While the year 2016 can be characterized in a myriad of ways, many of which are dark and undesirable, 2016 was the year of horns, in my book. Although they’d already been killing it for years, artists like Griz and Big Gigantic took the nation by storm with their energizing horn sound and entered the fray of popular music (see Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines featuring a Griz song in a TV ad), more traditionally mainstream pop music saw an increasing number of trumpet and saxophone riffs compared to years past, and, finally, The Dip. While the vast majority of the world has never heard of this Seattle seven-piece (yes, seven), you now are part of the in-crowd that is aware of the rhythm and blues juggernaut that is The Dip. Off of their 2016 EP Won’t Be Coming Back, “B.T.” is a joyous mix of ‘60s soul and modern surf rock that inspires nothing but optimism and confidence.
