Sometimes with a mix, you have to force yourself to stop analyzing what might make a song continue what its predecessor started and just go with what feels right. Sure, there’s the briefest of hints of the baroque pop I saw in Smog and Camera Obscura, and there’s some handclaps and stuff, but really Robb and Epp set me up for a closing track that needed a lot of pure joy. Joy for being alive, joy for being in love, joy for making music. And like Spoon, 14 tracks and a million years ago, “Strawberry Weed” is the sound of four guys in a room who clearly love making music. Hear the little happy yelp at the 3:07 mark! Just listen to that glorious 90-second outro!
So I choose to end this first volume not with a bang or a whisper, but with a big, dumb, happy grin. Maybe because it’s summer outside, or because I love being a part of this mix. Whatever the reason, like the song says, I’ll keep coming back for more.
m. joosse
