Brandon Flowers (2026)

One Liner: The Killers
Wikipedia Genre: alternative rock, new wave, heartland rock, synth-pop
Home: Vegas

Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 4
Day: ???
Weekend One Only.

[location].

Thoughts:  I know I have written about this before, not sure if it was because of Eddie Vedder, or Marcus Mumford, or Jim James, or The Revivalists guy, but I just generally don't care for a lead singer doing a solo thing.  Especially if it was a band that I really like.  The Killers are really just Brandon Flowers.  And yes, there are other members (I couldn't tell you any of their names), but for all I know they are also playing the backing music on these tunes.  I can see if the band breaks up, and David Byrne keeps making music because the Talking Heads are dead.  But where the original band is still out there and sounds just like what you are doing on your solo thing, what are we doing?

Anyway, he was last here by himself in 2015, but he has been here with the Killers 73 times since then.  His solo stuff is disappointingly bland pop rock.  Truly a bummer to me.  The Killers' Hot Fuss was a freaking great album, coming out of left field with retro-80's pop synth-rock flourishes and really fun songs.  A lot of people crapped on their next album, Sam's Town, but I thought it was pretty good too, even if not as good as the debut.  So, I'd love to imagine that his solo stuff would be like the classic Killers.

Well, this ain't Hot Fuss.  Two albums - 2010's Flamingo and 2015's The Desired Effect.  Glad ACL was able to snag him when I'm sure the fervor to have someone here who hasn't published music in over a decade was probably fierce.  Here is the most popular tune overall on Spotify, which is from that 2010 album, called "Crossfire."  83.3 million streams.

I mean, not terrible, its just super generic sounding soft rock.  The album opener, "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" is a sweeping love-song-to / warning-about Las Vegas.  "Didn't nobody tell you, the house will always win!"  Not an especially good album.  I also listened to the top ten most popular tunes on Spotify a few times, and honestly, the best are the live covers.  But still not nearly as good as the original Killers tunes.  Here is the first single from the "new" album, "Lonely Town."  18.6 million.

Oh man.  Auto Tune in the house?  Check.  Backup choir?  Yup.  Synth blips to hope that people remember the Killers?  Of course.  Honestly, not a terrible song, but also not something that I'll ever need to hear again.  I have to say the second disc is better than that older album.  It still isn't something I'd ever buy, or probably even listen to again, but it has some okay songs on there.  "Can't Deny My Love" is actually pretty snappy.  But some of these other songs are soft rock schmaltz.  Maybe I'd go see him, but I doubt it.

Haute & Freddy

One Liner: Overly theatrical 80's synth pop by veteran songwriters
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but I will go with 80's synth pop
Home: unclear

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 16
Day: Sunday
Weekend One Only.

American Express Stage at 2:30

Thoughts:  I made myself laugh out loud just now by trying to say this band name out loud like the Ahmed character in Beverly Hills Cop.  I'm a simple man.

Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp wrote hits for Britney Spears and Katy Perry, says Rolling Stone.  The RS website is unreadable - in part because it is behind a paywall, but also because of the number of popup ads and garbage floating around there.  And yes, I cannot install a pop-up ad blocker at work so I have popup ads like a boomer.  She also co-wrote a song for Kylie Minogue, one for Bebe Rexha, and one for Lady A.  He co-wrote songs for Shenseea, Britney, Bebe Rexha, Taevyon, and others.  This project finds the two of them together, but it appears to just be Buzz singing over the top of synth pop.  Definitely 80's music sound, which they have called "runaway carnie" theatrical pop.  Weird that the band name has nothing to do with their names.

Only four songs, so not just a ton to judge from so far.  And very few streams for really any of them, so it is interesting that they are up here on the poster over more established acts.  I guess they are in to being freaky so that gets them some cred.  I'll give you the second-most streamed song, just because the article I just read said that this video will cause me to clutch my pearls.  "Scantily Clad" with 1.7 million streams.

Yes, very theatrical for sure.  As an ex-theater kid myself, I can see where we are going with this, but at no time did I feel the need to clutch a pearl.  Cringe a little, yes.  But actually find something offensive or over the line?  Nah.  I think I am good without seeing them, even though major theatrics may be fun for an hour at the festival.

DJO (2025)

One Liner: One of the Stranger Things actors making good psych and indie rock.

Wikipedia Genre:  neo-psychedelia, indie rock, psychedelic rock, synth-pop
Home: L.A. (born in Massachusetts, college in Chicago, but he's bound to live in L.A. now, right?)

Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 2
Both Weekends.  

Saturday.

Ladybird Stage at 7:30

Thoughts:  He was supposed to come in 2022, but he actually bailed at the last minute.  On Insta, he shared a cryptic message saying that an unfortunate last minute scheduling conflict is causing him to miss.  But it was a month and a half prior to the Fest.  What is last minute?  You've got a month and a half to get it fixed!  But, since then, he has grown significantly in popularity.

Before I understood who this was, I was slightly confused.  Here was my digging into that in 2022... Always fun to have someone like this on the poster, where I get to find out that Djo is a Portugese futsal player, DJO is a manufacturer of medical devices (headquartered in Lewisville, Texas!), DJO High is Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School (high school of Eric Metcalf!), Djo d'Eloy is a Cape Verdean singer (whose greatest song is "Arriola"!), Djo Mpeko is a footballer (a defender for the Girabola!), Djo Tunda Wa Munga is a film director (winner of the 2011 MTV Music Awards for Best African Movie!), AND HE IS ALSO THE OLDER BROTHER IN STRANGER THINGS!?!?!

Of all the things I did not expect to happen today, way way way high on the list would be to click on the listing for Djo and see that it is the stage name for Joe Keery's music career, when he is not starring as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things or the movie Free Guy or the fifth season of Fargo (as a super psycho Sheriff Deputy).  Fascinating.  He went to DePaul University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting.  In his musical career, he apparently started out by releasing music under the name Cool Cool Cool, but then became a guitarist for a band called Post Animal for a few albums.  According to one interview I read, he said that the fame from Stranger Things made that weird because the rest of the band didn't want to just be the "guy from Stranger Things" band - but they've stayed friends and he's gotten their help on making his solo album.  In 2019, he started releasing music under the Djo name.

And you know what?  It's actually pretty solid!  Kinda low key indie psych rock.  Think super basic Tame Impala.  One song, which I have heard in the interim on the radio a good bit, is for sure the megahit with 1.58 BILLION streams.  Damn.  "End of Beginning."

Good, chill, nugget for me.  I dig the groove.  Part of me wanted to come to this post with the angle of whether or not he would have gotten this far on the ACL poster if he wasn't the Stranger Things guy.  Like, would he have separated himself from the other indie rock out there without that slice of pop culture notoriety?  Almost like a nepo-baby thing, but instead of a famous mom, being cast on a wildly popular show.  But after churning through these songs for a day, this is legitimate.  I dig it.

Well, then I have to say that the 2020 single "Keep Your Head Up" is not my favorite.  Too much falsetto, too much saxophone, too much squelchy synths.  The stuff from the 2019 album Twenty Twenty is much better.  The second most streamed tune from that album, called "Roddy," has 102.4 million streams.

Pretty good tune - nothing particularly stands out in there, but good guitar and vocals and a nice little groove.  The synth voice thing in the middle, straight out of Ferris Bueller, is a little weird, but otherwise it is a solid tune.  "Chateau (Feel Alright)" is the other big song, with 142.9 million streams and a similarly woozy rock sound.

Nice chill tune.  Brings me some Beck vibes.  "Mutual Future" has some Strokes vibes, but also some jam band guitarage near the end.  "BNBG," with its ridiculous outro of repeatedly saying "babygirl," is a massively cringe inducing moment.  "Personal Lies" kicks in with a pop rock swagger, but then devolves into a spacey meander.  I like it.

After that disc, you get 2022's DECIDE, which includes that mega-hit posted up above.  Nothing else on there comes anywhere close to that level of excitement.  The top song otherwise has 33 million streams.  Finally, you get 2025's The Crux, which is pretty good as well.  The title song has a Beatles piano ballad vibe to it.  The bigger song is "Basic Being Basic," but I like "Delete Ya" much better.  20.4 million streams.

Again, nice groove to go with a catchy tune.  Sort of a The Cars vibe in there to my ear.

I'm in.  A little shocked at that decision with where my head was pointed when I started this, but I like it.

Magdalena Bay (2025)

One Liner:  More synth pop that loves the 80's and the Eilish bedroom pop sound.

Wikipedia Genre:  Synth pop, electropop, indie pop, alt-pop
Home: Miami to L.A.

Poster Position: 6
Both Weekends.
Saturday.

Ladybird Stage at 5:30.

Thoughts:  Last here in 2022, and I was not a fan in my preview.  But they went from the 14th line back then to the 6th line now, so I apparently don't know what I am talking about.

Dang.  I hadn't heard any Billie Eilish copies in a few weeks, was kind of hoping I was done with the whispery, dark, bedroom pop thing.  This is an electronic duo from Miami who headed west for L.A. to make their mark.  Wikipedia says they formed in 2016 while the two members were in college.  They had originally met while in a music class in high school in Miami, where they had a band called Tabula Rasa that did prog rock.  That sounds much more enjoyable than this.  Wikipedia also mentions: "The group is not named after the bay in Mexico, but an administrator at Lewin's former job."  Freaking weird.  His administrator was named Magdalena Bay?  Ah, nope, but close.  Maggie Bay.

Their first album was 2021's Mercurial World.  But their only big single isn't on there - it was on an earlier EP called A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling.  "Killshot" has 113.1 (up from 20.6 in 2022) million streams and some bad remixes.

You heard that Eilish thing there?  Whispery?  Check.  Dark?  Check.  Could have been made on a laptop while these two were supposed to be getting homeschooled by their mom?  Check.

Okay, it isn't all dark pop stuff, it also does just general pop stuff.  Generic stuff.  The top track from their 2021 album is called "Secrets (Your Fire)"  15.5 (up from 4.7) million.

Way too sticky sweet and breathy for my tastes.  The ridiculous goofiness of the video is kinda amazing though.  But I don't love the song.  

They released a new album in 2024 called Imaginal Disk.  Nothing nearly as popular as that "Killshot" song from their early days, but they got one track with 37.1 million streams.  "Image" is still kind of breathy and annoying to me.

You, like those weird aliens on the Home Shopping Network, would dance to it.  But this doesn't change my opinion on them from before.  I wouldn't go watch this.  To my ear, the rest of these songs are in this same vein and none of in interests me very much.

Yoke Lore

One Liner:  Unremarkable indie synth pop by a former member of Walk the Moon

Wikipedia Genre:  indie rock, indie folk

Home: New York

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 13
Both Weekends.
Saturday.

Miller Lite Stage at 1:30.

Thoughts:  I need to know how to pronounce this one.  I sort of want it to be pronounced like the thing that two oxen would get attached to.  Funny thing, is it is a made-up moniker, not a name like one might expect.  The guy's real name is Adrian Galvin, and he was once a part of Walk the Moon ("Shut up and Dance" and whatnot).  After a few hours, I can say that this is not my jam.  Also, I found a video, and it is in fact pronounced like "thing you attach to oxen" and "collection of stories about the history of something."

Our buddy Adrian is from Katonah, New York, and his brother is actor Noah Galvin, who I am pretty sure I saw play Evan Hansen in Dead Evan Hansen on Broadway.  He was also in movies Booksmart and Theater Camp, a TV show called The Real O'neals, and another called The Good Doctor.  But this is not that guy, this is that guy's brother.  Adrian attended Kenyon College in Ohio, where he began writing songs and playing drums for Walk the Moon.  He went solo and released his first EP in 2016, performing at SXSW and touring the WORLD!

Four or six EPs from 2016 until his one and only album release in 2023.  Toward a Never Ending New Beginning is quite a title.  None of the songs on that disc really hit - most are under 200k streams.  But he absolutely struck gold on one song - from 2017's Goodpain EP - called "Beige."  286.8 million streams.  No way this was not a TikTok thing.

I think it is the vocal tone that puts me off on him.  Slightly whiney.  Because otherwise, I could use more banjo music in my life.  Sounds like a Jack Antonoff-produced tune with grandiose 80's synths thrumming in the background.  He also has a song on Spotify called "Beige (unburdened)," which again, sounds like  TikTok thing where the children can do their unburdened dance only to that version of the song.  "Seeds" was a 2021 single that didn't pop back up on the album, but has 34.6 million streams.

I stand by my Jack Antonoff comment.  The whining feels less pronounced, I don't mind that one as much.  I can't think of who this guy reminds me of, maybe like Foster the People guy?  Mt. Joy?  And now after listening more I am less unhappy with it overall, but it certainly is not where I aim my musical tastes most of the time.  Doubt I'd do it.

LVVRS

One Liner:  80's synth pop like Adam Levine come again.

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia - synth pop and Maroon 5 cosplay

Home: Lafayette, LA

Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 24
Weekend One Only
Friday.

BMI Stage at 1:30

Thoughts:  My initial thought is Panic at the Disco! and that may stay true.  They claim inspiration from Maroon 5 (yuck), INXS (hell yeah), T. Rex (sure), and the 1975 (meh), but everytime I see the name my brains wants it to stand for Livers, not Lovers.

From Lafayette, Louisiana.  Five guys in the band.  Lots of drums and synths, and a little too much effects on the voice.  Their songs have been featured in Netflix's Love is Blind, Netflix's The Ultimatum, and the Zac Efron film Iron Claw.  Which is weird.  But I guess that movie was a historical artifact, so maybe not so weird.

I have been listening for a while now, and while it is not terribly offensive or anything, it definitely is under my skin right now.  I think Maroon 5 is an apt comparison.  So, if that is your jam, then give this a chance.  If you never need to hear those songs again, then let's get this over with.

No albums since their 2018 initial single.  One 5 song 2024 EP called Midnight Fantasy that gathered up some singles from the years before that.  The top song is the last on that EP, "Iconic" with 566k streams.

You hear that Panic! At The Disco 80's synth rock ripoff right there?  I'm sure this would be very fun to hear in a big crowd of people jumping and dancing and partying down.  Only one other tune in their catalog breaks the 100k streams level.  "Dancing With a Broken Heart" fires up 168k streams.

Here's your taste of Maroon 5/Adam Levine action.  Again, this is fine.  Completely unoffensive.  But also not interesting to me at all.  If this is your jam, I hope you love the show!

Moody Joody

One Liner:  A little HAIM, a little recent Taylor Swift, in synth pop gals

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, but this is pop, synth pop

Home: Nashville

Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 21
Weekend One Only.
Friday.

BMI Stage at 5:00.

Thoughts: This totally reminds me of HAIM.  Some of the songs also crib from the Taylor Swift sound on her recent albums, all breathy vocals and tired Jack Antonoff beats.  "The Heat" is a perfect example of that.  This is two ladies - Kaitie Forbes and Kayla Hall - with a male producer named Andrew Pacheco.

The copy in this one bio is painful: "Moody Joody does not fit in any boring box — nor would they want to. Equal parts swoony, sexy, and, well, moody, the Nashville trio is all about “owning your humanness.”  "swoony, sexy, and moody" is a hard no for me, dawg.  Which is unfortunate, because I am not disliking the sound of the actual tunes.  That same bio also mentions that they were originally on a mission to be "a girl Bleachers," so there you go with the Antonoff thing I am hearing.  They also have one of those annoying schticks where every album or single has a photo on the front with their eyes scratched out.  Disclosure in 2005-ass decision.

"The Heat" was their initial single in 2020, and it is still one of their top streamers at 1.9 million streams.

You hear that Taylor sound?  Very much sounds like the recent stuff that I don't love from Ms. Swift. Still no real album for them, the closest is a 2024 EP called Dream Girl.  The top song on that one is the top streamer overall with 2.9 million streams.  "Velvet Connection."

 

There's that HAIM sound with the 80's synths and harmonies over the top.  Significantly too much shrugging in that video.  yes, I can see that you are both very pretty.  Stop shrugging so much.

Yeah, I don't hate this.  But I definitely don't just love it either.  They are going to get one of those terrible early Friday slots, so I likely don't have to worry about it anyway!

St. Lucia (2024)

One Liner:  80's synth pop renaissance with a few good songs and then <sound of Pac Man dying>

Wikipedia Genre: Indie electronic, synthpop, new wave, electropop

Home: South Africa to Liverpool to Brooklyn to Germany

Poster Position: Late Addition
Weekend Two Only.
Friday at 5:30.

IHG Stage.

Thoughts:  Last here in 2016, and it is an interesting thing.  Eight years later, my brain still confused them with a different band called Saint Motel who are significantly better.

Saint Lucia is an island in the eastern Caribbean that was originally colonized/taken by the French, and then England took control.  Those fools fought 14 different wars to switch control of the island over the years, with England the final victor, until it became independent in 1979.

Here is what I said in 2016: "I had predicted these guys, based on their inclusion in the lineups for two of the other major festivals.  At the time, I said that I thought they were another band (I think I was thinking of Saint Motel) but said that because they are electronic we are likely destined to have them.  And here we are.  This is more of that 80's retro synth pop, and while I want to dislike it out of hand, I've actually really enjoyed some of these songs.  They remind me of the radio stations on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.  Oh no, now I got to "Love Somebody" and this is why I wanted to dislike this band out of hand.  Blurg.  But, let's stick to the good stuff here so that you can get suckered into going to see them live!"

The band itself appears to actually just be one dude.  Jean-Philip Grobler is South African by birth but Wikipedia claims both that he is based in Konstanz, Germany and that his origin is Brooklyn, NY.  Not sure how to reconcile all of that.  Apparently his stage name is after a town in South Africa, not the island nation.  He started making music when he was 12, inspired by 80's acts like Michael Jackson, Sting, and Phil Collins.  Checks out.  He moved from South Africa to Liverpool at age 19 to study music at university, and after three years he moved to Brooklyn.  He got to work with like-minded acts like Passion Pit and Foster the People, as he was getting his own stuff going.  In 2021, he moved to Germany to be closer to his wife's family.  I guess that is where Wikipedia gets it all.  My bad.

Four albums (2012's When the Night, 2016's Matter, 2018's Hyperion, and 2022's Utopia) along with some EPs and a pile of singles.  The most popular track on Spotify is "Dancing on Glass," and it hammers the sunshine synths all the way to the promised land.  76.5 million streams.

This one is from that 2016 album - I definitely recognize it, although I am not sure if that is from listening to this band in 2016 or because they are getting radio play.  I really like that.  Then the second-most streamed is from the debut album and is called "Elevate."  75 million streams.

Just try to be crabby when that song is playing.  Just try!  You, over there stalking this blog in your black trenchcoat and Panic! at the Disco-brand eyeliner, give in!  You know this made you want to give a kiss to Molly Ringwald and take one of her diamond earrings from her!  You know it!   

"All Eyes on You," also from that debut album is interesting here in 2024. Here, listen to it.  40.1 million streams.  What do you hear?

I hear all three of the recent Taylor Swift albums and the Jack Antonoff production thing of quiet synth production and bare, confessional vocals soaring over the top.  This absolutely sounds like something cribbed to create the TayTay monster.  Stinking Jack Antonoff.  

Anyway, those two first two singles are really very good.  Hard to deny the soft caress they give to my pleasure centers and the undeniable danceability.  But, I've got to say that a foray through the entire catalog leaves me less enamored with the guy.  The new albums have very low stream counts - 2.7 million for the top track from the newest disc.  Not terrible music by any stretch of the imagination, just unmemorable synth pop that sails along under the ears' radar until something else comes on.  That top song is called "Touch."  I'll give it to you to get a feel for what I mean.

Like I have said before, didn't we all move on from this music on purpose a long time ago?  Pretty sure Hair Metal won, and then Grunge won, and then Rap won, and now everything is so fractured that people thing a generic Talk Talk redux song is new and exciting.  This feels like a guy ACL could call in for a favor when they needed a last minute schedule filler after Catfish and Tyla dropped out on them.

Empress Of

One Liner:  EDM and Spanglish pop time

Wikipedia Genre:  Dream pop, alternative R&B, synth-pop, electronica, experimental

Home: L.A.

Poster Position: Recent addition
Both Weekends.
Sunday at 1:15.

AmEx Stage.

Thoughts:  Lorely Rodriguez has a surprisingly robust Wikipedia page, where most of the artists who get the noon spot on the poster will have nothing written about them (or very little).  She is originally from L.A., and received a degree in sound engineering from Berklee College of Music (which sounds so freaking cool - to go learn the real tools and tricks of the trade at a place like that, as your college experience!).  After that, she moved to New York and was in a band called Celestial Shore.  Strangely, I reviewed a Celestial Shore album years ago:

"Celestial Shore - Enter Ghost.  Interesting album.  I have listened to it a number of times, and just can't decide if I like it or not.  As I listen, it sounds good, kind of falsetto indie pop with classic rock/pop harmonies and organs and a 90's alternative overlay.  The thing is, when I'm done listening to it, nothing at all sticks in my mind.  It just melts right out of my brain as soon as the last note plays.

The start of this one sounds like it is an old Pixies B-Side you are hearing for the first time, but then the singing is entirely different.  "I Hide" is kind of cool too.  I like it well enough, but I just don't expect that I'll keep it around for good."

Her stage name is from a tarot card reading she did where the first card pulled was an Empress card.  In addition to the robust Wikipedia page, her discography is likewise much larger than expected.  Her first single was in 2012, and she has released four albums and a bunch of other stuff since.  Her top streamer features Khalid, so that seems unfair.  In fact, a lot of her songs have other folks on them.  She also does a lot of Spanish-language action.  But an early hit was "How Do You Do It," with 8.2 million streams and a spot on her 2015 debut album Me.

Feels weird to have a straight-up dance/electro thing happening at 1 on a Sunday - that feels like the stuff that should be later in the night, because otherwise you're going to have an artist trying to get the people hype to dance and whatnot when there are like 40 sweaty people kinda nodding their heads in a dusty field.  2018's Us features the next big track with "When I'm With Him," with 14.7 million streams.

Way poppier there, and split the lyrics up with English and Spanish.  Not sure, but I think I like the electronic dance music better than the pop.  After that, none of her songs that don't involve someone else get any higher on stream count.  I doubt I'll make it over to this one.

Tove Lo (2023)

One Liner: That "Stay High All The Time" electropop girl
Wikipedia Genre: Electropop, Synth-Pop, Dance Pop, Indie Pop
Home: Stockholm, Sweden

Poster Position: 1 (4)
Slot: Saturday at 7pm

Thoughts:  Last played here in 2017.  I reviewed her 2014 debut album Queen of the Clouds years ago and liked parts, but found the album overall pretty forgettable.  I'm going to steal a part of that old review to mention how disturbing her big hit is.

"Habits" is kind of disturbing - its a song about getting high all the time to keep from missing her honey, she's generally singing about doing sad and gross things because she's alone, including: "Pick up daddies at the playground, how I spend my day time, loosen up their frown, make 'em feel alive, make it fast and greasy, I'm numb and way too easy, you're gone and I got to stay High, all the time, to keep you off my mind."  Wow.  And the video is also a super depressing trip through her sad party time life.

Those lyrics are still disturbingly arousing to me.  Oh wait, did I say arousing?  I mean, uhhh...  The song is now up to almost 756.4 million streams on Spotify (over a billion if you add up the original and the remix) (up from 475 million in 2017, when combining the original and remix).  Here is the video, with 438 million views on its own.

So depressing and dark!  But don't it just make you wanna dance!  "Talking Body" is also a big hit from that same album - 560.6 million streams.  And a real deal pop banger.

Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson is her real name, and she's from Sweden.  Rolling Stone called her "Sweden's darkest pop export" and Wikipedia says that she is known for her "raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music."  She was in a band for a bit called Tremblebee, but then went solo working with some major producers like Max Martin and Shellback.  her stage name is based upon a nickname from her godmother - although the story is confusing since "Tove" is in her name, but according to Wikipedia, there was a lynx at the local zoo named Tove that she "totally fell in love with," and a singular lynx in Swedish is a "Lo."  So, Tove Lo.  She is also friends with the group Icona Pop, and lived with them for a while.

Since that 2014 album, she more recently put out the unfortunately named Lady Wood in 2016.  The hit from that album is "Cool Girl," which clocks in at 377.4 million streams.

Nope.  That is terrible.  "Imma cool girl.  Imma imma cool girl.  Ice cold, I roll my eyes at you boy." This is like some Avril Lavigne in 2004 crap here, just with electro beats instead of rawkin' sk8tr guitars.  Ugh.  If that song stays in my mind (which it was likely scientifically created to do) I am going to be pissed.  The next album was the unfortunately named 2017's BLUE LIPS (lady wood phase II).  I gave it a shot, and it likewise is not good.  Pop dance stuff with super repetitive choruses (chori?  chorusi?).  No thanks.  The fact that this is poster line 4 means that I am either out of touch with the world or the poster maker was high all the time and boning old greasy dudes in playgrounds.

After that, she released 2019's Sunshine Kitty and 2022's Dirt Femme.  Some of those tracks have numbers, like 70 million and stuff, but nothing like the big hits from the debut album.  The biggest from the new album is "No One Dies From Love" at 65 million streams.

Slow to build up that one, but after the first chorus, it definitely kicks in.  I am not going to deny that her stuff is catchy and danceable and exciting.  Just super not the normal type of tunes that I gravitate towards.

Bummer for the big fans of this type of music, that Bob Moses is at the same time.  Two electronica people at the same time is a tough draw.  I'll be over there squeezing up close to the Foo's stage, so y'all have fun with this one.

Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul

One Liner:  Wacky electronica with clever and insightful lyrics

Wikipedia Genre:  Electronica, avant-pop, R&B, World, Experimental

Home: Belgium

Poster Position: 3 (16)  (kind of a high poster position for a 3:15 on Sunday artist)
Weekend One Only.
Sunday at 3:15

Thoughts:  Adigery is a Belgian musician who is also known as WWWater.  The desciption of things about her on Wikipedia just confused me.  "She is of Martinican and Guadeloupean descent. Her family background is Nigerian Yoruban via the Martinique slave trade. Adigéry attended college in Hasselt, where she studied music.  In 2016, Adigéry contributed vocals to "The Best Thing" a song on the 2016 Belgica film soundtrack that was scored by David and Stephen Dewaele, aka Soulwax or 2ManyDJs."  So many words with so many unknown meanings.

Her original releases were on her own, but since 2017 she has been working with Bolis Pupul, a human being whose name I apparently cannot spell on the first try.  He is the producer, and is apparently also from Belgium.  He apparently draws very realistic penises, and invited folks to DM him for an example.  Nope.  In one interview, he speaks out against racist atrocities that Leopold II did in the Congo during colonialization.  I guess old Leo was a Belgian bad guy, I've never heard of him.  Pupul is also the child of someone else I have never heard of, a "well-known Belgian musician, comedian and cartoonist known as Kamagurka."

"HAHA" is freaking awesome.  So weird, and yet I can't help but grin as I listen to it.  Some of the lyrics are confusing, in that they are in French (or apparently also Creole?) and so I don't know what is happening.  "Blenda" is clever - "go back to your country where you belong, Siri can you tell me where I belong?"  Like, an imminently danceable song, and yet it is about being xenophobic.  Not a normal thing, but entertaining.  The top track is from their 2022 album Topical Dancer, called "Ceci n'est pas un cliche," with 3.4 million streams.

Translated, the title means this is not a cliche, and then the lyrics of the song recount every cliche in pop music - "you're cold as ice" or "hey Mr. DJ" or "You're my baby tonight, I wanna hold you real tight."  These dudes are clever for sure.  The music itself is a generic EDM beat that could have been an LCD Soundsystem jab, which maybe is the point, the same way that the lyrics are.  In fact, I hear LCD on several of these songs.  I'mma give you "HAHA" as well, just because I like it so much.  2.4 million streams.

Freaking weird, man!  But also, catchy despite being a really basic-seeming beat!  Probabloy not going to go see this, but I could see it being a jam in the Tito's Tent!

M83 (2023)

One Liner: Atmospheric electro and dance, with that one big "Midnight City" song.

Wikipedia Genre: synth-pop, shoegaze, dream pop, post-rock, ambient, electronic rock

Home: Antibes, France

Poster Position: Level 2 (6) 
Weekend Two Only.

Sunday.

Thoughts:  They were last at the Festival in 2016, although I don't think I saw the set.

I have a great memory of a Girl Talk show years ago, where he mixed in "Midnight City" as the fruition of a build-up and drop, and it worked so freaking well I levitated.  Girl Talk was amazing.  I wish that guy still did festival sets and was just plugged into a slot at every ACL.  You know "Midnight City," it is far and away the biggest hit from this dude.  2011 song still getting airplay today.

Creepy ass video.  But the song has 879.6 million streams on Spotify (!!!), so it is up there in the streaming stratosphere.  The band is a French guy named Anthony Gonzalez (and used to also include another French guy named Nicolas Fromageau, who has the best French last name I've heard in the last ten minutes.  That name sounds like a beret-wearing stinky-cheese salesman if I've ever heard one.)

That song is from 2011's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, which is pretty cool for being kind of dreamy atmospheric synth pop mixed with dance tracks.  It is a kind of schizo album, in that many tracks are super chill and relaxing ("Splendor," for example) and then others get you all hyped up to jam out ("Ok Pal," for example).  It is a double-disc, for some reason, and so he could have left a song or three off of it, but it has a cool sound.  The other hit from the album, and his second most listened-to track on Spotify, is "Wait," which was used to high comedy in some commercial I saw where two kids were about to kiss.  Ah yes, this one.  310.5 million streams for the actual song.

I like that commercial.  Like most, I'd never heard of the band until this 2011 album, but it looks like they've been making music for a while.  2008's Saturdays = Youth, 2007's Digital Shades Vol. 1, 2005's Before the Dawn Heals Us, 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, and 2001's M83.  Wikipedia shows that Saturdays = Youth was a breakout album for them, but I'm not feeling it much either.  It isn't bad, just kind of sounds like Cure b-sides covered by a stinky cheese purveyor.

The group is named after the galaxy M83, not the Soviet M-class submarine, the smoke grenade, the US copy of the German Butterfly bomb used in WW2, or the Michigan highway, all of which also share that name.

After those, 2014's You and the Night is an instrumental album that was apparently the soundtrack for a movie called Les Rencontres d'après minuit, which has the following plot, according to Wikipedia.  "Around midnight, a young couple and their transvestite maid prepare for an orgy. Their guests will be The Slut, The Teen, The Stud and The Star.  As each guest arrives they tell their story, most of them too fantastical to believe. Once the guests have shared their stories the hosts tell their story of immortality and a love that crosses death.  As the orgy begins fantasy and reality combine until the group is both watcher of and participant in their own liaisons."  Mmmmkay.  The soundtrack is fine, just atmospheric synth twiddling.

The next album, 2016's Junk, just does very little for me. Super 80's referential, with kind of a winking lean on outdated sounds in the midst of the synths and machine noises.  I just don't care for it.  I played "Do it, Try It" when I reviewed the album, so here is the other popular tune from this album, called "Go! (feat. Mai Lan)"

Pretty snappy little tune and all, I just still don't care about hearing it anymore.  In 2019, they released another album soundtrack, this one for something called Knife & Heart, which sounds like a lovely film.  The first line of the Wikipedia Plot is thus: "A young man dances in a nightclub. He spots a man wearing a leather mask and goes with him to a room to have sex. A black bird flies past him as he follows the masked man, who later ties him to a bed and kills him with a dildo containing a concealed, retractable blade."  Hoo boy.  After that you get 2019's DSVII and then 2023's Fantasy.  Neither of those albums boast much in the way of big songs - only one song cracks 4 million streams on either.  This is "Oceans Niagra," from that 2023 album.

That one gives me a little hope that this show wouldn't just be boring atmospherics and then "Midnight City."  It still isn't an amazing song or anything, but at least it isn't that soundtrack for the dildo murder movie.

So then where do I stand on seeing this one play live?  Hearing good things from people I trust about music makes me think that I should see the live show and experience the action in person.  Even if I know I won't listen to this music otherwise at home, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and go jam out in the crowd.  We'll see how the schedule shakes out.

Katzu Oso

One Liner: Bedroom-synth pop in both English and Spanish that I already can't remember and it is currently playing right now as I write this.

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but bedroom synth pop
Home:  L.A.

Poster Position: 30 (almost the bottom of the poster)
Weekend One Only. Saturday.

Thoughts: The stage name of Paul Hernandez, from L.A., this is some synth-y little dance pop stuff that sounds bedroom made.  He's shared stages with Cuco and Omar Apollo (checks out - bilingual bedroom pop makers unite!), but there really isn't a ton available about the dude online.  First song is from 2017, and after that he has two albums and one EP - 2018's Pastel , 2020's Colour, and 2022's Tmi (and the "i" there has a little accent over it).  Not a ton of streams for most songs, but a few crack a million.  The top track is a single that then made it onto the 2020 EP - "kiss u better" with 5.6 million streams.

Man, that house makes me feel claustrophobic.  I need some of those items on that table or on the shelves taken to Goodwill immediately.  His little synth thing is dope though.  Meh song - it is cute and sweet, but also feels super generic.  Like you know he made it at home by messing with some software for hours, and then wrote some generic love lyrics over the top.  (that sounds mean, he's way better than I could be, I just don't notice anything all that memorable or special here).

The top song from his new album has 405k streams, "Amor Estrano"

Oooh, he got to go outside for that one!  And he got some SWEET effects to add to the video!  That car blowing up was SICK!  He kind of looks like that actor who sticks his jaw out and reminds me of Sly Stallone.  Uh, Milo Ventimiglia!  There we go!  Like with the other Spanish-language artists on the poster, I have no clue what he is going on about, so all I am left with is a relatively lame little synth and guitar ditty.  Don't care for it.

No need to see this guy do it live.  I hope he has good luck with those mean people who want his girlfriend back.

Lido Pimienta

One Liner: Spanish language critical darling doing cumbia art-pop

Wikipedia Genre: Synthpop, Latin-American music, Art pop, Cumbia, Bullerengue
Home: Toronto (by way of Columbia)

Poster Position: 19
Both Weekends.  Saturday.

Thoughts:  I heard one of her albums a few years back because NPR named 2020's Miss Columbia as their #3 album of the year for 2020.  Which is a little whack - the top song now has 6 million streams.  I know that the best music doesn't necessarily get all of the streams (see Drake's dumb streaming counts), but at the same time you aren't the third best album of the year if people don't care to listen to you.

Her stage name is her real name, and she is Columbian/Canadian.  She won the Polaris Prize (goes to the best full-length Canadian album each year) in 2017 for La Papessa.  She was born in Columbia, but then immigrated to Canada.  She is currently based in Toronto.  Somehow, the Globe and Mail (a Canadian newspaper published in multiple cities) called her the future of Canadian rock and roll.  This is very distinctly NOT rock and roll.

But maybe this is: "There was controversy surrounding her performance at the Halifax Pop Explosion music festival on October 19, 2017. Pimienta, as she often does during her concerts, invited the "brown girls to the front" and asked that white people move back. Some white audience members saw the request as racist, and a white volunteer photographer refused to move from her spot near the stage. When the photographer refused to move after repeated requests, Pimienta said, "you're cutting into my set time and you're disrespecting these women, and I don't have time for this". The photographer was removed from the show and the festival organizers later apologized to Pimienta, saying they would increase "anti-oppression and anti-racism training"."  WTF man.  If I was close to the stage, because I'd been saving my spot for the Chili Peppers all day and peeing in bottles and achieving peak heatstroke, I'd be annoyed if she made me move back for my skin color.

The top track is from Miss Columbia, and is called "Nada."  I actually know what that means!  6.2 million streams.

Her voice is fantastic.  I just wish I knew what she was talking about.  Not feeling anything special on that track.  But, her voice, and the steel drums, on "Te Queria" sound freaking amazing.  Just a sweet vibe on that tune.  All of her more recent releases have been with other people, so I'll go back to the old school to give you one of those old songs from the first album.  This is "La Capacidad," with 538k streams.

Yeah, still a dope voice.  Almost like a freaky Bjork thing going on there.  But not my jam as far as the tunes go.

Urban Heat

One Liner: Local group making dark synth pop for the goth kids who want more 80's

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but dark synth pop

Home: Austin!

Poster Position: 28
Weekend Two Only.  Sunday.

Thoughts:  This one just drew a huge sigh out of me.  More synth-heavy, drum machine, 80's-ish whining?  WHY?  LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

Wikipedia believes that I wanted to learn about Urban Heat Island, which is a phenomenon by which the area inside of a metropolitan area is significantly hotter than the surrounding rural area because of human activities.  This is why the center of Austin feels like Death Valley right now.  But the band's label bio says that they are a 3-piece post-punk band from Austin.  Says they fuse "dark 80's stylings with modern flourishes ... against an unrelenting gothic pulse."  That sounds so awful.  "A Simple Love Song" is awful.

Eight singles on Spotify, no EPs or albums.  One cracks the 100k stream level, the majority of the rest are lower than 50k.  "Have You Ever" is that hit with 230k streams.  I'm very confused why this would have that many streams.  This is the song that made me sigh.

Blade Runner ass synths.  His vocals sound like the TV on the Radio guy in that track.  The top comment on YouTube says that they found the song through TikTok, so I guess that is how that track has so many streams.  Also, this: "During the pandemic, Horstmann [the lead singer] sent personalized, 15-second video messages to each new social media follower that the band gained. Urban Heat’s social channels grew by 25 followers per day on average, so Horstmann spent roughly the first hour of each morning creating content for fans."  That is some commitment!

Like everyone else on the poster, this band was expecting that they were finally going to blow up in 2020, with a date at SXSW and then a string of other dates waiting behind that one.  And then it all died.  The lead singer had moved to Austin from California and played in a few other bands for years.  He says that he started down the road of synth and electronic sounds because of the birth of his daughter, and needing to do music through headphones to void waking her.  Which is cute!

The second-most streamed tune is "That Gun in Your Hand," a 2020 single with 93k streams.

Someone told me the other day how tired they are of bands who aren't really playing music, ones who just hit play on their laptop and sing along over something that was already made.  I totally agree with that.  But these guys are definitely not doing that - there is a track in the background, but there are also live synths and bass being laid into it as well.  So I don't just immediately hate this out of pocket, but I also don't much care for more of the 80's redux thing that I've heard too much recently because of this poster.  I would not plan on checking this out.

Darkbird

One Liner: Local synth rock done with a good dose of 80's flair

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, but this is synth rock
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 24
Weekend One Only.  Sunday.

Thoughts:  So, Darkbird got added to the lineup last year for ACL, at the last minute, so I never formally reviewed them.  I realize now that I'm pretty sure I listened to the wrong band whenever I tried to write up a short blurb for the schedule.  Because the band that I listened to, and then wrote a tiny bit about, compared themselves to Nirvana and were pretty solid alternative rock.  I can't find them anymore, so I assume that this band of synth rock people is the real Darkbird who won a cease and desist battle or something.

Not many streams - I'm guessing they are a local band.  "Heartbeat" is their biggest hit for sure, with 185k streams.  

Yep, there is that 80's-style action, but its still a good song - propulsive and fun.  But those synth lines belong 40 years ago for sure.

Weird thing, if you search Darkbird on Wikipedia, you get redirected to the page for WWE wrestler Chris Kanyon.  And yet nothing on his Wikipedia page mentions Darkbird.  Odd.  

Here is the story the band has put out there on their website - wonderfully romantic: "Kelly Barnes left Los Angeles after a broken marriage resulted in a broken band. Just prior to the move, she unexpectedly hit international success, as the vocalist on the massive hit “Get Shaky” with the late DJ Ian Carey. While the track and a few others were financially significant to the ex-wife and waitress, Kelly was ready to explore another path that was more personally expressive.  After a tragic house fire in NYC, Brian Cole opted for a fresh start. As his belongings smoldered in the winter snow, he decided to pack up what was left and head south in search of warmer days and better luck. Ironically, while most go to LA or NYC to make their dreams come true, Brian and Kelly found each other on the musician page on Craigslist in Austin, TX. While they had hoped to leave their pasts behind, inevitably, the heartbreaks found a place they call home in Darkbird."

There is some heavy 80's synth rock stuff on here, like I have been complaining about a lot recently, but they also have some legit straight-forward rock and roll, like the guitar-riffage-heavy "Bad Self."  Only five of their songs crack the five-figure stream count, with "All There Is" as the second most one with 24.9k streams.  From a 2015 single called I Remember Feeling My Fingers Slip.

Comes on like a collaboration between Spoon and Patsy Cline.  The low key breakdown in the middle is cool in that track, and then the rest of it kicks back in.  Not an 80's replay band there, and I dig it.  Also, the visuals in that video are cool.  "3-2-Wake Up" is another that borrows heavily from the 80's sound - I can't come up with he name of the singer she is emulating, but the little staccato sound and effects that she is using reminds me of something.  "Voices Carry?"  Cyndi Lauper?  Hmmm.

Yeah, I'm overall enjoying this band.  I expect they'll get some garbage set time at noon on Sunday, but if I was around when they were going to play I'd probably go.

Primo the Alien

One Liner: 80's synth wave love from a local gal

Wikipedia Genre: None, synthpop, retrowave, synthwave
Home: Austin!

Poster Position: Very Late Addition
Day: Friday at 1:45 on the T-Mobile stage
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts:  This is one of the two artists that just got added, a week and a half before the first weekend, to make up for Tanya Tucker and Bia bailing on the Fest.

Her Spotify presence is weird.  If you search for Primo the Alien, you get a page that has a big headline saying THIS IS NOT THE PRIMO THE ALIEN SPOTIFY PAGE SEE BELOW.  And then down below, there is a note to go to her official page "Primo."  Well, what the hell, man.  Just re-direct us to the right page?  Why keep this other one up to order me around?

Her top song is a synth pop throw-back called "My Delorean," with a wonderfully 80's artwork and a sound like it came straight from 1983.  1.5 million streams.

Oh, wait, that song is actually by something called TimeCop 1983, and it features Primo as the singer.  Eh, I can't say that one is my jam.  Nothing much to it.  I guess her voice is nice?

Her only album is 2017's To the Max! and it definitely seems like her schtick is the 80's redux action. No song on that album cracks 40k streams. The title track kind of sounds like Lady Gaga.

Wow.  Just, wow.

Here is what her website says: "Primo the Alien is an Austin-based synthpop/retrowave/ synthwave artist and producer. Primo writes and produces each song, herself, with a unique blend of humor and drama that leaves listeners captivated. Her wild tales of epic showdowns, interplanetary tourism, and hyper-sensual scenarios are guaranteed to make you feel like you’re living in 1987... if 1987 was a dangerously sexy, post-apocalyptic wasteland complete with kick-ass parties, flying motorcycles, and lots of glitter.  The wings of this retro rainbow Pegasus are Primo’s signature powerhouse vocals. Primo sings with urgency, from the gut, hitting notes so high you’ll wonder if she’s hiding a soprano sax in her throat. With eccentric bravado, compelling intensity, and colossal production style, Primo the Alien delivers the punch music fans of all genres have been oh-so-eagerly anticipating."

Her real name is Laura Lee Bishop.  She made it onto American Idol in both 2013 and 2014, so her voice is legit.  But I don't easily find a lot of background information about her.  Just pieces talking about her music, but not her personally.  

Here is her most recent single, "Do It Again."

Cute opening with her mom singing to her.  The whole video is cute.

The 80's redux is kind of fun, but that wouldn't be what I'm aiming for in general.  I'd definitely go to Bexley instead during this hour.

TC Superstar

One Liner: Synth dance party collective

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, 80's synth wave dance pop
Home: Austin!

Poster Position: 21
Weekend One

Sunday at 2:15pm on the Tito's Stage.

Thoughts:  The bio from their record label pretty much sums up the whole thing:

"TC Superstar is the solo project of Austin based songwriter Connor McCampbell. He wrote a collection of synth wave songs over the summer of 2017 and released TC Superstar's first album, Masc, in September 2017 through Austin based label PorchFire Records. Fans and critics have described TC Superstar as "bloopy 80s revivalist synth pop" with "congested vocals" and "pretty good beats." McCampbell's influences include Talking Heads, Chairlift, Arthur Russel, and Alex Cameron."

I'm curious which of those quotes is from a critic and which is from a fan. Not sure I can tell the difference.  Another article about the band calls it a synth pop collective made up of UT graduates, so maybe it isn't quite as "solo project" as the label thinks?  I dunno.  I just know that when he sang "toyota corrola superstar" I grinned despite myself.  The group has eight members, and four of those are dancers.  And not just like a girl dancing off to the side to hype up the crowd, they are like classically trained legit dancers who majored in dance.

Two albums on Spotify - 2017's Masc and 2019's R&D, as well as a handful of singles in 2021.  They all hew to the same bouncy pop synth attack.  The top track is "Into You," from the 2019 album.  930k streams.

Trying to place what the song reminds me of from the 80's.  It's kind of plodding.  The Human League came on the radio this morning, which made me think of the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.  That was such a great game - and the radio stations you could get in the cars was a big draw of the game for me - made it so much more immersive and interesting.  So, while my brain is like "compare this to the Human League" I don't think that is correct.

"Toyota Corolla" is the song that contains the name drop.  Sounds like it is a song about a sad person with a sad job who nonetheless digs his sweet Toyota Corolla that he gets to drive home in.

And for the second tune, I'll give you the most recent single.  Just came out, so less than 10k streams, but definitely keeps with the same vibe of goofy dance music heavy on the synth and a video full of dancing action.

I like the sentiment - blue light is blowing me up all night is definitely a thematic issue in my household.  The song is fine - all of these songs are fine, I feel like we left the 80's synth pop wave behind for a reason though.  But, catchy dance music is much more welcome to my brain than any more pop stars singing about empowerment though.

Twin Shadow

One Liner: Sweepingly bombastic 80's synth pop

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.

Marian Hill

One Liner: That Apple commercial song with the wall dancing.

Wikipedia Genre: Electronic, synth-pop, alternative R&B
Home:  Philadelphia

Poster Position: 11
Day: Saturday at 5:30
Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts:  I'm sorry, but the 11th row for this band?  I mean, I liked that Apple commercial as much as the rest of us, but really?  Spotify has a live version of this song, and when the audience understands it is the song to be played, they lose their collective screaming mind.  I just can't imagine getting that jazzed up and screaming for this particular song.  I mean, it is a vaguely pleasant piano and electronics track, and you can easily sing along to the "down diddy down diddy down" portion.  But what is happening?

If that guy is really playing those same notes on the keyboard every time, it sure seems like he is doing it wrong.  You are already using electronics, loop that shit, yo.  I enjoy that song well enough - catchy for sure - but after a while the repetitiveness starts to bug.

The band name apparently comes from the names of two characters in the musical The Music Man.  Marian Paroo and Harold Hill.  Of course, I mean, who wouldn't name their band after that?  Although Paroo Hill would have both made more sense and sounded cooler (and more like poop).

They have a new album out, and because I've been busy at work, I just keep hitting play again on it instead of trying to review them or find something else.  I very much do not want to hear it anymore.  It is called Unusual, released in 2018.  The top song is the album opener, "Subtle Thing," with just over 2 million streams.

Again, pretty catchy beat, I really can't take much issue with the song.  Except that I don't enjoy this album at all and want to stop listening to it immediately.  Just kind of grinds on me after a while.  

No thanks.