Top 10 RGV Singles of 2020 So Far. . .
Only halfway through the year, and we can already be sure it’s the toughest one in multiple generations. Disease, civil unrest, global conflict, natural disasters, rampant unemployment, further polarization during an election year, and there’s more trouble on the horizon. With so much to focus on, let’s stop to take just a moment to listen to and appreciate some fine music from our own Rio Grande Valley musicians. With all that we’ve been through, I don’t think that’s asking for too much. Thank you, and stay strong RGV!
10. GodBlessTheKid - RUN IT BACK!
It’s oddly satisfying to hear GBTK cursing up a storm aimed at everyone and no one. With the help of producer Kingwicked, the ominous guitar riff and gritty trap groove make this one a standout among his noisy SoundCloud output.
9. Boiz - Movie
Fantasy turns to unapologetic indulgence in Boiz’s debut video. The breathy soft voice that breaks out into a big synthpop chorus, akin to Hellogoodbye and Owl City, is still a reliable formula to get those happy ending vibes, even if it’s just the beginning for Boiz.
8. Shaun Mecca - Bank Acct
Shaun Mecca brings some serious hit potential. There’s a haunting trap beat, sticky autotune melodies, and a very chant-worthy chorus (“All I need is money in my baaank account.”)
7. Angel Corsi - That’s What Love Is
“It’s like two veteran boxers on the attack, and none of them want to hold back,” a father tells his son about the turbulence of love. What drives Corsi’s folk singing and strumming, and weathered recording quality, is a fighter’s spirit.
6. Jacob Jenni - I Know ur Sad
Coming from the weird side of SoundCloud, Jacob Jenni resurfaces with his most accessible song yet. A candid version of Beatles pop-rock meets the deceptively joyful strums and claps of Hey Ya.
5. Apache Pistol - Star
This song about self-potential uses the heartland passion of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run and The Killers’ empowering synth leads. At a time when live music is on hold, Apache Pistol comes up with a massive stadium rocker.
4. R U I N K R Ô S - Necromachina
There’s something strangely cathartic about romantic martyrdom coming from a cold and stiff goth voice. Dramatic themes of flesh/machine and heaven/sin duality run through this sci-fi dark wave thriller.
3. Honeyflowers - yellow boy.
Whether he’s singing about inadequacy (“you want somebody taller, a big burley baller, a jawline to cut your soul”) or humorously mocking ignorant assumptions (“Yellow boy, a distant relative of Jackie Chan,”) it works on every level. This brand of indie, pop, and rock is as wholehearted as it is heartbreaking.
2. Pillowsnake - Copaganda (ft. I Killed Techno)
The movement to burn the rug that the issues of race and policing keep getting swept under has inspired two of the Rio Grande Valley’s biggest noisemakers to add more fuel to that fire. Even through the musical madness, the meaning of the indiscernible lyrics are clear: the warmhearted portrayals of police won’t distract us anymore. Every element of the song brings a sense of urgency: the harsh trip-hop beat, the icy bells, the paranoid string-synth, and especially the flickering notes that ascend like a sci-fi cannon charging up.
1. Jay Sol - The Game
As cold as it is soulful. Jay Sol sings about romantic flaws throughout the seductive and rainy noir atmosphere of a Weeknd song. The instrumentation is sparse and steady, and allows Jay Sol to bring a vocal performance that should be the envy of the year so far.
