Soak up the unseasonable sunshine with these upbeat springtime jams by young artists.
Modern Baseball – “This Song is Gonna Buy Brendan Lukens a New Pair of Socks”
Native to Philadelphia, Modern Baseball is an American rock band that formed in 2011. From playing small house shows at Drexel University to making it to the 53rd spot on Billboard 200, Modern Baseball is a college band living the dream.
One of three songs from the collaboration released last month, titled “This Song is Gonna Buy Brendan Lukens a New Pair of Socks,” features uptempo electric guitar and punchy drums that perfectly match the tone of lyrics like, “I don’t like you and I don’t have to.” The song opens with a hollow sounding voice but later intensifies when the electric guitar cuts out to reveal a steady drum beat as the singer laments the girl he left behind when he was 18 years old.
In this song, Modern Baseball reflects on the life of the band. With lines like “Get out of Philly and lose my mind a little bit” and “I feel older but I am so sure it’s a lie,” the lyrics tackle a relatable feeling of how hard it can be to move on and embrace the future when you have to leave things behind.
Modern Baseball will perform at the 9:30 Club March 21. Their latest collaboration, “Split,” was released Jan. 20.
Foxygen – “Follow the Leader”
With a reputation for unhinged onstage behavior, the band Foxygen has come far from their high school days when Sam France and Jonathan Rado started the group in Agoura Hills, Calif. Foxygen released their fifth studio album “Hang,” which features up-tempo beats and an impressive 40-plus-piece orchestra.
The first track off the album, “Follow the Leader,” starts strong with electric synth and horns, which leads into a musical-esque verse with a main singer belting out lyrics while a backup singers echo him. Foxygen sings “Follow the leader/and the leader is you,” in hopes of sending the message that you should only follow yourself even though “sometimes everyone wants to be someone else.” The song finishes with sweeping strings, high trumpets and low horns all joining together in an upbeat crescendo before the sound cuts out.
“Hang” joins Foxygen’s repertoire 12 years after they formed in 2005. The band made their way onto Conan O’Brien’s late night show on TBS, bringing 16 musicians with them for the live performance where they performed “Follow the Leader.” Though some critics have called the album unfocused, “Hang” shows Foxygen’s ability to tackle a variety of genres and still have a distinctive musical and lyrical sound.
Foxygen will perform at the 9:30 Club March 22. Their latest album “Hang” was released Jan. 20.
SOHN- “Hard Liquor”
Christopher Michael Taylor originally hit the music scene under the name Trouble Over Tokyo with three other alternative rock musicians to form a four-piece band. After three successful albums with the group, Taylor recreated himself and invented his solo act SOHN. Since 2012, SOHN has released his second studio album and many singles via SoundCloud.
“Hard Liquor,” the first track off SOHN’s new album “Rennen,” features Taylor’s haunting voice standing out from a pulsing beat and percussion. Taylor’s voice is joined with other synchronized voices and as the chorus ends, the robotic, static sound of a recording being cut out gives “Hard Liquor” an urgent electric feel.
Throughout the song, SOHN repeats “Just give her that hard liquor/ and she’ll be okay,” explaining that the girl in the song doesn’t need to rely on anything, not even him, because she has hard liquor “maybe every day.”
Sohn will perform at the 9:30 Club March 24. His latest album, “Rennen” was released Jan. 13.
