Let's talk about some tracks that you can add to your summer playlists.
• Tanlines is duo Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm, who make the least-offensive pop music ever created. You might take this the wrong way, but I promise it's a compliment. There's no need to reinvent the wheel, if you already have an excellent design on hand. Crafting good, solid pop songs that elevate your mood, make your feet tap, and don't require multiple plays because they're so annoyingly catchy you're compelled to listen just to get them out of your head is a feat in and of itself.
Tanlines produce music that serves well for both party backdrops and window-blasting drives down the interstate. Their single "Palace"—off May's Highlights—has enough reverberating synths, crisp kickers, and lulling background vocals to charm the pants off you.
They recruited Orange Is the New Black's Natasha Leon and Girls' Alex Karpovsky for the video, which is in danger of erring on the cutesy side, but the whole thing is just so darn likable. (How could you ever dislike Nicky and Ray?)
What's that you say? You'd like to catch a live performance of Tanlines? Well, you're in luck. They'll hit Neumos tomorrow, Wednesday, July 8, with Mas Ysa, and tickets are still available. You're welcome.
• Are you a fan of Grouper? You should be. Liz Harris has the kind of voice that will soothe the angriest of moods. (See also: Julianna Barwick.) Well, it appears Harris has teamed up with Scott Simmons and Jed Bindeman (the latter plays in Eternal Tapestry) to form the new dream-pop trio Helen.
Their debut album, The Original Faces, will be out on September 4 via Kranky. According to Pitchfork, they recorded the project in Portland over the course of several years. New single "Motorcycle" is more reminiscent of earlier Grouper albums than last year's excellent Ruins, with Harris's voice buried under a thick layer of pleasant distortion. The whole track sounds like a nice, day-drinking buzz.
• Although Young Thug's new mixtape, Slime Season, has been delayed, the rapper didn't leave us stranded with only repeated listens of Barter 6 and Jamie xx's "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)." Instead, he leaked five tracks off Slime Season, including the Allen Ritter-produced "Paradise."
It's punctuated with Thugger's characteristic vocal flourishes (I'm quite partial to the quick, joyful "Swoop!" right there at the beginning) and abrupt cutoffs on those last syllables. One minute, he's breaking into a ragged falsetto on the chorus to ask you to wife him up on an island getaway. The next, he's requesting you join his threesome. As his lyrics clearly state, "I never ride the beat, I roll it," and per usual, it's great. You should go listen to all five of the leaks, but prioritize this one for now.
