People that have gone through a Bowdoin winter are funny: the moment the thermometer reaches 50 degrees, it's flip flops and T-shirts for the rest of the school year. This year the transition from winter to spring felt especially abrupt; the sun, warm weather and reappearance of life on campus was a shock to my senses. To make things even better, I had recently found the perfect album to go along with the warmth of spring.
It is called "No Más" and it is the debut album of Javelin. The Brooklyn duo consists of Tom van Buskirk and George Langford and they are great at crafting fun and laid-back soundscapes. Take, for instance, the opening track, "Vibrationz," with its playful synthesizers and perfectly chopped samples. It serves as a perfect introduction to a record that stands out from the rest of the artists making this type of retro, electro/hip-hop music.
The album has a quirky quality that appears in some of the more playful songs. "Mossy Woodland" has a rhythm that bounces up and down while the singer claims "you're gonna want me back." The tongue-in-cheek "Oh Centra" sounds like it came straight from a Nintendo game. While these antics may annoy some listeners, others will find them perfectly compatible with Javelin's overall aesthetic. Ultimately, the result is an album that is surprisingly confident and self-aware for a debut.
Javelin is definitely influenced by alternative hip-hop. "Oh Centra" borrows from popular rap music with its comical dance instructions ("do the barrel roll") all spoken in a high pitched, chipmunkish voice. Also, on "Goal/Wide," the two do J Dilla so well that the instrumental snippet would not be out of place on "Donuts." The song's placement at the end of the album seems almost like a nod to the tragically deceased producer.
While they may be great at mimicking other artists, the duo is at its best when creating their own unique sound. "We Ah WI," one of the album's highlights, recalls lazy summer days, rolling down the street on a bicycle. "On It On It" is like a fusion of disco and Cali-funk. Javelin is surely not the first group to try to re-create retro sounds with electronic instruments and samplers, but they do it in a uniquely jovial way.
Nowadays there are many bands creating music that is largely unclassifiable. Everyday a new genre is coined somewhere on the internet (e.g. chillwave). Javelin is a band that will probably warrant a new term to define their music. How about we just call it happy music?
Javelin just finished touring with Yeasayer but they will likely be making the rounds this summer. "No Más" is out now on Luaka Bop.