The Tab’s End of Term Playlist

The end is nigh! We've hit the final couple weeks of term, and with the (terrifying) February heatwave serving up sunny vibes (which, by the way, can we all call FABruary?!), springtime is only inching closer. As always, Easter break is a time to let your hair down, even if not all the way. With exam season on the horizon, we all need that playlist to keep us calm, cool and collected, whilst getting the most out of those moments of freedom. In that vein, welcome to my second Official Tab Playlist! As before, I'll pop the link here and at the end of the article, and it can also be found @thetabcambridge on Spotify.

spotify:user:thetabcambridge:playlist:6aQfp6N7IbHFSzVnaNoGy7

So this playlist starts with The Avalanches' 'Because I'm Me,' a sample-heavy song filled with sweeping strings, bright brass, a funky little beat and joyous verses from Camp Lo. It's got everything to make your morning feel like summer's come along, and it's music video is also adorable. The funky feelings carry on with the next tune, 'Electric Lady,' by Janelle Monae (feat. Solange) – this is a song which is just that: electric. The chorus on this track is damn fine, and one of the catchiest I've heard in a while.

Moving away from the funky, we have the intimate, romantic beats of Giraffage's 'Close 2 Me'. The song starts as if falling through the sky before landing with a mix of melodic vocal samples, shifting down a tone in the second half into a world bordering on the raunchy. Talking of the raunchy, Christine & The Queens' '5 Dollars' approaches this from an innocent, glistening perspective, with a music video to match as Chris is getting ready for her day in a mixture of kink gear and officewear. A sparkling diamond of a song, it's one of my favourites from last year.

From the sophisticated pop of Christine & The Queens to the warbling, charming chamber pop of Antony and the Johnsons. I Am A Bird Now is a classic album filled with emotions that seem to pour out and over the tracks, and Anohni's lead vocals reach love-filled heights on the ecstatic track 'Fistful Of Love,' that peaks to a grin-enducing climax. Along similar romantic lines, I've ended the playlist with Rex Orange County's song 'Happiness,' a piano ballad that's adorable in all the sincerely right ways. Really, it should be a serious contender for anyone and everyone's first dance.

Yes, Solange features three times on this playlist ('Stay Flo' from her newest release, 'Looks Good With Trouble,' and featuring on 'Electric Lady'), but really, honestly, is anyone complaining? The surprise release of When I Get Home has sent large portions of the internet into what can only be described as a frenzy of praise, and rightly so. Accross it's 39 minutes and 19 tracks, Solange flits between jazz, neo-soul, hip-hop, R&B and just about everything else, and if you haven't listened to it yet then really, stop reading this and sort yourself out. Another album released on the same day as Solange's When I Get Home was Hozier's long-awaited sophomore Wasteland, Baby! I've also included a tune off this impressive record, 'No Plan,' a sauntering, sexy song immersed in a sort of smoky atmosphere, and definitely one of the highlights from the album.

Two songs here deserve to be mentioned together: Arca's 'Desafío,' and Björk's 'Saint,' because the former co-produced the latter's Utopia, from which 'Saint' is taken. 'Desafío' is a flickering, gorgeous track which is probably the closest Arca's ever come to making pop under his own name, which almost envelopes you in sound before simmering back down in its final moments. 'Saint' on the other hand is a sweeping love song (a theme it appears), which includes one of the most startingly emotive flute melodies I've ever heard in the chorus. Also, Björk doesn't ever get the kind of recognition she deserves, so if you have the time, I'd highly recommend listening to the rest of her back catalogue.

Finally, I need to talk about my two personal favourite choices. The first is 'Milk' by Moderat, the 10 minute long centrepiece to the playlist that shuffles along, adding various layers as if fitting a dance-floor jigsaw together, crescendoing in a moment that sounds like space rushing in towards you. The other is the shimmering 'Time Will Wait' by Submotion Orchestra, a band I would recommend to anyone and everyone. Ruby Wood's voice is silky, otherworldly, and mixed with the production on this track, it's a crushingly beautiful addition to the playlist's final moments.

So there it is! Again, I hope you like at least some of these tracks, and hopefully can make some new finds of your own here. Remember, the end of term is in sight! It won't be long until you can let your hair down, switch off for a bit and enjoy the spring which is hot on our heels. Once again, here's the link for the playlist and our Spotify is thetabcambridge, so you can find it (with all our other playlists) there as well.

spotify:user:thetabcambridge:playlist:6aQfp6N7IbHFSzVnaNoGy7

See you next time!