Here we are again. It’s May 1st, and that means it’s time for the April recap with the Big Electric Playlist. The year’s fourth B.E.P. playlist features 50 songs and a runtime of 3 hours and 52 minutes. It’s a lot of material crammed into a short timeframe … at least when compared to previous compilations I’ve assembled. That’s partly due to stepping away for a week or so to handle some work-related matters. The blog took a hit during that hiatus. But what lacks in length, I’ve attempted to make up for in quality and quantity.
April featured a robust selection of material from veteran favorites The Cure and Billy Idol & Steve Stevens, as well as some contemporary contributions from coldwave newcomers ACTORS. Those offerings are all based on wonderfully entertaining concerts, past and present. There’s also a bunch of new material, most of which I uncovered while researching and stumbling around the internet, as well as Spotify, looking for new tunes to cover.
Some standouts include Tourist‘s synth-popped “Emily,” Sterling Grove‘s downtempo groove “La Vigie,” NAVVI’s lo-fi trip-hopped “Us,” and il:lo‘s chilled ambient excursion “Reine.” There’s also a couple of nifty rhythmic numbers from Hidden Empire and Rocket Empire, the tech-house “Black Beauty” and the ’70s -styled analog opus “Bonder,” respectively. Although sharing “empires,” they’re unrelated and tonally different, yet equally danceable. Of course, there’s quite a bit more than that to explore. But those are the standouts that come to mind.
I’m probably going to be away for a few days, due to a trio of shows starting tomorrow … The Chromatics, one of my bucket list bands I’ve always wanted to see, longtime favs The Church performing their seminal album “Starfish,” and the new SoCal festival “Just Live Heaven,” featuring such treasures as Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Washed Out, Miami Horror, MGMT, and a bunch of others. I’ll definitely have coverage of one or more of these events in the coming weeks. Plus, I’ve got a Tamaryn show to share, once I can get it prepped. And I’m sure there will be plenty of spontaneous surprises, too.
For now, enjoy April’s edition of the “Big Electric Playlist.” Be back soon!
