The Daily Spin, March 23
Vulfpeck | My First Car
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: My First Car (2013)
Artist: Vulfpeck
Link:
Delicious funk and snappy jazz form the backbone of Vulfpeck’s first endeavor, My First Car. It’s these grooves that solidified the group as one of the best in the new funk movement, and the slap-bass-like vibe that the entire album holds is a delight to the ear the whole way through.
The standout track is the opener, the only one with vocals beyond scatting, and right away you’re surrounded by the honeyed vocals and the easy bass, a plucky keyboard that knows exactly to squeeze in and wave a hand, and warbling synths that maneuver with ease between it all. It’s a comforting sort of feeling, one that doesn’t go away through the remainder of the album. There are variations on it - ‘My First Car’ takes a much more electric feel to the high line, while ‘The Birdwatcher’ literally bubbles and warbles its way through the tune - but the overarching feel is exactly what I want from this record.
For being just 18 minutes, it feels like I could listen to it forever. Think that’s a pretty good sign.
Rating: 9.5/10
Best Tracks: Wait for the Moment; The Speedwalker
Worst Tracks: Kuhmilch 74 BPM