By: Sarah Finley, Courtney Miller, and Jessica Whitesel
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“PILLOWTALK” (ZAYN)
Jessica Whitesel: This song is pretty darn generic. As much as I like looking at Zayn, I don’t like listening to him. This seems like it would be playing at that super average club where the floors are too sticky, and the drinks too watered down.
Sarah Finley: Unpopular opinion: as much as I wish this song were about me, this song is still very One Direction-esque. This begs the question: did Zayn bring the sound to 1D, or did the sound of 1D never leave Zayn? I wish I had liked this song more than I did, but it just didn’t do that much for me. Zayn was never my favorite, anyway.
Courtney Miller: I really like the pre-chorus in particular, but the entire song is good listening. It’s a little sexy, a little aggressive, and his vocals are powerful and right on the mark.
“Wicked Love” (Foxes)
JW: I don’t know how I feel about this one. I want to like it but every time I decide to actually listen to it I’m like, “Nope, skip this.” So I guess it would make good background music.
SF: This song has really beautiful harp-sounding strumming throughout. The lyrics are catchy, and would fit in nicely with my Daughter, Florence and the Machine, and Banks playlist.
CM: The vocals are great. It’s reminiscent of a remixed mid-nineties heart-felt, woman-led ballad — decide for yourself if that’s your style.
“You’re the Best” (Wet)
JW: I love the beat of this song paired with the vocal style, but other than that the lyrics fall kind of flat. I would like to listen to more songs by Wet because they have potential, but this song isn’t doing it for me.
SF: Hypnotizing vocals, catchy clapping, relaxed plucking of guitar strings all add to the cool mood of this song. Slightly melancholic, but perfect for a rainy day when you’re drinking tea and cuddle-napping with your cat and/or beau.
CM: All I can come up with is that it’s probably a good song for when you’re high. It has that not-really-there, kind of spacey quality.
“Last Night” (Sivik)
JW: I could see pre-gaming to this song, or like hanging out with bae. But other than that it is something that I’ve heard before and it is just as average as all the past times.
SF: While the instrumentation is charming, the raspy vocals don’t really match the beginning sounds, nor do they do much for me in general. Honestly the lyrics didn’t either. It took me forever and a day to remember Mike Posner’s name, but the vocals between Sivik and Posner are so similar that if he were on your middle school playlist, just like mine, this song will definitely make you reminisce.
CM: Intro vocals are a bit too wispy for my liking, but they strengthen — the whole song does really — into a nice, R&B feeling song. It’s great in that it builds again to a more upbeat, playful kind of tone.
“Trickle Trickle” (Kill J)
JW: I like the mix of higher female vocals with a backing track that sounds like something a male R&B singer would choose. It’s not a huge game changer, but it does sound fresh. Defs will listen to this again.
SF: Echoing vocals give this sound an additional element of uniquity, as if the primary lyrics being “trickle, trickle” weren’t enough.
CM: The intro music is really disjointed and then out of nowhere this hella high voice wafts in. The vocals are really breathy, and this could just be me, but it sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks were featured in some areas. Not a song for me.
“Lost the Feeling” (The Saint Johns)
JW: This song isn’t bad, but it isn’t good either. It fades into the background, almost like my ears lost feeling when listening to it. Even when actively listening to this I couldn’t stay focused on it.
SF: A very folksy sound. The overlapping men and women’s voice give this song a really nice balance. Unless you listen to the lyrics, you’ll be easily tricked into thinking this is an upbeat song. In actuality, it’s about someone being in denial that you’re not in love with them anymore, hitting right in the feels.
CM: I was hesitant at the beginning, but the chorus was solid, and things just skyrocketed in quality from there. Melodic, great tempo, I grew quite fond of it.
“No Love Like Yours” (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes)
JW: “I can’t dance on bullshit time.” More lines of wisdom from the band. Much like “Home,” you start of not quite convinced of the validity of the down homey folky vibe, but by the end it’s really all you want to listen to.
SF: This has the very classic Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros sound — really similar to their Up From Below album, which will likely have my heart forever. The lyrics are cute; the plethora of varied instrumentation is divine. Basically, heart eyes.
CM: The lyrics seem reminiscent of The Beatles with a dash of an outlaw vibe thrown in for kicks. I found it hard to make the lyrics out, but I’d easily have this around as background soundtrack material.
“Translate” (Suuns)
JW: I want to like this song but the 1980s Casio demo loop as the backing track is super assaulting to the senses. If that was gone I could get fully behind this song.
SF: This is weirdly king of electronic-y, weirdly not. I’m not entirely sure how to classify this (or how to feel about it) to be honest.
CM: So much no. Way too dissonant, repetitive, and bad-trippy for me. It sounded like the music to Bowser’s Castle in Mario Kart 64.
“Lean On” (Campsite Dreams)
JW: I am always hesitant of covers of EDM and dance songs, but this was pleasent surprise. They didn’t strip it down to a weird bedroom YouTube acoustic recording and in keeping an electronic feel to the backing track was an awesome choice.
SF: Admittedly I heard the Major Lazer version first, so I’m used to this song being more upbeat and dance-y. But this one isn’t bad either if you’re down for more a more relaxed, less bass-droppy song; although, fair warning: the repetitive lyrics are much more obvious in this version.
CM:This is a lot of fun. Kind of a chill head bopper at first, it builds into something you really want to intensely air-drum to. I dub it a good playlist standby that you can “Lean On.”
“Get High” (Kill Them With Colour)
JW: This is a rave song. I might like it if I were high, but I’m not, so I guess what I’m saying is I do not like this song.
SF: Definitely upbeat, electronic-y, and dancey. Sort of reminds me of Crystal Castles. The lyrics are literally just “I wanna get high,” over and over again, but we live in the outskirts of Vancouver in 2016. Who doesn’t.
CM: Boring, repetitive, and I can count on my fingers all the words used other than “Get High.”
“I Was Wrong” (A R I Z O N A)
JW: This is like a knock off “Sorry,” but with nicer vocals. Even given that it is still more Beiber than A R I Z O N A.
SF: Arguing couples, consider sending this song to your significant other. The lyrics are soothing, perfectly apologetic. The guitar is soothing with escalating percussion barely beginning in the background, and then including heavy bass. The lead singer’s voice is soops dreamy; he could probably sneak meat into my food and I’d forgive him.
CM: It’s a little sad and has a minimalistic quality to it, but it’s still really chill and well-constructed. ☺
“How Could You Know” (High Highs)
JW: This song isn’t bad, but it doesn’t speak to me. I’m not sure what I don’t enjoy about it, maybe it’s the “ooooo-ing” but there is just something about it that I find disappointing, because I really do want to like it.
SF: This sounds exactly like a million other songs I’ve heard before. The lyrics don’t have anything interesting that stands out, and I swear the exact chord progression is identical to at least one track on every indie band’s first release ever.
CM: It’s a small-sounding song at its most basic, but the echoey vocals make it sound bigger, more tangible. It’s full of emotion and it could even be a little bit cathartic.
