From shoegaze to indie to alternative R&B, MTech's finest brought out their best this February.
Written by Ash & Reggie Katz in collaboration
Greetings, everyone, and welcome back to Singles Spotlight, the series where we take a deep dive into some of our favorite releases of the month from the MTech community! I'm truthfully very excited to be bringing you this edition, especially considering that this is the first Singles Spotlight edition on which Reggie Katz & I worked in tandem. In part because of this, the two of us were able to tackle a crazy amount of new releases this month, and we're looking at a whopping seven singles today (two of these are a double-A side single release, but I feel like that still counts)! All y'all know the drill—make sure to support the artists whom we've reviewed by streaming their music via the links we've provided, and feel free to go check out the rest of their discography as well! Without further ado, we'll proceed to the first of our reviews, this one courtesy of Reggie! Happy reading and I'll see you all again further down the page!
-Ash
aonhe - dance with me (feat. RED_E¥E)
Reviewed by Reggie Katz
Don't forget to stream "dance with me" via aonhe's Linktree page here! I also recently did a review on RED_E¥E's most recent album, Through the Hole in the World…, which you can read here.
Hey everyone! Welcome back to Singles Spotlight! I am very excited to contribute to the monthly Singles Spotlight post for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of your tracks. I have chosen four releases from a wide array of artists in the Music Tech community and I hope you all will get as much enjoyment out of these tracks as I did! All of these artists deserve some support so make sure you go stream their tracks with the provided links!
I am thrilled to be kicking off my first review of Singles Spotlight with "dance with me", a track featuring and produced by RED_E¥E, a powerhouse of an artist in the Music Tech program, with the main artist being aonhe, a student of the Interactive Media Arts program, and artist with a vocal delivery so delicate and ethereal that it may put you in a temporary trance if you aren't careful. The production of "dance with me" really solidified my opinion of Rain having a signature production sound. His production tends to be very lo-fi and spacious with hints of experimental and R&B influences shaping the sound as well. Most importantly, his production always has the best vibes. The drums and pianos used on this track sound much better EQ and sample quality-wise than some of the instruments Rain has used in his previous work. It is evident that Rain is expeditiously upping his production skills as well as his songwriting abilities. This track is packed with emotion and hypnotizing production.
"[Anzhelika and I] both took Prof. Charles Mueller's Fundamentals of Music Technology class last spring. The song was actually a project for the class that was wayyy overdue and we ended up making it together in basically the last week of the semester. The assignment was to use a field recorder to record samples that we then use in a song, for which I recorded myself playing some chords on the piano in Studio E. I added some minimal drums, the bass, and sang my part for it and sent it over to aonhe, who sang her part, added some sparkles, and did some processing on the track." —Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E
The first sounds we hear in "dance with me" are a ragtime-sounding piano soaked in vinyl crackle. We then hear aonhe's stylistically autotuned and pitch-corrected vocals come in. The vocal performances never travel too far from a comfortable range in both artists' voices, but because of the use of falsetto and lighter tones in their voices, the vocals glisten over everything else. After this, we hear a bass drum and a hi-hat pattern fade in. I would characterize the slow build of percussion instruments as a foreshadowing for more drums coming soon, rather than referring to it as a normal beat drop. Even though a snare sound comes in as well as the drums becoming more present at the same time, the additional sounds are more engaging than distracting. The next elements that come in are a nifty pizzicato double bass line and a synthesizer that sounds like a reverberated and pitched version of the sound in Mario Kart when you collect a coin. There are the occasional guitar licks toward the back of the mix as well as some unpredictable vocal chop samples, making this track feel slightly experimental. Other than that, Rain and aonhe's soothing vocals guide us to the end of the track which tells a story of a love lost that can never be brought back again unless the person lost can dance with them one last time.
"We were both very happy with ['dance with me']… I actually felt the imperfections in it added to its character and wanted to release it back then not long after we submitted the project… but we just sat with it for a little while until a month or two ago when I decided to get more consistent with making music. We linked up to make some small adjustments to the mix, Anzhelika drew up some dope artwork, and then we dropped it. Valentine's was kinda perfect timing considering the themes in the track." –Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E
This single is nothing short of a lo-fi banger. RED_E¥E has a soundscape and artistic vision that never ceases to amaze me. His production comes across as very intentional and calculated, and he has a great ear for knowing what a song needs. The drums remind me of the drums I would hear in a Giveon song, but I was hearing a lot of inspiration from Joji in the rest of the production. I'm sure the array of artists used for inspiration on this track is extensive as the soundscape is so unique. This track feels like it belongs in a scene of a hot, new Netflix teenie bop show when the leads are about to have a moment for the first time. The only small critique I have is how much instrumental production there is in comparison to vocal production. Although both artists' vocal tones are charming, because there were only one or two main vocal tracks heard at a time, the vocals felt slightly underwhelming compared to the rest of the production that fills so much space. I'm not saying that every song needs stacks and stacks of vocals, but I think it would've benefited this track if there was a little more going on vocally. I also wished they showcased their vocals some more since they are evidently such great studio performers, but because of how mesmerizing everything else about this track is, the vocals didn't really bother me. "dance with me" is very catchy, so I should give you a fair warning before you listen that you might catch yourself humming it without even realizing (based on a true story)!
"We're also releasing another Fundies collab project on March 10th - the song we played in the first listening session for Collegium this semester. It's a totally different vibe, but I think people could really enjoy it :)" –Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E
Buff Ginger - Punchline
Reviewed by Reggie Katz
Stream "Punchline" at Buff Ginger's Linktree page!
The next release I'll be diving into is "Punchline" by Buff Ginger, who most of us know as Ry Minter. In all honesty, I was not familiar with Buff Ginger's music at all before going into this review, so I familiarized myself with their catalog by checking out their previous releases that include two albums called I Don't Like Haunted Houses and My Social Security Number. Both albums featured a relishable collection of indie rock tracks. I would've expected Buff Ginger's music to continue in the indie direction since their production skills in that genre are so proficient, but I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to "Punchline", a hefty leap into the dark art of shoegaze.
"This song specifically felt sort of like my chance to take it up a notch. I hadn't put anything out in over a year, and during that time I had gotten Ableton, and really put our live show together." –Ry Minter a.k.a. Buff Ginger
It had been over a year since Buff Ginger had put out any music, but in case you were unaware of that, they gave us a little cameo at the beginning of the track reminding us of that before they go rocking out. The idea of this track feeling like a live performance was very important to them, and not only did they succeed in their attempt to craft a live-sounding feel, they excelled in it. In the traditional shoegaze style, this track very quickly turns into a symphony of guitar parts run through what I imagine to be a considerable amount of distortion, chorus, echo, and delay pedals, accompanied by live drums tracked and produced by Ethan Williams of Punchlove and played by Ian Lange McPherson. There are various layers of synths as well, giving the production a bit more atmosphere than it would've had without them. Around the 2:45 mark in "Punchline", there is a big shift in tempo and rhythmic feel. Everything slows down, and you aren't sure what's coming next, so you patiently wait for more. I found myself returning to that point in the song over and over because it's just so addictive. After this, the drums cut out and the guitars gradually stop playing until all we're left with is the noise of distorted electric guitar static and some lightly strummed acoustic guitars.
"This song is also definitely my favorite to play live, mostly because of the ending." –Ry Minter a.k.a. Buff Ginger
Shoegaze is not a genre I'm usually drawn to, so I don't choose it for casual listening unless it's a project that I think has been executed well. After listening to Buff Ginger's "Punchline", I listened to several tracks off of my favorite shoegaze album, Deathconsciousness by Have a Nice Life, and this is when I was really blown away. Not only is Buff Ginger's music able to compete with a very successful shoegaze artist like Have a Nice Life, but at several points, Buff Ginger's production felt stronger than that of an A-list artist. Ry's very first shoegaze-style track can already compete with the top dogs in the field, so I truly hope they continue to nudge their music in this direction. The only critique of this track that I have is that it would be difficult to recognize it as Buff Ginger's since I hear a lot of shoegaze that sounds similar to this one. At this stage, I think that's fine, though. It's clear they're still finding their sound and who they are as an artist, and the only way to figure out who you are is by experimenting. Other than that, this track felt like it was as perfect as shoegaze can get. I could totally see "Punchline" being at home on any shoegaze Spotify playlist. I can't wait to see where Buff Ginger goes next, and admittedly, I'm hoping they continue in the direction that this release went.
nickwuh - NOVA (feat. alisynn, byreality, idle, aurial, & Luoe)
Reviewed by Ash
This track can be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music!
My enduring appreciation for the music of nickwuh has slowly become a recurring theme on this blog in the reviews I've written, and I was thus excited to learn that Nick had released a new single this month! This one's titled "NOVA", and it seems to be packaged as a sequel/companion single of sorts to last October's "SHALLOW", which I reviewed for last November's Singles Spotlight edition. Indeed, "NOVA" embraces a loose fusion of R&B, pop punk, and metal, similarly to the soundscape of its companion single. Dating from the tail end of the us against the universe sessions, "NOVA" once again sees Nick delve into the sonic palette of electro/pop punk from which some of my favorite songs of his have originated.
"I started ['NOVA'] all the way back in August over the summer as I was finishing up my album. All I originally had was the chorus section, and then byreality wanted a verse so I produced out the anime intro-ass sounding post-chorus section. After this, I wrote my verses of the song and recorded the vocals, and we passed it off to alisynn who played guitars for the intro of the song and traded vocals with me as well as adding their own verse." –Nick Wu a.k.a. nickwuh
The song blasts right out of the gate with a chorus of guitars, courtesy of alisynn, that perform a nice call-and-response of sorts with Nick's vocals. The guitar processing sounds really digitized, almost like a halfway point between an electric guitar and a synthesizer, creating an end result that I thought was super cool. Nick's opening vocal line of "I'm losing my mind again" also grabbed my attention straightaway, as he pushes his vocals into his upper tenor register, delivering a breathy and slightly unhinged vocal performance that I thought nicely conveyed the song's themes of insanity. alisynn's guitars anchor this first verse, playing hard-panned, rapid sixteenth-note passages that do some interesting pseudo-counterpoint melodic stuff to outline the chords. The build to the chorus is marked by a break into an autotuned falsetto over wooshing, EDM risers and slowly-building, distantly crunchy drums as the energy builds, culminating in a belted, soaring vocal melody over huge, major key saw chords, a growling synth bass, and sparse, anthemic drums. The aesthetic of this chorus is distinctly hard-edged and rough, and definitely feels like a stylistic diversion of sorts from Nick's previous single, "harvest", which was much mellower; "NOVA" feels much edgier in this sense.
"The lyrical themes I was going for was like… coming of age movie last summer before college vibes idk super pop punk!" –Nick Wu a.k.a. nickwuh
The chorus hits with huge, growling saw chords underneath a soaring lead vocal melody. I really love Nick's vocals here; his earnest timbre marries itself perfectly with this vocal melody in a combination that feels indebted to early 2000s pop punk in the vein of New Found Glory and All Time Low. I do wish the mix allowed more space for Nick's vocals to shine; the massive saw chords that crash through the stereo field are definitely a very cool sound, but they have a tendency to swallow everything else, which I thought negatively affected the intelligibility of the vocals, and might signify that the limiting on the master bus might be a bit too heavy. Nevertheless, in true nickwuh fashion, this chorus is super catchy, and has proved to be firmly lodged in my head over the past couple weeks!
"…I sat on it for two months before byreality hit me up again and was like 'finish the fucking song' so I produced out my second verse section and idle offered to do backing vocals and sing the down-chorus. After laying out everything except for the bridge and the outro, I was like 'oh my god im so sick of this song someone else produce the bridge' so I passed that off over to my long-time friend aurial who added some very sparkly textures and a gorgeous piano line. After this, I produced out the super 2017 future bassy outro and asked Luoe to do a verse on it, and ended it with the piano outro." –Nick Wu a.k.a. nickwuh
Coming out of the first chorus, we briefly go double-time in an entertaining hyperpop break that serves to back chipmunked and distorted vocals performed by byreality; I readily admit to not being able to catch all the lyrics during this part, but I really like the melody on this verse, and I caught some loose resemblances to torr's work with webcage in the vocal stylings and melodic choices here. We lapse back into a brief second verse anchored in honeyed vocal harmonies; the collision of Nick's voice with idle's creates a really interesting, layered timbre that I thought suited the song quite well. Additionally, I really dig the combination of smooth 808 bass underneath synthetic guitars and almost vocoder-sounding vocal harmonies; I thought the resulting soundscape was a nice nod to the aesthetics of pop punk recontextualized in a much more heavily computerized sort of way. The bridge brings some nice chromatic movement and applied chords punctuated with the heavy bass in a way that felt almost classical to me—perhaps Music History isn't so irrelevant in our field after all! After a couple more soaring choruses, we end on a short Luoe verse featuring rapid-fire, thickly-layered vocoder lines which segue to a remarkably bare, vulnerable piano outro where Nick closes the song, singing, "I hope you never get the chance to love again" in his trademark plaintive delivery.
"NOVA" feels like a more chaotic, technicolor take on the aesthetics of Nick's last album; where us against the universe showcases a carefully crafted and deeply emotional tapestry built on colored pencils and oil pastels, "NOVA" throws the entire proverbial bucket of paint at the canvas, yet somehow managing to feel no less meticulous and deliberate in its presentation. This thing hits like a Doordash delivery moped speeding down Broadway at full tilt, running red lights and stop signs at every opportunity. What I mean to say with my slightly harebrained metaphor is that Nick's ongoing quest to break down the barriers that separate the genres that inspire him feels like it's reaching a point of true artistic realization. It feels to me he found his sound with his last album, but now he's well and truly making it his own, leaving his distinctive stamp on the sounds of hyperpop within the MTech scene and beyond. This song almost evokes a sort of sensory overload for me—it hits with a veritable ton of sheer force, and feels like staring into a supernova, in the sense that every color seems brighter and more piercing than normal. However, I'm not bothered by this, because something tells me that this is exactly what Nick was going for. Had "NOVA" landed on us against the universe, it might have felt a little incongruous, but as it stands, it feels perfectly at home orbiting that larger universe as a little magellanic cloud, a unique, maximalist burst of color that is its own thing. I hope Nick spends a little more time in this new pocket universe he's increasingly venturing into, and as long as he keeps tossing us little snapshots of all he's learned along the way, something tells me I'll remain quite happy as a nickwuh fan.
circuit y - nervous/talk to me
Reviewed by Reggie Katz
Stream this track by visiting circuit y's Linktree page!
Up next, we'll be taking a look at "nervous/talk to me", a double-A-sided release from circuit y, who some of us know better as Leo. After briefing myself with circuit y's catalog, it was easy to see how rapidly Leo is growing as an artist. While still keeping his sound consistent, he manages to improve his production quality, pen game, and create more emotional tracks after each release. The growth from his first release in October 2021, "Stones", to his most recent release, "nervous/talk to me", is not something to gloss over. With this most recent release, Leo showcases a ton of potential to be a young ambassador of indie music.
"nervous", the first track on this double-A-sided release, opens up with a boxy lead synth that is quickly shifted to the back of the mix to make room for the stereoized hand claps that come in. This ends up sounding more like bedroom pop versus straight indie pop when the fairly clean guitar tones invite themselves in along with some innocuous synths which give this song a whimsical touch. Leo's heartfelt vocals tell the story of the skittishness he first felt being around a girl he fancied.
"For the lyrical content of these songs, the first song 'Nervous' is [a] more upbeat song about finding someone who I felt right with while being nervous about it and overthinking everything. I created the drum beat for this song while being nervous before seeing this person. From there the song was made around this idea." –Leo Blumenfield a.k.a. circuit y
The second track of this double-A-sided release, "talk to me", has a dissimilar but just as genuine feel as the first one. The beginning instruments that greet us are some distorted drums playing a Questlove-esque fill that quickly gets screamed over by guitar tones comparatively similar to nails scraping a chalkboard. This ends up working well as the unpalatable guitar tones make the pleasant bedroom-pop feel all the more satisfying when it comes back in. The gentle synth leads, simplistic guitar lines, metronome-driven beat, and touching lyrics about an exasperating relationship ready to expire make this song an easy, but refreshing listen.
"In ['talk to me'], I question why certain things happened and why people acted the way they did with the track ending with the repeated line 'I can't stay 'cause there's nothing to hold onto'." –Leo Blumenfield a.k.a. circuit y
Leo's unruffled and bittersweet vocals combined with his palpable and engaging lyrics came together in this project seamlessly, making this release plausible for even the most cynical listeners to enjoy. In all honesty, this is among one of the strongest indie pop releases I've heard in the Music Tech community so far. circuit y's ability to compose such relatable music seems like it comes effortlessly, and for the most part it does, but after consulting with him, even more respect was gained after he let us in on his meticulous creative process.
"I generally use software synths, Ableton instruments or some various synth plugins I have (Juno 60 emulator, Fury-800 emulator, etc.). And then when I have a base of the song or a part of the song I start writing the melody and lyrics." –Leo Blumenfield a.k.a. circuit y
Overall, my thoughts on circuit y's latest release are overwhelmingly positive. Even though this release has a very strong indie and bedroom pop feel, "nervous" reminded me of FINNEAS's "Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa", a cutesy pop ballad-rock track that has a similar story about being so infatuated with someone that you aren't quite sure what to do other than appreciate them. I was reminded of this track since both Leo's and FINNEAS's track share the common denominator of me wanting to hear them played acoustically to the person they wrote them about since I think they would hit so hard stripped down. "talk to me" is reminiscent of any Clairo song whipped up in her bedroom. The only critique I have is the enunciation and musical variety in "talk to me". Generally speaking, fuzzy vocals are part of the indie/bedroom pop niche, but after reading through the lyrics that Leo kindly sent us, I wish I was able to understand every line clearly while listening, as the writing is pretty damn strong. Some of my favorite lines are "break down just to feel something", "how'd you care so much/then switch it all sideways", and "you're near me/but you're way too close". These lyrics are dynamite, and because of that, I felt like they should've been highlighted more, not just with the vocal delivery, but with the melodic writing as well. It would have been interesting to see Leo travel into a different vocal territory as the lyrics grew. Seeing that my only critique is wanting more of what's already there, it's safe to say that this release is a strong one—in fact, the strongest from Leo yet. Leo has had notable growth as an artist and only continues to grow and learn more. I can't wait to see what's next in store for him.
Thai Thai - P.B.B.
Reviewed by Reggie Katz
The links to "P.B.B." on all platforms are available through Thai Thai's Linktree page!
The freshmen in the Music Tech community have seriously made their mark this year, and Thai Thai, who many of us know as Mathias, is no exception from the great bunch. The imaginative production, bellicose vocal delivery, and witty lyrics on his latest EP amalgamate into an irresistible listen, so I was pumped to dive into his latest release, "P.B.B.".
Thai Thai's tracks tend to start out rather ambiguous musically, and "P.B.B.", short for "paper bag bitch", follows the same rule as we are introduced to the track with a honky-tonk guitar loop that keeps us in a realm of uncertainty until a MIDI flute and Thai Thai's eccentric but engaging vocals come in. The production also contains sampling from the cartoon show, Tom & Jerry, and a song by the Messer Chups.
"I sampled a surf rock song from the band Messer Chups. 'P.B.B.' also samples some cartoon sound effects from Tom & Jerry that I felt made the beat a little more fun." –Mathias Quilon a.k.a. Thai Thai
The majority of the production, though, grows out of Mathias' inventive vocal layers. Thai Thai is exceptionally skilled at bringing any of his ideas to life through his adept vocal processing. In "P.B.B.", he takes advantage of how creative you can get with panning, especially starting at the 1:24 mark in the track when he has a vocal panned dead center, one panned hard left, and one panned hard right. His lyric delivery changes in this section to a softer tone compared to the rest of the shouty flow, making this section reminiscent of "Worldwide Steppers" by Kendrick Lamar. Even though this track is a brief 2 minutes and 13 seconds, it felt very complete. If you told me that this was a major label release, I wouldn't question you at all.
"When I was writing for 'P.B.B.' I wanted to say the most out-of-pocket shit and mix it with a playful delivery that I think gives the track its character." –Mathias Quilon a.k.a. Thai Thai
It is quite astonishing how skilled Thai Thai is at such a young age and I can't wait until his skills and humility are appreciated by a larger audience. All in all, I do have some critiques for Thai Thai's latest, but overall, my experience listening to "P.B.B." was mostly positive. Production-wise, I thought this track was impeccable. Honestly, I wouldn't change anything about that aspect of this release. The snappy guitar loop combined with the flute sounds, drum and bass sounds that work in harmony, and vocal delivery that is distinctly unique to him fuse into a rebelliously magnificent track. I personally find the juxtaposition of Mathias's music and his real-life persona hilarious; he is a pretty mellow and reserved guy, but you would never expect that based on his music alone. I guess he has to bottle up all of that steam inside him until he's ready to shout into a mic about not "playing with her kitty" unless it's "grippy". Seriously though, Thai Thai is quite the comedic writer and I'm glad he brought out that side of him on this release versus TELEVISED SUICIDE, which had much darker undertones to it.
The same thing that bring you joy bring you pain, and unfortunately, that's how I was feeling with Thai Thai's lyrical choices. The farcical lyrics were wildly entertaining overall and demonstrated Mathias's versatility as a songwriter, but the repetitive hook about the "paper bag bitch", talking about a girl being good enough to have sexual relations with only if her face is covered with a paper bag, started to make me a little concerned about the track's potential to be perceived as misogynistic. Based on the quotes and background of the track I received from Mathias, the humor in this track was supposed to be satirical, and generally speaking, he succeeded in this. But the constant repetition of "not fuckin'" unless she "covers up her shit", referring to a female's face, felt to me like it might have been treading in dangerous waters. There is an ongoing problem regarding misogyny and the extremely casual use of it in rap and hip-hop music, mostly because there greviously is a large audience for this style of rap, so ultimately, I think what we're seeing here is a symptom of a much larger systemic issue within the music industry at large. We all want to make music that people will love, cherish, and relate to, and I think this was a great attempt at Thai Thai doing that. I'd also like to add that I don't think Thai Thai is a misogynistic person by any means. In fact, I think he is a cool dude who has the potential to be a brilliant artist, which is why I feel like this was worth mentioning. TELEVISED SUICIDE is a prime example of how Thai Thai is able to balance commercially appealing ideas with concepts that articulate how genuine of a person he is and how in touch he is with the world. "P.B.B." is still a fiercely strong release nonetheless. If given the opportunity, I think Mathias could out-rap some of the biggest hip hop poets in the game. It's always refreshing to hear a track from Thai Thai featuring his piercing flow, as I'm frankly pretty tired of the chart-topping mumble rap that I can't understand why people adore. Thai Thai dropped a single, "CUT UP!", in January, and "P.B.B." obviously dropped in February, so I hope next month the trend continues and we get another release from this enigma of an artist. If not, he still has an aggressively catchy catalog which I urge you all to check out.
3rd Ave. - how u like
Reviewed by Ash
This track can be streamed through 3rd Ave's Linktree page!
Last month, "Gottem", the debut single release of MTech freshman collective/boy band 3rd Ave made one hell of a splash, racking up roughly twenty thousand streams in the weeks following its release. Built on a relentlessly catchy TypeOh hook and ace verses from Thai Thai, Jaden Tyler, and nickwuh, the fun, bouncy, party trap aesthetic of "Gottem" managed to capture an excellent cross-section of the talents of all involved, in the process creating a distinct identity and sound for 3rd Ave that exists separately from the established sounds of each of 3rd Ave's members. I took to the song pretty much immediately once it released, and it rapidly shot up my Spotify playlists until I started to feel like TypeOh's verse was living in my head rent-free! I wasn't the only one, either; the buzz amongst the MTech community surrounding 3rd Ave is really cool to witness, and it's been a long time since I've seen a group galvanize the student body the way 3rd Ave has been doing. Needless to say, I was quite excited when the news broke a couple weeks ago that the follow-up to "Gottem", a new single titled "how u like", was due for release, and I found myself on the edge of my proverbial seat as I eagerly waited to see how 3rd Ave would respond to their newfound popularity.
"So the initial idea with 'how u like' was created over Thanksgiving when Mathias [Thai Thai] came to me with a guitar loop… We were both the only ones of us still on campus, and it seems whenever that happens we create something crazy!" –Nick Wu a.k.a. nickwuh
"how u like" embraces a starkly different aesthetic compared to the frenetic, braggadocious energy of "Gottem", and exchanges its predecessor's chipmunked vocal chops and bouncy trap drums for a mellower soundscape based in downtempo, shimmery natural minor guitar passages, reverb-heavy synth bells, and lush vocal harmonies. I felt that a strong resemblance to BROCKHAMPTON was evident right out of the gate, as Thai Thai opens the track with an earnest, thickly-layered sung hook over warm synths and smooth, rounded electric guitars. The harmony work here feels very much reminiscent of 2010s alternative R&B groups, equal parts BROCKHAMPTON and PRETTYMUCH; the influences of earlier boy band template acts like *NSYNC and New Edition are visible, soaked as they are underneath reverb and delay. I was really entertained by Thai Thai's vocal performance here; I hadn't heard him sing like this in his previous discography, namely his earlier EP TELEVISED SUICIDE, which pretty much exclusively features Thai Thai's rapping rather than singing. In spite of that, he proves to be an absolute natural, turning in a tender R&B vocal performance that makes me wish he made more music in this style! The hook is catchy and falls within a part of his vocal range that feels really natural, lending him a soft and richly lacquered timbre that marries his performance to the song's R&B aesthetic very well. TypeOh gets the first verse, delivering third-octave sung melodies through heavy autotune that reminds me of his performances on songs like "Soliloquy" and "Catapult"; while I'm not always in love with the way his voice sounds when processed like this, I think it works quite well in context, and TypeOh's disaffected performance is a remarkably natural fit with the song's atmospheric guitars and soft synth pads. I catch some resemblance to Dom McLennon in TypeOh's autotuned, rapid flows, tight harmonies, and conjunct vocal melodies, thus furthering the BROCKHAMPTON parallels somewhat for me!
"'how u like' started out as a guitar melody that I recorded in my dorm… I took it to [Nick's] dorm over Thanksgiving break… that night we wrote the hook together, and [Nick] made most of the beat as well. That night was really crazy because it was like there wasn't ever a moment where we felt stuck, it was just a constant flow of new ideas, and thoughts about what we could do with the song… that night is definitely one of the most enjoyable nights I've had since I got to New York." –Mathias Quilon a.k.a. Thai Thai
After a repeat of the track's chorus, Thai Thai gets his own verse shortly after that, and turns in a performance that affords him plenty of space to showcase his singing voice over some nice, stereoized harmonies that do a lot to fill out the soundscape. The background instrumental changes somewhat here, as the trap drums are exchanged for a soft acoustic drum kit, and a soaring guitar countermelody enters in the background. Thai Thai also switches it up a little at this point, breaking into a triplet rap flow that nicely rounds off his contributions to the song. Coming out of this verse, nickwuh gets his own section, breaking into some beautiful falsetto passages over textured, rhythmically varied harmonies that take this song into territory that feels like visiting the aesthetics of us against the universe again; I was reminded of the falsetto bridge on "celeste", which I suppose speaks to how much of a natural fit within Nick's sound "how u like" manages to be.
"I was pretty hands-off for most of this song's creation, having only recorded a bit of guitar that ended up going under Anshoo's vocals in the second bridge. Besides that, I hadn't touched it at all until a first draft with vocals and everything was done. I loved the song but thought the outro was a little boring… I drew inspiration from The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake… Timbaland beatboxed all over that album, so I did the same for the outro. Nick mixed the beatboxing incredibly, using it to add variation without distracting from the rest of the song." –Jaden Tyler
"[I] gave some input when we were auditioning the potential endings for the track. I really loved Anshoo's vocals, and also Jaden's beatboxing idea, so I thought we should combine them." –Suzie Sanford
After one final meteoric Thai Thai chorus, a clean, subdued R&B guitar solo enters under a catchy, distant vocal hook; these are the contributions of Jaden Tyler and Anshoo Saha, respectively, both of whom had notably been mostly absent from the song to this point. I really love this short section; the guitar solo is sparse and tasteful, fitting in perfectly with the song's soulful, mellow vibe, and Anshoo's autotuned vocals follow an entertaining, leaping melodic contour that make for a nice change of pace from Nick and Mathias's conjunct, flowing vocal lines from other parts in the song. Jaden and Anshoo were utilized especially well here and I really dig how their subtle contributions nonetheless advanced the song in a tangible way; this little eight-bar break is such a crucial moment for the pacing of the track as we head towards the outro, and I think it was executed perfectly. While we're on the subject, I quite enjoyed the outro of the song as well; Nick uses the song's underlying chord progression as a foundation upon which he stacks harmony layers that continually undulate and expand as the outro continues on, mixed in with some subtle beatboxing from Jaden that added some cool textures to the percussion. As cool as the harmony work is, I found myself very much wishing that Jaden's guitar had more presence here; the little taste of a guitar solo we'd gotten earlier really set the song up to culminate in a soaring melody, and I ended up being a little disappointed that we didn't really get to experience the guitar as a lead element. Even so, I came away from "how u like" with the chorus melody firmly wedged in my brain, which is perhaps the best indicator of a song's quality! The whole thing was a fun listen and now, a couple weeks after its release, I've found the song anchored near the top of my Spotify On Repeat, which I hope illustrates the strength of the creative ideas 3rd Ave managed to achieve here.
"For a while, we were stuck on this 8-bar section and just couldn't figure out what to do with it… I had my version that I preferred, Jaden had his, Luke had his, and Nick had his. We were all just stumped with what to do, [and then] Anshoo recorded over the section and it just fit perfectly, and we knew it sounded better than any idea we had individually, so we went with that. I feel like everyone in this group has the same goal in mind, and it's to put out the best shit we can, and I'm excited to keep doing that." –Mathias Quilon a.k.a. Thai Thai
"Something funny with this song (infuriating in the moment) was that… we couldn't decide on what to do with the ending. Jaden recorded some beatboxing for the end, and at first I lowkey was like 'idk if this is gonna work' but I mixed it in and it sounds hella nice… but the main point of contention was that in between the last chorus and my outro, there was an empty 8 bars that we didn't know what to do with… after like, 2 days back and forth of me sending different version of mixes… I'm like 'bro please hop on this i don't know what to do', so then Anshoo sends over his vocals and I'm like 'YOOOO this is exactly what the song needs'." –Nick Wu a.k.a. nickwuh
As enjoyable as it was, "how u like" was definitely a bit of a curveball that I hadn't expected, and I feel like it leaves 3rd Ave's discography in a slightly uncertain place. The song exists in a space that is much more adjacent to R&B, and feels heavily indebted to nickwuh's distinct sound; the song feels like a spinoff of sorts from the universe Nick has built with his own solo discography, and I caught particular resemblances to nickwuh's "harvest" in the song's combination of downtempo trap percussion and guitar-based pop chord progressions. As a result, "how u like" exists in contrast to the distinctly TypeOh/Thai Thai-flavored "Gottem", and I came out of the track not really sure where 3rd Ave is going to go after this. I suppose I'd been hoping that this second single would solidify their sound and give listeners like me a clear sense for what to expect from them going forward, but I guess all I can do is stay on my toes and be prepared for whatever they throw our way next—so in the end, the group's decision to change up their sound like this has plenty of artistic merit on its own. Still, though, I found myself less enamored at first with "how u like" than I had been with their debut. Like I've mentioned, "how u like" feels very much like a nickwuh song to me, which itself isn't a bad thing—Nick consistently puts out reliably catchy, pop-juggernaut earworms that marry a ton of crossgenre influences into a very specific distillation of pop music that I really enjoy, and I'm an unabashed fan of his music—but I find myself wishing that 3rd Ave would create something more off-the-wall, rather than continuing to explore sounds that I feel like Nick has already made his own. "Gottem" felt like much more of a wild card to me, I guess, with its floor-shaking bounce, ambiguous tonality, and fiery, fun verses; obviously it draws a ton of influence from the sounds of 3rd Ave's members, mostly TypeOh's direct, braggadocious lyricism and Jaden Tyler's heady, parallel-universe, nostalgic production, but it feels like a truly insane mishmash of ideas that I'm not sure any of them could have come up with on their own. "how u like" doesn't quite scratch that itch for me, I'm afraid; it's endlessly catchy and captures the spirit of R&B extremely well, but it also kinda feels too much like a nickwuh song to me, and I'd like the group to recontextualize the sounds of its members beyond the musical landscape in which those sounds already exist.
I also really found myself missing Jaden's presence on this one—after his surprisingly fiery verse on the last song, I was hoping to hear his voice front and center on this one, and I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a verse from him. Still, though, I suppose it's for the best that 3rd Ave seems to be taking a pretty eclectic approach as to who exactly is the "lead" from song to song, spotlighting different members on each track in order to give everyone a chance to shine. For what it's worth, I feel like Mathias, Nick, and Anshoo really got some great moments on this one; Mathias's exceptionally passionate vocal performance completely took me by surprise by virtue of how natural it felt, Nick's ability to craft soaring bridges and build insane harmonies with his breathtaking, crystal-clear falsetto never ceases to amaze me, and Anshoo utterly stole the show with his economical, yet catchy countermelody that took the song to the next level heading into the outro. I also really want to draw attention to the mix on this track—aside from my desire to hear more guitar solo-type stuff, I really loved the balance Nick managed to achieve with his mix; everything comes through clearly, the soundscape is consistently lush, and the blend of textures evolves over the track's runtime in a really nice way. I feel like I catch something new in the instrumental every time I replay this track, which is for me a telltale sign of a good mix. Every so often, I come across some piece of music that serves to remind me that mixing is indeed an art form, and "how u like" definitely falls into that category for me. Putting aside whatever gripes I may have about the track's creative direction, this thing sounds great, and I found myself really impressed by the technical prowess on display here. I have absolutely no idea where 3rd Ave is going to take their sound next, but wherever they go, I wait with bated breath to see what they do—I'm sure whatever it is, it's going to be as catchy, creative, and definitively enjoyable, and I only hope that they don't make us wait for long!
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That's all for this month, but we'll be back come March with more of your songs to look at! Thanks so much for releasing so much great music; Reggie and I had a blast with this edition and we hope there's many more to come down the road! As always, you can submit your own music for review via our email address at NYUMTechMusicReviews@gmail.com, or by DM on our Instagram page @NYUMTechMusicReviews! In the meantime, be on the lookout for more album reviews coming your way soon. Thanks so much for your support and we'll see you next month!
