Brillboard: 17-apr 2017
It’s Patriots’ Day (aka that New England holiday that most of you guys don’t know). Arguably more importantly, it’s the Boston Marathon — so happy Marathon Monday, fam!!! Here’s this week’s Brillboard Top Ten.
Emeralds [Kingsbury]
Easy, breezy, beautiful (Covergirl?). Emeralds is a stunning display of dreampop by Kingsbury, a native of Florida who really knows how to crush the household-plant-and-handheld-mirror game. Emeralds shines with synth and stellar vocals and serves as a strong follow-up to Easy, Kingsbury’s first single. With Maggie Rogers potential (aka “Pharrell would cry from her beautiful music” potential), Kingsbury is easily one of our favorites for 2017.
Big Fat Mouth [Arlie]
A refreshingly innovative, summery single from Nashville’s Arlie. Big Fat Mouth is the perfect feel-good song, with perfectly intricate sounds. Also, it’s tagged as “Indie Pope” on Arlie’s SoundCloud. Unclear if a typo, but either way I love it.
Electric Touch [A R I Z O N A]
Did you miss us, A R I Z O N A? Because we missed you. Electric Touch is the Boston band’s first track of the year, and it’s a wonderful new single off their debut album — Gallery, out May 19. The beats give an electric touch to Zach’s already irresistible vocals, but the lyrics are what really sell me on this song. “I don’t wanna think about distance // I just wanna be in your existence // So give me your electric touch”. Electric Touch is probably about pushing through drama in a relationship that’s hitting some bumps, but taken literally, these lines offer an interesting take on a long-distance relationship where cyber-communications and social media platforms can replace physical touch with an electric one. Or maybe I’m projecting again. Either way, A M A Z I N G stuff from A R I Z O N A.
A Day In The Park [Airling, Tom Iansek]
So, so much to love about this collab between Airling and Tom Iansek. The vocals are simultaneously light as air and strong as hell. The duet is almost a tercet because of the ever-present, often-harmonizing piano. And that reprieve? “My heart’s an empty cup // it’s time to fill it up” is a vividly apt, visually stunning, metaphor. All the love on this one.
You Know Me [Thunder Dreamer]
You Know Me is what would fall from the heavens if you were like “Yo music gods, give me another Guster”. Safe to say Thunder Dreamer has Captured our attention.
Safe [Bay Ledges]
Technically this song is a 2016-er, but I still need to share it with the world. World, you are welcome. Unless you’re as awkward as me, grooving so intensely to this track that people in your coffeeshop are staring at your head-bopping and not-so-subtle dance moves. In which case — World, I regret nothing.
Contra [Talos]
Eoin French (Talos) really brings it on his latest track. Contra is emotionally rich, with a stunning instrumental outro and a truly expressive demonstration of French’s vocal abilities. Like a slow-burning fire, Contra builds on itself and ends in a flicker, leaving you with the warm and wonderful afterglow.
Steel [The Tin Pigeons]
Steel is a quality song for the Boston Marathon because it has some real movement to it. The guitar riff and drums propel this indie-folk song along, and the vocals work with them to create a neatly wrapped, complete track by The Tin Pigeons.
For Now [Batts]
Tanya Batt tests out new sounds with For Now, a single that sheds some of BATTS’ electronic vibe for a slower, more genre-bending sound. For Now still has a few flitters of electronic (re: outer-space) but it’s folkier, with impressive vocals that sustain themselves through long stretches of space.
It Feels The Same Everyday [Yellow House]
Cape Town’s Yellow House closes out this week’s Brillboard with his dreamy and psychedelic single, It Feels The Same Everyday.
