Vibes 2021 Playlist - Song Selections 5

I bet you didn’t expect me to post again so soon, but here I am, cranking out some of these song selections. You know the deal, we will be looking at 5 artists’ releases from 2021 and picking two of their songs to be added to the Vibes playlist. This time we’re looking at 5 returning artists from last years playlist. We come across a new interesting situation for the rules this time, more on that when we come to it. But I added a new rule to the playlist, which you can see the rules here. Let’s get into it.

1) Glass Animals - Returning Artist

Glass Animals released their Dreamland deluxe album which has the original album, one new bonus track, a few of the songs changed to have featured artists, a handful of remixes, and a few stripped down versions of the song. This is a bit of a grey area, as I could realistically pick any of the original songs off the album as they were “rereleased” for the deluxe album. I thought long and hard about this, but I think I will not consider the original tracklists, if the project was considered for a previous iteration of the Vibes playlist. If the deluxe version is the first time I’m reviewing the project, then all tracks are fair game. I am even going back and adding this clarification to the vibes playlist overview post. Ok enough talk about rules, lets get back to the actual music and selections. The new track, I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance) is great, has a catchy groove and dreamy lyrics. Definitely making the playlist. While the songs with new artists singing vocals on them are great, I don’t feel like they stray far enough from the originals to be considered for the playlist. Arlo Parks on Tangerine is a great addition though, I love that version. That brings us to the stripped back versions of songs. While these versions are really beautiful and great renditions of the songs, they never really get enough momentum for them to make the playlist. Of course, that’s what stripped back versions are, they are more raw emotional version. They just don’t have the tempo and oomph to make the playlist. So in conclusion, only I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance) is the only Glass Animals track to make the playlist this year.

2) Louis The Child - Returning Artist

Hey look, we’ve run into another instance of where I’ve reviewed the original album last year, but the deluxe album came out this year, immediately after talking about it for Glass Animals. Same rules apply, we’ll only be looking at the new songs when considering the deluxe album, which for Louis The Child is there Here For Now deluxe album. Additionally, Louis The Child released the Euphoria EP. Ultimately, we’re looking at 10 songs total, the 4 new ones on the deluxe album and the 6 tracks on the EP. Three of the ten tracks jumped out at me immediately: Here Comes A Feeling from the deluxe album and hate u cuz i don’t and So What from the Euphoria EP. hate u cuz i don’t is catchy as all hell, and has a sort of old Major Lazer sound to it, a sort of bouncy trap beat. So What is exactly what I’ve been loving to see in the scene recently: combining indie rock with electronic music for a beautiful union of sound. Its cutting edge as all hell and I love seeing artists collaborate like that. Here Comes A Feeling is a classic future bass song, super melodic, not exactly the cleanest sounds (especially the distorted snare and strings), dreamy lyrics and pumping low end. In the end, I went with So What and Here Comes a Feeling, as they are both super catchy and hate u cuz i don’t was just a little more upbeat and energetic than the other two.

3) Lane 8 - Returning Artist

Lane 8 is just one of those artists where every single release is incredible. 2021 was no different in that regard, with Lane 8 releasing a number of singles, the latter of them being as a lead up to his album of Reviver which came out on the day that I’m writing this, and is great. In total, Lane 8 released 6 tracks: Oh, Miles; Is This Our Earth?; Riptide; Reviver; What Have You Done To Me?; and Nuclear Lethargy. I planned on weighing the latter three tracks a little lower, as the album Reviver will certainly being looked at for the Vibes 2022 playlist to give them all a fair shake when considering them for next year, but only one of the three songs not on Reviver was chill enough for me to consider it. Unfortunately, Is This Our Earth is a little too harsh sounding to make the cut. Likewise, Riptide was a little too upbeat; it has a great club feel, but that is too much for the vibes playlist. Nuclear Lethargy fell into this same category: it has a pretty energetic beat to it that wasn’t as vibey as the remaining tracks. I felt a little weird adding the titular track from the album onto the playlist instead of waiting for the full album for next year’s playlist, so Reviver didn’t make the cut either. And honestly, I didn’t vibe with it as much as the remaining two tracks. So that leaves us with Oh, Miles and What Have You Done To Me?, and they are both absolutely killer. Oh, Miles has the classic ethereal Lane 8 lyrics, beautiful piano and synths and an abundance of emotion overflowing from the track. What Have You Done To Me? is very similar in structure, but man when that beat drops you are HOOKED. It is incredible and a total vibe.

4) Mounika. - Returning Artist

Following the killer 2020 album I Need Space, Mounika. took it easy in 2021 with only two releases. That makes my job easy. The first release is I like moby, air, morcheeba and all their children which is markedly different from the lofi sound that Mounika. normally has. Like the name suggests, the track really sounds like a moby track: a lot of strings, really forward yet simplistic percussion and a lot of vocal chops and layering. It doesn’t sound like it should make the playlist, but I really liked this track, I thought the long phrases and layers coming in and out sounded really great, so it’s making the playlist. The second track, a bath in the ocean with you is classic Mounika. It has a really tender feel to it, with subdued vocals and guitar all of which has the classic lofi distortion and crackle. Definitely making the playlist as well.

5) Big Gigantic - Returning Artist

Man, Big Gigantic’s sound is just so good. Electro funk, big band sounds with electronic synths, it is a beautiful mix. Big G had an EP release and one other single for 2021. The single, Daily Routine with Griz and ProbCause is a little to heavy for the mix, so it is not making it. Looking at the Leisure Season Vol. 1 EP, the choices were pretty obvious. While I really enjoy the whole thing, and I Like That and Keep It Low are my personal favorites, they each go a bit too hard in certain spots. The same can be said with I Can Feel It, it’s just a little too hype and hard. That leaves us with our two selections for the playlist: Champagne and Got Me Like. Champagne has all the classic Big G sounds, stuttering synths, some jazzy pulsing piano, and huge blaring horns. Pell delivers a great verse over the beat that is super catchy. Got Me Like establishes such a blissful vibe right from the opening bars. It really feels like you’re floating on a cloud, without a worry in the world. A lot of slow wubs and vocal chops with Big Wild sounding dreamy lyrics carry the track the whole way.

There we go, another 5 artists down, in quick succession after the last post. This week is busy for me, so probably won’t have another song selection up for another few weeks. But I have been churning and burning, listening to as much music as possible to get the playlist out as quickly as possible. As always, if you have any suggestions, hit me up!

Much love.