
79.5
Predictions
Label: Big Crown
Genre: Freestyle / Nu Jazz / Funk / Afro
Availability
- LP €21.99 Out of Stock
They released their now classic Terrorize My Heart 45 in 2016 on Big Crown Records and it solidified all the hype surrounding them. The 7” sold through the first pressing in just a few weeks and became a staple in DJ sets around the world getting spins from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Q Tip, Kenny Dope, DJ Spinna, and Just Blaze to name a few. They announced their debut album via Billboard’s premiere of their newest single Boy Don’t Be Afraid which was accurately described as “Energetic and infectious...a unique, yet easy to listen to experience”. Already getting heavy spins at radio and finding it’s way into the hearts of all the listeners, the instant classic Boy Don’t Be Afraid is as bandleader Kate Mattison describes, “a sweet little song about being. Being hopeful, being romantic, being brave. A romantic stance and a declaration of love through melody, in honest girl-group fashion. And like a classic New York deli cup of coffee, light and sweet”.
The album plays very much like their live show, a timeless journey through a New York City dreamscape pulling in the listener to the subtleties of three part vocal harmonies over chords on the Rhodes to the peaks of four on the floor disco drums. Equal parts psychedelic, and folk, gorgeous and gritty. This mix of influences and vibes is maybe best embodied by the stand out tune Facing East which sounds like ESG meets Fleetwood Mac with Sade Saxophone for good measure. Fantasy and I Stay, You Stay touch on love and vulnerability while the drum driven Sister’s Unarmed is 79.5’s politically charged number about how to stand up for equality yet hold on to your gentleness as a person, and specifically as a woman in today’s world. Fireman shows a more sassy side of the ladies, playing on words in a tune many New York women can relate to; one about having a crush on NYC’s Bravest. Wavy is a straight forward good vibe tune about getting out of the city and getting to the beach while the album’s title track Predictions was written by Mattison after having a dream about the apocalypse. The tracks encompass the complexity of the band, sometimes literal and light hearted, sometimes abstract and esoteric. 79.5 is easily one of New York City’s most adored acts, their debut album has been eagerly anticipated and will surely supersede fans expectations.