect by other groups and instead blends it with unsettling, buzzing heavy guitar and bass. Lykke Li's "Little Bit" balances out some of the menace. It's an ode to shy love built on Li's softly breathy voice. This one really benefits from multiple listens, too--the more I hear it, the more I need to hear it again.
"Homecoming Heroes" is one of the only songs I've heard from The Head And The Heart's latest LP, "Let's Be Still." I like its piano hook quite a lot and it makes me think I should give the rest of the album a listen. Lizzie saw Youngblood Hawke open for Passion Pit last year, and "Stars (Hold On)" suggests that they would be very energetic openers! The track sounds like it might be being played by an orchestra. Whitehorse, on the other hand, are merely a duo, and "Wisconsin" seems stripped down by comparison. This song always makes me smile and think of the library trip Lizzie and I made right before she went to Milwaukee for Thanksgiving.
According to Pharrell Williams, the video for "Happy" is the first 24-hour music video ever made. A writer for NPR music said, "This video could be sent to aliens as the sole visual representation of its titular state of being, and I'm confident it would be understood perfectly." That about sums up everything I can say about the song.
And on that note, I will wish you all a very happy January and new year! Thank you Lizzie, for the incredible mix! I think it might have some of the best songs you've ever given me on it, and they will help sustain me til we are reunited!
Instant favorites: "Young Presidents," "Radiant," "Little Bit," "How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?"
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