Harlem Shakes

April 10, 2009

I feel a bit ashamed that I haven’t blogged about Harlem Shakes yet, I’ve really slept on this album. It’s exactly the kind of in-your-face, extremely catchy indie rock music (often made by artists from Brooklyn) that I absolutely love. Thankfully, Dave at the rawkblog.net suggested I check them out and I’ve been spinning their debut, Technicolor Health ever since. 2009 has really been knocking it out of the park with debuts this year and this is definitely one that’s making a strong case for tops (also see: Cymbals Eat Guitars, Fanfarlo). The album is refreshing, exhilarating, and unabashedly cheerful. It’s definitely of the funnest albums to listen to I’ve experienced this year.

There’s two songs I suggest listening to to get the feel for this album. Firstly, check out “Strictly Game”, a brisk, lively, electro-tinged tune with densely layered instrumentation (including some afro-pop percussion) thrusting the track forward. The spirited melodies and harmonies are an absolute delight, as are the hopeful lyrics of “this will be a better year”. For any other band this would be the catchiest song on the album, but somehow Harlem Shakes top it with “Sunlight”, which is absolutely insanely infectious. The track is crazy danceable, features great some new wave synths, but remains completely grounded in guitar-based indie pop. And let me just re-iterate the chorus is totally freakin’ absurdly catchy. Alright, got it? Good. Now download below and see for yourself:

MP3 Strictly Game
MP3 Sunlight

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I was just notified that the Love Language post had a mislabeled song. The track labeled “Gray Court” is actually called “Providence” (and if you didn’t already download it, you might want to get on that).  Also, Pitchfork gave Love Language a very positive review today. Those guys are always riding my coattails.

Posted by Taylor in Artist Spotlight