Mike & Cody - Climax (Usher Cover)

When you start a cover with a sample from "Pure Imagination", you are immediately going to hook me.  Cover songs were what I got my feet wet with Mike & Cody and this one is incredible.  I love the spin they've put on the track while being honest and staying close to Usher's original arrangement.  Then they get all crazy and have this sax solo that is super sexy and cool at the same time.  Both of their vocals are great and the slight synth undertones just add another dimension of flavor to this incredible cover.  Just another reason why they are one of the best bands around, not just the D.C. area but all over.  If you aren't grooving along by the middle of the song then there's something wrong with you.

Mike and Cody - Monster Soul

Take 1 part Foster the People and 3 parts Mike and Cody, put it in a shaker; mix vigorously and what do you get?  You get Mike and Cody's brand new single, Monster Soul.  The track has all the trademarks of a huge single; a great backing track, incredible lyrics and top notch musicality. One of the things that I love about these guys are they aren't afraid to take chances and be who they want to be and not someone that a record label wants them to be.  They've released all their music on BandCamp and were actually named the #1 band out of the entire DC area out of 12,000 other artists.  They have experience in many different genres that allow them to push and pull in any direction they want to go.  They are able to make music that shows off the best of their talents without coming across over done or patronizing.  I think that if this track is able to get some traction, it could easily propel them into orbit.

The track is free so go to their BandCamp and get it and while you're there, grab their album Let's Go because you need it in your life.  It will make you a better person.  That much I am sure.

Mike and Cody @ BandCamp

Mike and Cody - Lets Go!

Holy shit is this album incredible.  If you're a fan of College or the Chromatics then this album is going to blow you away.  Mike and Cody are old friends that have been making music for quite sometime and decided to make the leap from Jazz to Pop and I think it was probably the most amazing decision they could have ever made.  Let's Go is a 7-track EP that was released over a year ago but it has a sound that will fit in any revitalization of the New Wave era.  It's brilliantly crafted and each track builds on the momentum from the one before it.  It's just catchy pop music that makes you want to move along and let them take you where you need to go.


"I'm Going to Steal Your Date" is an incredibly well written anthem to seeing someone that you know should be with you over the loser they are with.  It really doesn't matter, they will be yours even if you have to just take them.  "Headphones On" is this lazy romp that just bounces around and before you know it, you're just bobbing along with it.  The bass line, the horns and all the little bits and pieces of "Everything You Do" makes a helluva funky song but then you listen to the lyrics and it's about a disastrous relationship that ends with having your eyes burned out by the sun.  "Devilish" needs to be on the soundtrack to Drive.  It's got a melancholy to it that makes it very moody.  It's like the person that you see across a room and know they have some form of a past.  This song is like that.  It's been places.  "Let's Go" will certainly get your booty shaking.  I think it's probably one of the strongest contenders for a mainstream single.  It sounds a bit like Patrick Stump and I think that's an incredible thing.  "Party Machine" is this great song with a ton of hope about meeting someone in the club and making a connection but having a blast doing it.  "My Favorite Place" is about as close to a ballad as the boys are going to pump out.  It's one of those great pronouncement songs that you want to be blaring from your boombox outside their house a la John Cusack.

This album doesn't have any missteps as far as I can hear.  It's going to be super easy just to throw it on and let it go.  From start to finish, each track is as good as the previous one.  They also have it on BandCamp where you can pay what you want for it.  I love that site because it removes all the bullshit and I know the artist is getting my money.  I know that it's not a lot but I would rather pay $5 to an artist for an EP and know they are getting 100% of the proceeds opposed to $15 with a record label and the artist maybe only get .1% of that.

It's a great album and it is unabashedly pop music to it's core and it is good.  There are no false pretenses here, from the first lick to the final note, this music is just made to make you sway along.

BandCamp: http://mikeandcody.com/

Mike and Cody - Hot in Herre (Nelly Cover)

There are few artists that do covers that make me take notice. Michael Henry and Justin Robinett are probably one of my most favorite internet duos because of their way of taking something and turning it into something new. That was until I ran across Mike and Cody. These gentlemen don't just modify the arrangement, they create a brand new one. The synth track they laid down under this is ridiculous and the vocals are top notch. It turns an already great piece of music history into something new and original.  I will be doing more scouring of the internet to bring you more but until then, go pick up their album of original songs on their BandCamp.  They are doing that really great thing where you tell them how much you want to pay for the album.  I think that is the future of all music.  No labels, no middlemen...just the artist and the fans.

Also they do a killer cover of Britney's "Toxic".  It's really rad indie music and you need in in your life.