The Philadelphia-based indie band Great Time is back with their next installment in the “Sounds Like” series. Jill Ryan (vocals), Zack Hartmann (bassist), and Donnie Spackman (drummer) are picking up right where they left off at the beginning of the year with Sounds Like Vol. 1. While the first three-track ep centered on present-day lo-fi R&B, Great Time breaks out the time machine for their second go around. Great Time breaks out the vibrant colorful tracksuits and Miami white blazers for an 80s dance-inspired project with their signature sound.
Like their previous project, the cover artwork gives fans a sneak peek into what lies ahead. It’s also where we begin our adventure through time. The five-track project blazes a trail straight through the heart and out from the ears. It’s an emotional roller coaster of excitement, fun, and self-reflection. As with every project, Great Time puts in 1,000% effort and this is no different. The use of precise wave synths and mind-bending production from Donnie and Zack brings each track into the fold of Jill’s smooth voice. Their ability to not conform is one of their biggest assets. Each track fits into what the project is as a whole, but stands alone in its own music right. With that knowledge, Great Time leans on that and plays well off that “weakness.”
The band sat down with TUC earlier this year for our NEXT UP series and spoke about the meaning and overall theme of the “Sounds Like” series. Their meaning has never changed, nor wavered. That uniqueness has caught the eyes of NPR and Paste magazine. In a sort of defiance against how the media creates a label for you, Great Time sidesteps that with this series. It’s meant to answer the questions that have plagued their young careers, but by their own standards. Jill Ryan spoke about the meaning of Sounds Like series, “critics have suggested that we should pick a lane or a genre, and Sounds Like is our way of defying that while staying true to ourselves.”
A force in the Philadelphia music scene, Great Time’s status continues to rise with each passing project. In an industry filled with garbage machine music and practices, the Philadelphia-based trio continues to push past the voids grasping to pull them down and shine brighter on Sounds Like Vol. 2.
Sounds Like Vol. 2 drops on Aug 5th for all music streaming platforms. You can pre-save it here.
