There can never be too much variety in an MP3s countdown, and this week’s offering has plenty of it. While some songs stand as long-winded journeys of a typical Friday, the hottest emcees brighten up the morning with uplifting beats and flow, gentle crooners open up calm but thought-provoking afternoons, and party igniters bring night life to a danceable high. We hope you find a couple of tracks, if not all, that brighten up your day.
10. Wymond Miles – “Night Drives”
Speaking with Interview last year, Fresh & Onlys guitarist Wymond Miles said he wanted to get away from the “jangly Anglophile acoustic guitar stuff” that defined his last record, Under the Pale Moon, and much of The Fresh & Onlys’ material. So, for his second solo LP, Cut Yourself Free, Miles “grabbed a synth” and opened up his musical palette. On “Night Drives”, he croons (in a Bowie-ish manner) to a danceable backbeat and a quivering Moog. “It’s so free of noise and concerns of religion,” Miles said of the song. “What you’re reaching for is even more fundamental.” While not as immediately fetching as his jangly songs, the track’s calm atmosphere invites repeated listens. –Jon Hadusek
