Wikipedia Genre: Synthpop, new wave, chillwave, indie pop, pop rock Home: Born in Dominican Republic, origin listed as NYC, but Wikipedia says now based in LA. Poster Position: 8 Day: Sunday at 2:00 Both Weekends.
Thoughts: The band name had me thinking this was going to be EDM, but its more like a guy who truly and deeply loves 80's synth sounds who wrote a bunch of deeply felt anthems he planned to build up to a bombastic arena sound. Huh, wait, hold that thought, the older albums are still locked in on an 80's sound, but those are more like new wave guitar bands instead of synth - they still have synth, but they also have an 80's guitar vibe, like Elvis Costello or Simple Minds. Here is an example for you - "Shooting Holes," from 2010's Forget, his debut album. 2.1 million streams.
Pretty good. Much better sound than his most recent two albums, although the rest of the album is less good. Like a bad copy of the Cure. It is vaguely danceable and enjoyable in spurts, but I'd say that overall it just tastes like re-warmed leftovers. Also, strangely enough, Wikipedia notes that this song was on a radio station in the video game Grand Theft Auto 5. Very weird song to listen to as you drive around Vice City murdering people. After that album, he released 2012's Confess, and sticks with the same-ish sound - 80's pop dance tunes. His most streamed song is from this disc - "Five Seconds," which boasts 12.8 million streams.
You know what this one makes me think of? What was that band last year that was like a semi-super-group of the guys from No Doubt? Uhhhhh... Dreamboat? Dreamcaptain? Ha! Dreamcar - had to go look it up. I was close in my brain though! This dude reminds me of Dreamcar. What is up with the spoken stuff before the music kicks in? That is not part of the original song. And that video is awesomely weird cheesy violence - says it was based on a book called "Night of the Silver Sun" by this same guy (his real name is George Lewis, Jr.). Huh. OK. After that album, he released Eclipse in 2015 and then Caer in 2018. What is that word? "George Lewis Jr’s latest is named after the Spanish word ‘caer’, meaning “to fall”, a reflection of the constant cycles of rebirth he’s been through both musically and emotionally. He likens it to the feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff, having to “take a fall to get to the next phase of life”. " Mmmkay. I'm betting it was a typo, he had asked them to title it Care, but he messed it up and now just had to make up a reason for the name. Wikipedia says that he intentionally put away his guitar before Eclipse, and you can definitely tell. I'll give you one more, one of the newest songs, all synth bombast and a guest verse from HAIM, called "Saturdays."
The comments love it to death - can't say it sparks up much for me. 3.7 million streams in less than two months, so the rest of the world is liking it much more than me. I was wondering how this band ended up so high on the poster, but I guess the rest of the world is still hungry for 80's synth pop, and I'm just the old dinosaur hoping Helmet would be a late add to the poster. No thanks.
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