Tenacious D – Simply Jazz

Given Jack Black’s love for scatting, it’s a bit of a mystery why this track didn’t come sooner. Apart from being their normal comedic selfs, the blend with jazz performed by skilled musicians is great. If this is a one off thing, or part of a bigger project remains to be seen. My mind has been blown either way.

Week 15: The Mountain Goats – Foreign Object

After last week’s hiatus, I was very happy to make a new acquaintance in The Mountain Goats and their pro wrestling themed album Beat The Champ. The song writing is inspiring, and the mixture of skilled instrumentation and whimsical lyrics is genius. This particular track features some nice brass that makes things even better, and the line “I personally will stab you in the eye with an foreign object” which could very well be one of the best lines ever written.

Week 12: Mark Knopfler – Skydiver

If you’d have told me when I started this project that I’d feature a track by Mark Knopfler released in 2015, I would not have believed you, and it goes to show how exciting and surprising music can be. This is one of the more up-tempo tracks on the album. It has great lyrics, delivered by Mr. Knopfler’s great voice, and coupled with music that puts me in a great mood every time I hear it.

This song wasn’t available on Spotify at the time of this post, sorry.

Week 11: Death Cab for Cutie – The Ghosts of Beverly Drive

Having been featured before, it’s not a secret I enjoy the music Death Cab for Cutie puts out. This track, which is taken from their upcoming album Kintsugi, is my favorite so far of the singles that they have released leading up to the new album. Apart from what usually makes a track by Death Cab for Cutie great, such as captivating lyrics and thoughtful instrumentation, this has a few interesting quirks added throughout that I find functions as the cherry on top of an already great track.

Week 10: Seven Lions feat. HALIENE – The End

The track this week is a fantastic collaboration between producer Seven Lions and HALIENE who provides some amazing vocals to a very good electro house backdrop. The track is taken from the EP The Throes Of Winter which has some other really great tracks on it, where The End is one of the the more mellow ones. Apart from the vocals, my favorite aspects of this track is the energy and the drive, something I always look for in this type of music.

Week 9: The Prodigy – Wild Frontier

A day late, I know! Last week was crazy, and in the end I just had no time to get this post written. It was an interesting week, either way, and the track this week has the dubious honor of being selected not because it’s amazing but because it’s not as terrible as what this group has produced in the last 15 years. The Prodigy is one of the best electronic acts of all time, but the last few albums have been big disappointments. This track, however, I did find very enjoyable, and the heavy breakbeat is a big part of that.

Week 8: Seryn – Paths

The second album from the folk rock band Seryn, Shadow Shows, has a lot of strong tracks, but this one instantly became my favorite. I had never heard of this band before, and their energy and delivery really grabbed me. This track has a lot of strong points, from the instrumentation with a prominent banjo to the vocals delivered by a male and female singer in great harmony. There are also some less expected layers of sound with I think elevates this track further.