D'Cantwo Junior & LyCOox [TMP] - Verão 3D

Three days ago two small, blonde haired children stopped my forward progress. As I approached a stop sign just around the corner from home, they began shouting. No sooner did light reflect off the leaves from a nearby tree when I realize this impediment was not random. The idealistic youth were seeking more than an embrace from this urban nature. Green was both the color of the leaves and the cash firmly gripped in their tiny fists. Lemonade - free from the confines of food handling regulations and liberated from the burden of providing consumers with nutritional facts - was the swill these little girls attempted to peddle my way. With 114 degree highs, though, this is not too rare a sight. Summer has entered its full swing.

The changing of seasons, not unlike reaching a milestone, is ripe with potential memories. Like wedding or a graduation, summertime is about moving enjoyment. An anthemic song does more than provide a theme; a fitting soundtrack. The sense of hearing, like the sense of smell or reviewing a forlorn sight, conjures up a slew of emotions. An ideal "song-of-the-summer" plucks the both heartstrings of an instrument and the (at a fixed point in the past). And with the passion "Fancy" and "Blurred Lines" have brought forth the past two years, it is easy to forget that "song-of-the-summer" can have either "the" or "a" preceding it. That being said, LyCoOx has found yet another Lisbon based artist to work with. D'Cantwo Jr, together with the resident TMP Frenchman, make a last-ditch case for opening up the collective summer playlist to include just one more jam.

A vaguely baroque synthesizer introduces listeners to "Verão 3D." Once the ambient backdrop, alongside another synth and soime MIDI strings, the truth becomes clear. These producers have spared no resources in creating an inoffensive sound. Thirty seconds fully used and effectively so, leading seamlessly into the song's chorus. The phrases, standard in length and pleasant sounding, are as gentle as their corresponding mid-tempo kuduro beat. "Verão 3D," could just as easily be used as the basis for a kizomba demo; which is not to say the song forces the composers to make compromises where integrity is concered. Pop is only a sensation. The song's sole drum pattern is assisted by an uninspiring four-part bassline just as much as but a the woodblock in its supplemental rhythmic role. At just about the minute mark the song enters its first verse. Ambient dressing now discarded, the initial synth is bare. Being the formulaic attempt at creating a summer dance tune of these two minds, however, their synth merely  loops before being rejoined by the strings. Following the standards handbook, the second chorus is followed by a unique synthesizer portion. A Third chorus leads into the track's outro and so concludes this lighthearted number. Enjoyable and light, much like summer: not everything requires excruciating examination. Relish in a nice, harmless song.

- John Noggle