We get a lot of records sent to us here at The A.V. Club. Fortunately, we end up liking some of them. In Playlisted, we share our latest recommendations.
Album: Brenmar’s Slow Grind, Deep Hustle, Vol. 2 (out now from DummyMag.com)
Press play if you like: Smart, soulful hip-hop and R&B mixes that are stirred together, not shaken.
Some background: As the former drummer for Brooklyn proto-punk group These Are Powers, Bill Salas knows something about sweet beats. Working now as Brenmar, Salas is making self-described “club music for the present,” mixing house beats with solid-gold vocals that make strobe lights flash and even the whitest of booties shake. Most of his material is available online in one form or another, as Brenmar’s real power comes live, where he’s a straight-up clever and surprising mixer. A lot of his tracks, like “Let Me Hit That Shit,” are a little repetitive, but in classic dance-music style, it ends up being mesmerizingly perfect rather than dull.
Try this: Slow Grind, Deep Hustle, Vol. 2 is a little different than most of Brenmar’s original material, though it’s just as special. It still has the power to move listeners, but in more of a grinding, sliding motion than a true bounce. The 44-minute mix slowly, sensually sticks together tracks from artists like Danity Kane and Dru Hill, most of which—save Mariah Carey’s “Sweetheart,” featuring Jermaine Dupri—probably hit somewhere under the radar of the average music fan. Throw in some heady remixes of Destiny’s Child and The-Dream, and the mix becomes a late-night R&B lover’s dream, all emotion, no grit. It’s sweetly dirty and sure to inspire plenty of singing along, neck-wiggling, and straight sass. It’s a perfect listen on a nice spring drive or during a bitchy night of heartbreak.