By: Sarah Finley, Courtney Miller, Zach Siddiqui, and Jessica Whitesel
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Heading Home (Gryffin Josef Salvat)
Jessica Whitesel: This is a great song. I feel like I should be doing something wild and free. Like being in a beer commerical around a campfire, just not giving a fuck with my besties.
Sarah Finley: Paired with pretty piano chords, the lyrics have a very “I don’t give a fuck what they say” vibe, which would usually annoy me, but if you can look past that, it would be a good song to introduce your fellow hipster friends to. The mild bass drop makes it a great song for a nighttime drive playlist.
Courtney Miller: Love the musicality, particularly at the beginning. But then it gets a bit boring in the middle where it bounces between ‘80s pop and modern dance pop.
Zach Siddiqui: Upbeat and fun with an interesting, almost eerie undercurrent. I can totally envision this playing in my head the next time I have a film-worthy cathartic epiphany while bussing in the rain.
Love is Blind (Låpsley)
JW: I love the feel of this song. It reminds me of driving through the interior of BC in the summer just becoming one with your car and the road. It kind of disappears into the background but in a good way. The lyrics are repetitive, but that doesn’t really matter with the feel of the song.
SF: The vocals are soft and gentle (and I think the lead singer has a slight accent? which is really rad to listen to), with calm and romantic, yet simultaneously sad, lyrics. It’s repetitive, but I think any modern song that can effectively employ the use of a harp automatically deserves 10/10.
CM: I actually really liked this. The music really escalated with a great vocal range and groovy pop riffs. Would definitely listen to this again — and the xylophone is wicked.
ZS: An “emotional-Swiss-knife” tune that matches a number of emotions based on how you’re feeling when you listen to it. Refined and ultra-pretty!
Spirits (The Strumbellas)
JW: This song is just so damn catchy. More than once I almost started singing in a crowded office; I managed to stay under control, but it was hard. The lyrics might not match the upbeat nature of the song, but honestly, it doesn’t bother me. The balance between the two is nice.
SF: The lyrics and beat for this track are super catchy, meaning I definitely was bouncing around in my pajamas whilst applying mascara (bouncing + mascara isn’t a good combination, mind you). All in all, it was very happy-go-lucky, with, “We’re young, let’s go have fun even though we’re all sad!” lyrics.
CM: Although the vocalist sounds strained at times, it adds to the indie-alt feel of the tune. If you like Foster the People, you’ll probably like this.
ZS: Cheery rhythms blended with some mildly perturbing lyrics. I’d sing this in the street at 11 o’clock at night to add to my energetic, mysterious aesthetic.
Pleasure Drive (The Jezabels)
JW: Instantly I was taken to some strange ‘80s/’90s video game. Down with the plink. I feel like if they worked more with grungy or classic rock sounds, this song could have done something for me, but the plinking makes me think my computer is broken. Also the end is just strangely loud.
SF: I feel like a loser for having the first song explicitly about sex be the first one that I didn’t like as much, but it just didn’t do that much for me. It’s dark and sexy, but repetitive. The lyrics (not literally) scream “I’m super cute, but also hella bad — in a good way — in bed.” She’s ready to sex you up.
CM: The music is reminiscent of the Mission Impossible theme, but the vocals on top of that are spot on. It starts off a little sensual, a little sultry, and then takes turns at being a rocker with awesome harmonies.
ZS: This is the theme song of all the hypothetical dramatic life moments where I dethrone monarchs, execute flawless insults against my lifelong enemies, and get my revenge against the girl who ruined my boots last Friday.
Sleeperhead (Beach Baby)
JW: It’s not a bad song, but it’s not a fresh song either. I feel like I’ve heard it before more than once, but like back in the ‘90s or something like that, not recently. So while not a bad song, it’s not special enough to remember.
SF: Definitely a beach jam, as the name of the artist implies. Wishy guitar patterns pair with drowned out vocals to carry the song. Not a unique sound by any means, but still very rich and worth listening to.
CM: This song has awesome bass, and though I wasn’t a fan of the vocals at first, they grew on me. If you want a head banger, this is your best bet.
ZS: Ultra-chill energy. Dance it out to this song, even if it delays finishing your homework by anywhere from five minutes to one-hundred-eighty minutes — but not more, because sleep is important. #getthatREM.
Catman (Miike Snow feat. Yoko Ono)
JW: Miike Snow yes, Yoko Ono not so much. I don’t know what this is. I feel like I entered into some sort of art piece that uses sound, I just don’t have the visuals to go with it. The “oo oo oo” parts are super weird, and I just can’t with this song.
SF: Usually I love Miike Snow, but this song starts out all over the place. The lyrics are bizarre and it sounds like something straight out of a video-game in an arcade. Strangely I liked the end of the song more than the beginning, but all throughout there’s whistling, and I can never quite tell what the lyrics are saying.
CM: It starts by sounding like a rocket ship taking off to the tune of an old Konami video game that just won’t bloody turn off. And I don’t mean that in a good way.
ZS: Suddenly, I’m seeing in pixels and existing as a character in a ‘90s video game? What? This is cool. Is this what drugs feel like? (DISCLAIMER: Drugs aren’t cool. Especially not codeine.)
Unstoppable (Sia)
JW: This is sounds like a classic Sia song, but what saves it are the lyrics. I can see it becoming my new Monday morning jam. It makes you feel like you can conquer anything, including leaving bed on Mondays.
SF: Sia’s “Breathe Me” was on my Freshman year emo playlist, and her unique voice is definitely recognizable in any song she sings. This song is like the recovery from “Breathe Me,” with lyrics like “I don’t need batteries today / I’m unstoppable today.”
CM: I haven’t listened to a lot of Sia, but the powerful, flawless vocals in combo with the varied synth track was a great match. Love it when synth does more than merely exist for the sake of existence.
ZS: For days when you’re angry and alone in bed and want to rise up and crush the current world order. This is, like, your pump-up tune.
Why Wait (Griefjoy)
JW: This song grew on me. When it first started playing was like, “Ugh, no. why?” But the longer I listened to it the more I began to like it. It still won’t be my most favourite song, but it doesn’t make me want to rip my ears off either, so that’s always a good thing.
SF: High vocals singing sad lyrics to an upbeat tempo and energetic rhythm leave me wondering if this is supposed to be melancholic or happy. They seem like the type of band that would offer to have beers with the audience following their show.
CM: I found this one really repetitive, like okay dude, move on past “How would I know which way to go.” The music was great and if I could find an instrumental version I’d be all over that, but lyrically, the best bit was the bridge.
ZS: I feel ready to convert my sadness to a new renewable energy source and get my shit together when I hear this.
Gone (Day Wave)
JW: This song was good until it reached the point of the neverending end. We get it: they are gone, and now you should be to. Songs, like breakups, have a logical end, and dwelling on either is bad for everybody involved.
SF: Classic melancholic breakup song. While I started out really liking the cool, relaxed, slow vocals and the repetitive percussion and instrumentals in the background (the type of sad song I love listening to), eventually in the song this should end.
CM: Honestly this song was pretty ‘meh.’ Nothing really stood out as special or unique. It blended into the wallpaper.
ZS: This is me, getting dragged with a cool beat and strangely appropriate lyrics. A fraction of my life anxieties in a rad little package.
Malt Liquor (Lewis Del Mar)
JW: This song makes me think of drinking malt liquor. It starts out really well, then some weird things happen in the middle, it goes back to sort of normal near the end, but there are still strange leftover feelings and distorted memories from the weird middle part. Then it ends, and you feel like you should remember more about what happened, but you just can’t.
SF: The song starts off as really lovely, with beautiful vocal intonations and piano, but two minutes in the percussion goes wild, the vocals are distorted, and I’m not really sure what’s happening. And as quickly as it started, it ends. While I want to respect this decision to break the mold, it didn’t really work for me.
CM: This one may have been my fave — the bass drop and synth intro was perfect. And the build of the music was great, the layering of guitar, then piano, then percussion. Nice.
ZS: Alluringly disordered at times and otherwise a generally entrancing rhythm. Dig this, hard.
Carpet Diamonds (Modern Space)
JW: I love this song. There is just something about the guitar pattern, the lyrics and the way it is sung. All broken apart these components would make an average song at best, but in this song they make something magical.
SF: This song has a cool guitar pattern covered by strumming of a single note over and over again. The vocals are fairly soulful, but still don’t compare to their cover of “High by the Beach.”
CM: This was a rockin’ fun, upbeat sing-along-song with awesome guitar.
ZS: Happy and free, and reminds me of the summer sky! Just a few months to go until a quarter-year of rosy days. . .
Perfect Tense (Fallulah)
JW: This song is pretty generic. But that doesn’t mean I’m not feeling it. There is a weird video game sounding part, but then it ends. It adds personality to the song, before it picks up again, like they knew you would get bored of it before it reached it’s natural conclusion.
SF: While admittedly a basic electric pop formula with lyrics that any real music snob would criticize, this is a light-hearted sound with ascending riffs and a synth in the background that reminds me of going on drives in my hometown on the way to my favorite teahouse.
CM: Super catchy, poppy, and melodic. Vocals were top notch — and the lyrics let you know that if you fuck up, it’s no big deal, because, “All that matters is we get back up.”
ZS: I want to stroll through a busy metropolis and part the crowds to make way when I hear this! Solid work.
