NPR Music’s 2025 Tiny Desk Contest yielded hundreds of entries, together with some standouts within the pop and rock classes.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
NPR Music’s Tiny Desk live shows have hosted among the greatest names in music, however they’re additionally a car for locating new music. The truth is, this 12 months’s Tiny Desk Contest obtained hundreds – I imply hundreds – of entries from unsigned artists. We have been highlighting a few of them this month with our NPR Music colleagues.
And now, with out additional ado, we’re going to hear about among the entries within the pop and rock genres. We will try this with NPR Music’s Robin Hilton. He is a contest decide. He is additionally a number of Tiny Desk and the All Songs Thought of podcast. Robin, welcome again.
ROBIN HILTON, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.
KELLY: OK, so let’s dive proper in. Greatest pop entry you heard this 12 months.
HILTON: All proper, I’ll give finest pop entry I noticed this 12 months to a bunch of scholars from the College of Southern California. They name their band YOYO, and the track they despatched in is named “Every little thing’s About Me.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “EVERYTHING’S ABOUT ME”)
YOYO: (Singing) I used to care about you and your emotions, boy, made out to maintain you from leaving. You actually twisted the knife, act prefer it’s high quality. You at all times knew methods to play the sufferer (ph)…
KELLY: So enjoyable. What do you want about it?
HILTON: A lot enjoyable, like, all-caps enjoyable – such a bop. However in case you watch the video, they did this entire retro ’80s jazzercise class, you already know…
KELLY: Oh, my God.
HILTON: …Like in – yeah, like, leg heaters and headbands, very colourful. The truth is, the lead singer spends half of the efficiency pedaling a stationary bike – like, singing and using a motorbike on the similar time.
KELLY: Due to course.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “EVERYTHING’S ABOUT ME”)
YOYO: (Singing) Oh, every little thing’s about me. Every little thing’s about me. Every little thing’s about me. Oh, guess you are pondering of me. Guess you are pondering of me. Guess you are pondering of me. Oh, no.
KELLY: OK, I am adjusting my shoulder pads as we communicate and my leg heaters.
(LAUGHTER)
KELLY: How are you going to high that? What ought to we take heed to subsequent?
HILTON: Properly, it is a actual vibe shift right here. Let’s go along with a track referred to as “Caspian’s Inquisition” by Enter Sceptre. And that is two phrases, enter – E-N-T-E-R – Enter Sceptre. This can be a duo primarily based in Brooklyn, New York. And that is perhaps extra within the digital, experimental pop world. It is a bit darkish, form of gothic. I at all times go for that sound. However I used to be actually blown away by the singer, Cascina Caradonna. Their voice is an absolute power.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CASPIAN’S INQUISITION”)
ENTER SCEPTRE: (Singing) You are a goddess, a violet sea. You are a god, hearth and fury. And I am a backyard, fruits and the leaves.
KELLY: Yeah, whole vibe shift. What…
HILTON: Proper.
KELLY: …Caught your ear on this one?
HILTON: Properly, you already know, I believe one of many issues, aside from their voice on this track, is the efficiency is fairly unbelievable in case you watch it. And it is actually arduous when you find yourself a duo and you are making all of your music with electronics, form of simply turning knobs behind a desk – it is arduous typically to actually promote that efficiency, however they do it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CASPIAN’S INQUISITION”)
ENTER SCEPTRE: (Singing) Free me just like the wind in a canyon. Drain me just like the rain on the street. I’ve weathered each winter, and I melted down within the warmth. You want a solution, an understanding.
KELLY: Another perhaps rock entry. Play us out, Robin.
HILTON: Yeah, for certain. Let’s hear a track referred to as “Christ Pose / 90 Watt (ph) Water Whip.”
KELLY: OK (laughter).
HILTON: It is by one other band out of Brooklyn referred to as Slumpwick Grummo. Say all that 10 occasions actually quick, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Slumpwick Grummo. Slumpwick Grummo. Yeah, go (laughter).
HILTON: And the track, “90 Watt Water Whip.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CHRIST POSE / 90 KNOT WATER WHIP”)
SLUMPWICK GRUMMO: (Singing) You already know what it’s.
HILTON: This can be a arduous one to perhaps absolutely respect in case you solely hear a snippet of it or in case you do not see the video as a result of it goes in so many various instructions. Generally it is actually spare and quiet and exquisite, after which it’s going to simply utterly blow up into one thing extra epic and chaotic.
It is form of humorous. I keep in mind when the band despatched of their entry, they stated that they had been nervous that it might perhaps be too intense for us to deal with (laughter), which is – simply is not attainable. I really like what they did. It is probably the most authentic entries we noticed and heard and definitely probably the most memorable.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CHRIST POSE / 90 KNOT WATER WHIP”)
SLUMPWICK GRUMMO: (Singing) She’s bought a smile that lights up the evening. And the sphere runs blue with liquid hearth.
KELLY: All proper, going out with a bang on Slumpwick Grummo. Robin Hilton, thanks a lot for coming and sharing this with us.
HILTON: Rock on, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Robin Hilton of NPR Music. And you may hear and watch all these entries plus hundreds extra at npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CHRIST POSE / 90 KNOT WATER WHIP”)
SLUMPWICK GRUMMO: (Singing) Flaca (ph), flaca, flaca, flaca.
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