My Top 1000 Songs #995: Don't Know Why

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

The Essex Green, much like Ladybug Transistor (with whom they share some members), take the retro-pop of the Elephant 6 scene and temper it with sunny sunshine pop. It's pretty, with strains of folk; unabashedly light, calling to mind acts like Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura. And while music in this vein can sometimes fail to stick, their 2006 LP Cannibal Sea added just a bit more grounding, with some solid pop songs and just a smattering of production sheen. There are a number of lovely non-hits on the record, but "Don't Know Why" is the one that really grabs me, as gentle as the balance of their work but letting loose with layered sunshine pop harmonies when the chorus hits. Definitely one of those "I wish I could make you a mixtape so I can throw this one in" kinda tracks.

Live 2018: