Los Angeles-based Between Friends have returned with an ambitious new project: i like when you shine! A twenty-five-song “mixtape” that the brother-sister duo created over the last year that began as an experiment and has now snowballed into an engrossing collection of short two-minute tracks that are themselves an ode to the mixtape format. Both Savannah and Brandon Hudson have fond memories of digging through their parents’ collection of tapes from the 90s — and the love for that format, which came from the personal touch and intimacy revealed when another person would so carefully tailor a group of songs into a world or feeling or question that was meant for only us, really shines through.
Tapping everything from slick R&B grooves (“stay with it baby”), woozy synth-dreaminess (“poolside++chatau”), and heady electronica for the brokenhearted (“lonely”), every song on the mixtape affords a different side, mood, and moment of soft intimacy for the duo. About halfway through you find yourself being allured by the glitzy guitar and glossy vocals of “so into you,” while songs like the thumping midnight-crush devotional “gushers” and the bedroom jammer “ae86” underscore the success with which Between Friends created a mixtape with over two dozen songs and not one minute feels repetitive.
Just as quickly as you’re absorbed into the hypnotic revolutions and gushing romance of “shiny,” or enveloped by the dismally cozy melancholia of “tired of your love,” you find yourself soon after reeling and reveling in the enrapturing sonics and soundscapes of the next track. If it’s possible to credulously say that a twenty-five-song mixtape ends too quickly, then let it be said about i like when you shine!
Whether it be a late-night drive or a time to dim the lights and set the mood, there is a soothing magnetism that radiates from i like when you shine! There’s even an interlude near the beginning announcing your welcome to “bf radiooo,” and the nostalgia for late-night radio djs also speaks to the ease with which you can throw on this mixtape and let Between Friends do the rest.
“This is a piece of us, something we have held very close to our hearts this year. A diary of some sorts and a sonic experiment. For ages we have placed the mixtape format on a pedestal, from the history of frankie knuckles and dj drama all the way down to the old cassettes we’d find in our garage that belonged to our parents in the ‘90s. Making this was a fever dream and the most fun we’ve had in our studio to date. We hope that this finds its way well into your cars and your headphones. Made with luv at home by us for you.”
Visit Between Friends’ website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Listen to Between Friends’ new mixtape i like when you shine! below!
This post may contain affiliate links. Ads and affiliate links are how independent blogs like Grimy Goods can operate and pay our staff. Thank you for supporting our work and being a part of our music community.
