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Florencia & the Feeling

Birthday

Review by Gary Hill
The mix of sounds on this album is unique. Overall, there is perhaps more pop music than anything else. That said, it’s more of a retro pop, and it’s heavily influenced from jazz. Everything here works really well, but some tracks stand taller than others. However you label, this is an entertaining release.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume 1. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.
Track by Track Review
Intro

This tune has such a cool smooth jazz groove to it. This has some non-lyrical vocals, but otherwise is an instrumental. It’s a great way to set the tone for the album.

Meant to Be

Built on more of a pure pop rock kind of sound, there are still some jazzy things at play on this. I really love the synthesizer sound later, and the cut does take on a bit of fusion vibe in those later portions.  

Three Steps

There are spoken break-up lines at the beginning of this. The cut has some bluesy, jazz vibes at play. It’s another that lands along the lines of pop rock overall. This does earn a parental advisory.

Birthday

Energetic and rocking, this still has plenty of jazz things at play. This is a powerhouse tune that’s among the strongest here. The jam later in the track gets into almost proggy zones with its fusion vibe.

You

The tempo and energy drop back here. This more of a pure jazz tune. It’s not quite a ballad, but it’s defijnitely mellower than some of the rest here. It’s also an evocative and powerful piece of music.  The organ solo on this brings some retro jazz cool in a somewhat mellow package. The violin brings something special, too.

Que SerĂ¡

As you can probably guess, the lyrics to this are in Spanish. The tune has a lot of old-school rock and roll along with modern pop rock and more in the mix. In some ways this feels the most contemporary of anything here. I really love the saxophone and the guitar fills on this.

In My Fantasy

I really dig the energy and cool jazzy groove to this song. In fact, I think this is one of my favorites here. It just oozes style and cool charm. The guitar solo on this is just impeccable. I love the vocal arrangement, too.

What Can I Do?

Here we get a playful jazzy romp. There is a decidedly Latin groove to it particularly late. This is a fun tune.

Outro

The closing instrumental piece has plenty of fusion in the mix. It’s a great way to end things in style, even if this is short.

 
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