Twenty-Something Anthems
The soundtrack for the popular television show Broad City is exactly what most listeners will expect. The tracks contained in the album are as obnoxious and entertaining as the girls on the show. What is presented is a compilation of Latin-influenced pop and pro-marijuana propaganda. A hip hop heavy album, Broad City‘s music pulls from electronic influences to give the feel of a hood-rat house party, or a soundtrack to a cruise through the city with friends. For fans of the television show this album is gold: it puts you on the same wave length that Abby and Ilana live on.
As required, the album contains the show’s intro song “Latino & Proud” by DJ Raff. Most likely the most electronic-sounding song on the album, the track loses its magic as the loop comes around for the fourth time. “Latino & Proud” still contains that signature, bombastic sound but just isn’t as dynamic as one might believe it to be from the one minute intro to the show. Stand outs on the album include “Dat Gyal” by Tony Quattro, “Tigre” by Jarina DeMarco and “YES Bitch” by K Rizz. “Dat Gyal” brings a caribbean flavor with interesting vocals and a trap influence that all come together to build an energetic and dancable track. “Tigre” exhibits a Latin influence that makes one wish they were at the block party. Broad City‘s official soundtrack can’t be all serious, of course, and “YES Bitch” has a touch of comedic air that the listener can get behind and not be ashamed to blast on the car stereo. These tracks and the artists that produced them make this album more than just a sound track.
Though there are a few stand out tracks the rest of the album falls into some minor hitches that keep many of the songs from becoming hits even though the bones of these tracks are great. “Marijuana” by Zebra Katz and Kashaka possesses a great sound and the subject of the lyrics is amusing until the listener realizes the entire song is just different ways to smoke and name the titular plant. The other Latin track featured on the album, “ La Nueva Condena” by Ana Tijoux, features an awesome ’90s hip hop vibe and its vocals are dripping with swagger. These tracks don’t take away from the album, but just don’t reach the same caliber of the standout hits.
Broad City is an exaggerated snapshot of what it’s like to be a wandering twenty-something nowadays and the album carries that feeling. Being a young adult now is a fight between wanting to have one’s life together and in order, while going out every chance you get and flushing your money away in a futile attempt to stop the clock and stop growing up. This album provides a soundtrack to the lifestyle of mistakes and wild nights with little progress. Whether the listener is living this life or they wish they did, the Broad City soundtrack captures that mood to a T.
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