Spring always pulls me in two directions musically. On one hand, I want to say goodbye to the gloom of winter and the down-tempo, moody music that I seem to feature during those months. To dust off those summertime beats that make me roll down the windows and work on a sweet left arm tan.
But letting go of those songs that make a twenty degree day seem warm and sunny is tough for me. That’s what makes Small Black’s “Despicable Dogs” so wonderful. You can almost hear the soil thawing as the sun decides to stick around a bit longer each day, like those days where the morning is still cold enough for a jacket, but it warms up so much you end up carrying it in your hand by the time you leave work.
Maybe it’s the combo platter of a rad ’80s drum machine beat and dispondent phrasing. Or the fact it’s all pulled together with some drowsy but completely melodic synth – but somehow it feels conflicted much like my winter to spring transition.
And like that transition, it’s about letting go – which for me, gets a lot easier with songs like this.