With the advent of the fall semester fast approaching, it’s beginning to dawn on me that summer is ending.
It’s a strange time, to be honest, this limbo period between summer classes and what’s to be coming up next, and I’ve got some time to kill as a result. I’ve been racking my brain to find what I personally feel are some of the best songs this summer has given us.
In order to stick to the WKNC creed, I’ll be keeping it limited to songs we’d play with our chests fully puffed out in the station. While there were absolutely some fantastic mainstream releases we were graced with over the summer, I’m going to go out on a limb here and presume that since you’re reading the WKNC blog, you’re already acquainted with the stuff they play on the FM bands above 91.9. We’ll keep it relatively obscure for now. Relatively.
Anyway, let’s get into the tracks.
BUSCANDO – Swaggerboyz
Swaggerboyz, the rap duo hailing out of Argentina, managed to craft an excellent opening track for their newest album, “Perdiendo rasgos adolescentes”. “BUSCANDO”, which translates to searching according to my meager years of high school spanish, elegantly showcases how the typical psychedelic trap / dark plugg output these artists are known for has been honed to a lethal garrote of sound. There’s this hypnotic vocal sample interlaced all throughout the song under the beat that’s akin to 70’s bollywood masala anthems, and it contributes to the rugged threshing nature of the rest of the song in a refreshingly off-kilter manner. The vocals showcase this vulnerability over the perils of being a young rockstar musician, constantly living life through a haze of controlled substances, and it really sticks to your ribs when they bemoan the human condition they partake in. This song feels like taking a sledgehammer to a lockbox, in the best way possible, and if you need something to accompany a melancholy marathon, this is it.
A ? of WHEN – Panda Bear & Sonic Boom
It’s the summer, and if we can’t have new Brian Wilson music (may he rest in peace), new Panda Bear will have to do. I jest, of course, but it’s been long claimed that Panda Bear of Animal Collective fame is the most direct modern descendant of the legendary Brian Wilson lineage, and I can’t help but agree. “A ? of WHEN”, the inscrutably titled title track of the second collab album between Panda Bear and Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, was my highlight from the new record. There’s this vibrant lushness that feels like a museum terrarium, and it puts a real pep in your step when you hear it. The song harkens back to the halcyon era of psychedelic pop, with modern sensibilities interspersed as to simultaneously delineate the passage of time. It’s a retrofitted antique, and that would be contradictory in theory, but the two musicians teeter that tightrope of taste tactfully. “A ? of WHEN” is as summery as summer gets, and if you want to cap off the end of the season with a bang, this is it.
Running To Pain – Kelsey Lu
Now, this one leaves me incredulous. If anything puts the sophisti- in sophistipop, it’s this record. There’s this tender, melancholic sweetness to be found in Running To Pain, just one of the great tracks to be found off of Charlotte resident Kelsey Lu’s So Help Me God. It’s as if Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, and Sega Bodega had an illicit tryst and this is the child born of wedlock. Something that shocked me was that this track was produced by the famed millennial maestro Jack Antonoff, and I didn’t feel any sort of qualms. (Sorry to all the Bleachers fans out there, but he’s never been my guy.) This track just wows me upon each listen and I’d love for it to wow you too.
A Mouthful of Increasingly-Dangerous Substances – Emperor X
Emperor X, Chad Matheny’s singer songwriter with a penchant for the firebrand moderate position, has long been an artist I dearly adore. I’m even the top listener of his by a country mile using the top-secret internal WKNC metrics. I’ve got skin in the game, but nevertheless I can’t help but gush over this track. It’s folksy with some great layered vocals, and it’s all tied together with soothing vocals that appeal to anyone in need of a touch of respite. It’s sardonic, as he usually is, but sometimes acerbidity is the spice of life. I wouldn’t say that this is my favorite Emperor X track, as that’ll likely always be Erica Western Teleport, but it’s worth nothing that song was a 2011 release. For Emperor X to still have it in him 15 years later? It’s just amazing to see.
BOSS TRIX (BENNY’S SONG) – Nirosta Steel
This artist has been the talk of the musically inclined for quite a minute now, and for good reason. My Skyscraper, the Nirosta Steel archival record that we were graced with in the last few months, is worth the hype coming from me. This song I selected, BOSS TRIX (BENNY’S SONG), is a great encapsulation of just why everyone’s been struggling to get enough of him. It’s the beautifully funky rhythm with sultry male and female vocals, all wrapped up in a hypnagogic package that’s pristine. It’s undoubtedly strange, but the amalgamation of the many approaches results in something well worth the repeated listens it warrants. If you like what you hear in this song, make sure to check out the rest of My Skyscraper. After that, you’ll undoubtedly be well served by his 2014 release, Cool Fire. It’s artists like these that prove the relevancy of the traditional music criticism outlets we’ve grown accustomed to, as I do believe that without the Pitchfork stimulus package, he’d be languishing in relative obscurity. While some may enjoy the fact that their favorite artist is unsullied by the boorish masses, I’m of the opinion that art should be seen by all, and the more exposure the more who will glean something beautiful and true from it. If you somehow haven’t heard of this artist or album, this song is as good of a place as any to start.
Final thoughts
It was thoroughly difficult to slim down my favorites of the Summer to just 5 tracks, so I’ll leave some space here to highlight the runner-ups. These are all worth a listen, so if you still need music to check out, here you go.
Flower Man – Toby Fox, Camellia
Euphoria (2020) – Weiland
the bridge – Kelela, PinkPantheress
Nancy Boy – RE:CREATED VERSION – Placebo
Anyway, that’s all from me for now. I really hope y’all get something out of these songs, because they sure as hell got something out of me. At the end of the day, isn’t that what music is all about?