Your 2019 Summer BBQ Playlist

Independence Day weekend is approaching quickly, so it’s time to open up those pools, uncover the grill, and listen to some of the year’s best songs in an outdoor setting. And whichever setting you choose, Slackie Brown has you covered with songs for every possible summer situation you find yourself.

Your 2019 Summer BBQ Playlist

Jenny Lewis – Red Bull & Hennessy

The excellent new album from the L.A. songwriting veteran features a murderers row of session musicians of yesteryear, bringing those quintessential 1970’s Los Angeles albums by Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, and Tom Petty all to mind while listening. This particular track is peak “belligerent Jenny,” which is to say; unfulfilled desire is as good a reason as any to get “wired on Red Bull and Hennessy.” With a straight forward rock groove, a simple bass line, and crunchy guitars, this one is sure to get the drinks flowing before a night out.

Vampire Weekend – Harmony Hall / This Life

With the departure of long-time and founding member Rostam Batmanglij, lead singer and songwriter, Ezra Koenig took, what seems to me, full control of the new double album by Vampire Weekend — a double album from the once indie-darlings that earns a double song feature for this BBQ playlist. There is a lot to sift through on the album(s), but these two tracks stand out as what made this band so enjoyable from the jump. There are still hints of Paul Simon’s work in Koenig’s songwriting, but with features from the Haim sisters, and a drum sample on “Harmony Hall” that sounds like an old Chumbawamba song, the band has somehow found that perfect balance between clever and catchy indie-pop and the baroque-style moments that the Beatles seemed to lean heavily on during their middle period. “This Life” also plays the balance perfectly, although a bit more breezy on the surface, its contradiction of playful music and melancholy lyrics ultimately help the song’s longevity.

Maggie Rogers – Retrograde

Though rather well known at this point in her career, the young singer from Maryland is only 25 years old. Her excellent debut album came out earlier this year, but I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about this song. With the kind of pop production that makes me giddy, this song is a near perfect example of how to execute a song of this genre. The vocal performance and melody are the obvious stand-outs, as Ms. Rogers yells out in agony “I am giving in, I’m in retrograde.” Even if the subject matter has been mulled over endlessly, and “retrograde” has been a bit of a buzz word in culture these days, the greatness of the song is undeniable, as the production and vibe match up perfectly with Maggie’s vocal performance.

Shura – BKLYNLDN

The 28-year old singer from Hammersmith, England brings sultry R&B energy to the first single from her sophomore album, a lust-filled tune that features the line “This isn’t love, this is an emergency.” The exceptional band behind her really accentuates the feelings, with a sparse yet accented bass line that would make the likes of Pino Palladino blush. The groove takes a hard 180-degree turn with about a minute left, but doesn’t lose any of its nuances along the way.

Katy Perry – Never Really Over

Katy Perry has returned with a track that hopes to reclaim her crown as summer pop queen — and it may do just that. Produced by Zedd and Dreamlab, the song draws heavily from (and even gives songwriting credit to) a song called “Love You Like That” by Dagny. The similarities are undeniable, and the gesture was an honorable one — if not a preemptive credit in hopes to avoid a copyright lawsuit in the future. Nevertheless, Katy hits this one out of the park, with a hook that also takes a tip from the verse of 1997’s pop hit “I Want You” by Savage Garden. The descending vocal harmony which is added on the second half of the hook adds a particular touch that makes this one full-blown, candy-sweet pop that is undeniable.

MUNA – Number One Fan

Dubbed “emo pop-rock” by their management company, the L.A.-based trio comes at this candy-coated pop tune an attitude of letting go of the millennial self-loathing and “in my bedroom looking at my strangers on my telephone” mentality and brings forward a self-love anthem that moonlights as a banger. I’m all about this recent trend of indie-pop that has a certain quality that is almost undefinable as far as genre, and this song is a great representation of that world. The vocoder harmonies in the hook don’t hurt either.

Faye Webster – Kingston

With a vocal track that sounds like she’s a foot away from your ear, and a false-start hook that pays off when the rest of the band falls in on the word “…go,” Faye Webster brings a unique blend of R&B and country to this mellow and love-struck heart breaker of a track. Amongst an absolutely stellar performance from the band — including pedal steel guitar, Rhodes electric piano, and sultry saxophones — Faye’s voice stands out as the focal point of the track, even (and maybe especially) when she decides to speak the line, “…that’s what he called me,” when speaking about how an ex-lover used to call her “baby.”

(Sandy) Alex G – Gretel

With the new album from a (somewhat) veteran of the scene coming later this year, Alexander Giannascoli put out this song as the first single from his eighth release. Though ‘veteran’ is a strange word considering he’s only 25 (or 26) years of age, “Gretel” certainly sounds like it came from a veteran. However, starting with a lo-fi, major key intro that gives way to a strange, ethereal world that is instantly engaging. The real moment of maturity comes later, though, at about a minute and twenty seconds in where the ethereal world clears out for a mere clean-strummed classical guitar and vocal hook that becomes more addicting with each listen. Alexander isn’t finished yet, as the chorus comes back, this time without a vocal, but rather a guitar solo that’s played on that very same classical guitar. It’s a moment of clarity that has been rarely matched in music this year, only to lead us back into the murky waters of that fog and dissonance that fills the world earlier in the song.

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