NOW That’s What I Call Music! 64 highlights six newcomers in its NOW What’s Next series
The latest NOW compilation, NOW That’s What I Call Music! 64, brings 14 hits from fall ’17 and belatedly includes both the year’s biggest hit, “Despacito (Remix)” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber, and the year’s biggest country hit, “Body Like A Back Road” by Sam Hunt. In addition to the 16 hits, NOW continues to feature up and coming artists through its NOW What’s Next series.
The artists featured on the latest edition are all Americans, four are solo acts and two are groups. The longest-tenured band here is Moon Taxi, an alt-rock outfit from Nashville that has already released five albums and just signed with RCA. Their entry “Two High” is a feel-good anthem about putting up the peace sign. Given the “overnight” success of Portugal. The Man this fall (the band released its eighth album this year), @moon_taxi have a shot at finally breaking through. The other band on NOW What’s Next 64 is The Accidentals, a trio from Michigan led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Sav Buist. The band’s “Odyssey” is an optimistic indie-folk take on the odyssey that is life, with the defiant “I’m not weak” line included on the chorus.
As an emerging band, The Accidentals get dinner at Whole Foods Market while on tour
Among the solo artists, Billie Eilish has the most Instagram followers, at 354,000, and at 15 she is also the youngest artist profiled. Her “Ocean Eyes” brings a distinctive quiet storm, recalling the sound of Marian Hill. Like Eilish, 22-year-old DaniLeigh lives in Los Angeles, and her “Play” has a laid-back R&B vibe with a heavily-sensored, uncredited verse by Atlanta rapper Kap G. For fans of lite FM, there’s the 21-year-old Molly Kate Kestner, a Minnesota native who also made the move to Los Angeles. Her “Footprints” sound nothing like the other 21 tracks on the album; it is an emotional letter to her younger brother, on which she tells him that he can follow her footprints, if he chooses to. This is departure for NOW, which is biased towards high energy tracks, and shows that the producers at Universal Music Group are getting adventurous with what they include in NOW What’s Next.
@mollykatekestner created hashtag #MKKFootprints, named after her new single, just in time for Thanksgiving
Seattle blues-rocker Barns Courtney is the final featured artist on NOW What’s Next 64. His “Golden Dandelions” is a psychedelic rock stomp that fits somewhere between the moodiness of Kings Of Leon and the energy of Walk The Moon. Like Britain’s more famous George Ezra, @barnscourtney is a storyteller and this particular story is about a romantic interest asking him to lay her down among golden dandelions. The song’s trippy appeal is amplified in the music video, which brings in Americana images from the 20th century. Check it out below and buy or stream NOW That’s What I Call Music! 64 today.
