Joywave, “Now”
Joywave’s alt rock sound — spiked with more than a dash of electronica — is both refreshing and familiar. The group doesn’t stray too far from a melodic groove on “Now” — until the final tempo-slowing wind down — and that groove is gaining traction on alt rock and Triple A formats, due in large part to their appearances on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Also, they’ve seem to have grown out of a collaborative phase with groups like Big Data to shine on their own with “Now.” Overall, this song has the right elements, and with a lot of wash, rinse, repeat spins, it’s going grow some serious legs and start climbing the charts.
Shenna, “Air Balloons”
If you’re a fan of MTV’s “Finding Carter,” you may have heard a clip of Shenna’s “Take Your Time” in the second season of the show. While that song is good, Shenna’s “Air Balloons” is even better. Unlike “Take Your Time,” Shenna’s vocals aren’t buried in layers of audio production on “Air Balloons.” Rather, they are brought front and center where her unique vocal style can wash over you. Give the song a listen and very soon you hear why this is a solid pop song that will hook you in short order.
Django Django, “Reflections”
The UK’s semi-New Wave throwback darlings Django Django just released Born Under Saturn — the follow-up to their 2012 debut album. While the Born Under Saturn is a bit laconic and stuffed full of unnecessary filler at times, “Reflections” is a stand out track for both its scrupulous economy of sound and use of a jazzy bridge to humanize the sometime sterile electro-pop that more than references the band’s dominant musical influence, Kraftwerk.
Boz Scaggs, “Full of Fire”
Scaggs is back with an album of mostly covers that showcase his love of soul music. “Full of Fire” is an Al Green tune released the same year as Scaggs’ multi-platinum super-duper hit record, Silk Degrees. While that album explored a number of genres that reached maximum crossover appeal with “Lowdown,” Boz probably wished he could have written “Full of Fire” because it fits right in with his shuffle into soul and disco at the time. What Scaggs brings to this faithful cover is age. His voice isn’t as powerful as it was back in the day, but it works to his advantage as it allows him to smooth out the delivery. The result sounds like a lost track from the Silk Degrees sessions.
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