Song of the Day: Sam Vicari - Contact High

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Contact High” by Sam Vicari, from the 2016 album Blunt. on Sip City Records.

Sam Vicari – Contact High (MP3)Superdrag, Jimmy Eat World, Elliott Smith, Weezer. These are the artists Sam Vicari lists as influences on his own music. For many of us, these bands from the early aughts elicit a strong amount of nostalgia and place. We love them for what they meant to us when we were in high school or middle school, and occasionally we'll still put on a favorite record from back then when we need a hit to bring us back. The question is, can someone to whom you don't have any actual nostalgic emotional attachment, but who makes similar sounds as the bands, give you that same high?

Well, take a hit of Sam Vicari's "Contact High" and be pleasantly surprised. This short and sweet track has a catchy hook and slashing guitars that power through the just over two-minute track with a sense of purpose. Engineered by Greg Norman (The Killers, Andrew Bird, Kim Deal) at Chicago's iconic Electrical Audio and mastered by Pete Lyman (Weezer, Courtney Love, Twin Peaks), Blunt. is Vicari's 4th album and is making a strong case for a power pop revival.

Vicari finished his summer tour last month, but considering he's such a big fan of our crosswalks, we're sure he'll be back in Seattle soon. Keep updated with any upcoming shows on his website and Facebook page. For now, check out another song from the Blunt. LP here: