Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Nicole Responds to Lizzie's June Mix

I hope Lizzie's June mix reflects the atmosphere she's been living in lately, because if so, it sounds like she's having a fun (and danceable) summer!  This CD is packed with hooks, beats, and verse-chorus structure.

Young the Giant's "Paralysis" kicks things off and it is no exception to that general rule.  The song's tuneful vocals and tasteful synths made me ready to discover what other sonic surprises lay in store.  "Make You Happy" by Mika is a natural follower that lives up to its name.  It grew on me with repeated listens, and the pre-chorus part where Mika sounds distinctly Pet Shop Boys-esque makes me particularly happy!  "Lose My Mind" by Pacific Air sounds like another cheery confection, but the lyrics reveals a darker side.  Lizzie speculated that it might be about death.  I was thinking maybe just depression and loneliness, but who can say?  Either way, the song's got some layers.

"Say It Like You Mean It" is by a group called The Cinema, which is indeed a great band name.  The song opens with an awesome off-kilter rhythm, but I thought it became kind of a conventional pop song as it went on, to the point where the chorus made me think of trailers for "Transformers" movies (which I have thankfully avoided, so I don't really know what kind of music they use in those, but hey that's just what I thought of).  Speaking of trailers, Family of the Year's "Hero" is a song that I will now associate exclusively with the preview for Richard Linklater's "Boyhood," and that is a-ok with me.  Thirty days till it opens in Anchorage!!  While we're talking about movies we might as well go on to "The Wolves (Act I and II)" by Bon Iver, which Lizzie tells me is used in "The Place Beyond the Pines."  I haven't seen the film yet, but this powerfully haunting song is a good recommendation for it.

Finding out that a favorite group has covered a favorite song by another great musician is wonderful, so "VCR (The XX Cover)" by The Antlers felt like a precious gift.  This is four minutes of heart-melting bliss tinged with melancholy.  It also inspired me to have a revelation about the original song, which has always naggingly reminded me of some classic rock song I couldn't place.  Hearing it in this context made me realize that song was "Heroes" (Bowie of course, no relation to Family of the Year).  Now I have a whole new dimension of appreciation for this song and musical connections are magical and I should move on to the next track now, because even though I have more thoughts you should really just listen to this one on your own, and this paragraph is as long as the first one which covered three songs instead of one.  Whoops.

"Sidekick" by Val Emmich also inspired a revelation, this time courtesy my mom.  When she asked me the name of this song and I replied she said, "Being a wingman is so much cooler than being a sidekick."  Moms are full of wisdom.  MisterWives's "Reflections" is another poppy and peppy tune, but given distinction by the almost Cranberries-worthy vocal contortions of the lead singer.  "Same Side" by The Casket Girls is understated in comparison, but it stood out to me.  I found it appealingly new-wave/post-punk, yet also very modern.

Blondfire's "Where the Kids Are" is another brightly upbeat tune which I could easily imagine Lizzie dancing to.  So is "By The Throat" by CHVRCHES, a band which Lizzie knows I'm not exactly in love with, but I honestly appreciate her effort to expose me to more of their music.  As it happens, I do like this song more than their larger hits.  Not enough to re-write my perception of the group, but I was happy to give them a second chance.

The next couple songs were more my style.  "When I'm Alone" by Lissie grabbed me immediately with its dark bass-line and wobbling guitar.  I think Lizzie wrote in her notes that this song "hit the spot," and I agree.  It's like a granola bar--pleasingly tasty, yet not just empty (musical) calories.  Then I got to "Hunger of the Pine," from alt-J's sophomore album due out in September.  I had not yet heard it, and was since alt-J is quite special to both me and Lizzie, I was relieved to find them living up to my hopes.  This is a spooky, throbbing, many-layered mini-masterpiece.

"Celeste" by Ezra Vine brings us back to the core flavors of this mix, which is to say sunny, bouncy, pleasure.  The instrumentation is what intrigued me most about this song, especially its acoustic riff which sounded very unique to me.  Turns out the song is played on an instrument, called a celeste which is where it gets its name!  I'm not sure exactly why, but that made me really excited to find out.
St. Lucia's "Closer Than This" is a good "closer" (haha, get it?), which brings the mix to a summery, dance-y finish.

All in all, Lizzie's June mix sounds like the perfect playlist to make your neighbors jealous when they hear you jamming to it at your pool party/BBQ/summertime celebration.  The one thing that could make it better would be if the mix's creator were here to jam with me herself.

Instant favorites: "Make You Happy," "VCR (The XX Cover)," "When I'm Alone," "Hunger of the Pine"

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