Ah, the 2010s. The decade that gave us Instagram, Lady Gaga’s meat dress and some of the best music of the current decade.
There’s something so sonically juicy about tracks released in this era. They’re not just distinctly jubilant, they’re also emotional and created a road map for so many songs being released today. These tracks are the soundtrack to the years that gave us everything from the Ice Bucket Challenge, Lena Dunham’s Girls and Kony 2012.
These tunes always hit so goddam hard, but can a fancy speaker make them hit even harder? Or are they perfect just as they are on your regular headphones?
Wonder no more. We’re putting our ears on the line to test if a speaker really makes that much of a difference to the feeling of your 2010s anthems.
As part of BWS’ Nice Drops series, they’ve just dropped 10 hand-crafted high-end speakers made locally in Sydney which you can even win for yourself (bit more on that later).
They feature the legendary JBL 328C 8-Inch Coaxial Driver (rumoured to be a favourite with the Japanese audiophile community) and are said to create a “revolutionary listening experience”.
So we played five of the most iconic tracks of the 2010s to test if they can (somehow) hit even harder on this one of a kind speaker.
1. Robyn – “Dancing On My Own” (2010)
When we think of music from the 2010s, this is one of the first songs that comes to mind. The mix of classic disco and house, blended with the vulnerable feelings of being alone on a dance floor filled with people. All we can say is, damn, Robyn.
When we blasted it on the Nice Drops speaker, it made the lyrics “I’m in the corner, watching you kiss her” — which is a guttural cry hidden behind the mask of a pop song — come to life. “Dancing on My Own” is a song that’s best enjoyed when you’re yelling it with a heartache-pounding yelp, and the tonal qualities of this speaker really helped bring that to life.
2. Avicii – “Levels” (2011)
The infectious hook in “Levels” is without a doubt one of the greatest EDM hooks of the decade. Its mammoth synths helped young millennials capture that good feeling, despite everything else that was going on in the world.
It’s a song that brought a generation together under jet-like ‘whoosh’ sounds, and having this cranked to the max with the orange horn on top of the speaker blaring “Levels” felt right. The vocals sounded clear and crisp and the bass was strong and punchy just when that hook came in.
3. Frank Ocean – “Thinkin Bout You” (2012)
When “Thinkin’ Bout You” was dropped in 2012 it felt both new and nostalgic all at once. It’s drenched in emotion and laced with shimmering R&B sensibilities and we couldn’t wait to press play. When we put this on the speaker, the spacious sound took us out of the rawness of the track a little but the vocals were super clear.
4. Azealia Banks – “212” (2012)
There is nothing on God’s green earth like this song. It made our 14-year-old hearts so happy to scream cunt. It was the much needed anthem for the girlies who had moved on from their emo days and invited back a touch of feminist angst and pubescent joy into their lives.
If there’s one thing you need to know about the Nice Drops speaker, it can go LOUD. And that’s the only way “212” should ever be played. And that’s on THAT.
5. Grimes – “Oblivion” (2012)
There’s no world we want to immerse ourselves in more than Grimes‘ “Oblivion”. It created the right ethereal sonic conditions to keep up our tumblr re-blogs maybe even get that triangle tattoo.
We couldn’t wait to hear that muddy bass line live on the speaker and those feelings of vulnerability and nihilism through that bright orange horn. That essence of whimsy sounded sharp as Grimes’ siren-like vocals were clear and drew us closer to the speaker, just like a sailor being drawn to the sounds of a beautiful siren.
The Results
Overall we were impressed by the Nice Drops speaker and how it made these 2010s tracks feel when we in listened the office. The sound is clear and crisp and has a fullness that our 2010s gems deserved.
If you’re itching to try it out for yourself and feeling (rightly) bummed there’s only a few ever made, don’t fear! BWS are chucking 10 of these up for grabs to win, all you need to do is follow @bws_au on Instagram and DM the code ‘speaker’ to enter. Best of luck, and most of all, happy listening!
The post Does A Fancy Speaker Actually Make A Difference? We Blasted 5 Of The Most Iconic Tracks Of The 2010s To Find Out appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
