Bear Vs. Shark / Rogue Wave

Bear Vs. Shark - Ma Jolie

Trip-le-et. Never before have we heard such excessive use of the musical triplelet. It's cool though, because Bear Vs. Shark lays down a sweet groove for the verse. The best part of this song is the bad ass drum fills that you two-handed slap your steering wheel to during the chorus of the song while those passersby look at you funny. That chorus also has the much overlooked yell/wail that seems out of control like the drumming. Luckily, the guitars and bass hold down the fort with some sweet harmonies that counter that control/out of control feeling the rest of the song has.

After all the air drumming has left you exhausted, we come to the end of the song where the band pulls it all together into a nice exhale. In general, the transitions in this song are absolutely horrendous (e.g. after chorus into 2nd verse, and after 2nd chorus into the outro), but they are so endearing. This song has that right mix of seriousness, self depreciation, and silliness that just hits the spot.

If I had heard this song in 2003 when it was released, it would have been in my top 5 for the year, no doubt.


Rogue Wave - Every Moment

Simon and Garfunkel decided to have a baby with Death Cab For Cutie and name it Rogue Wave. Sweet melodies drop inbetween acoustic riffing under the near march-like tom tom tolls, while strange synthesizers make their way in and out of the song, all of which seem to work together. There is no fat in this song (obviously -- it's only 2:14 long). The song moves from one section to the next only stopping for the vocal break or to move seamlessly between time signatures. It has that tight hook that just stays in your head that makes you remember crave for those two minutes again-- "I used to think about you and me forever".