Almost three weeks ago, I was letting SoundCloud run and do its thing in the background when a random track came on and caught my attention. That track was “ADD” by Dwilly. I proceeded to go through his online discography and to my surprise, I loved all of it. I immediately looked up his contact email and sent him a message saying as much, and minutes later, he sent me his next release, “Hands Down.”
For the past three weeks, I’ve been absolutely obsessed with this song. My roommates can attest to that, having heard it on repeat almost as much as I have. It’s hard to narrow down just why I’ve developed such an obsession with this song, but I have a feeling it’s a lot of little things: the opening arpeggio, nostalgic in its resemblance to the toy piano mats of the mid-’90s; the beauty and subtlety of the horns; the delicate and soft synth notes underneath…
Brandyn Burnette’s voice glides atop the notes like an absolute angel, weightless and divine. The chorus is immediately memorable, making excellent use of repetition in the lyrics and terribly addictive production. By the time the verse from Kayo Genesis comes in, we’re in love; after, we’re experiencing full-blown Stockholm syndrome. 
The last third of the song makes use of a synth that I can only describe as “that sound from the Bourne Identity” – if you’ve seen the movies, you’ll know what I’m talking about. That’s really just a personal thing for me, but its inclusion in the song somehow takes it up just that much higher.
By the time this song came out today, the private stream on Dwilly’s SoundCloud had around 100 plays. I can safely estimate around half of those are from me. Now that it’s on Spotify, I might even tell Alexa to make it my alarm.
I’d give you a warning, letting you know that you might become addicted to this song too, but… like a Hive mind, I feel that’s honestly in everyone’s best interest.
Check it out below.
Brandyn Burnette & Dwilly – Hands Down ft Kayo Genesis
Lyrics:
She got those lips like Aphrodite
And she’s not easily excited
She like to talk during a movie
She like wasabi on her sushi
So specific, she likes the strangest things
My intuition tells me to let her keep
Making decisions, she does it naturally
So I will follow, follow, follow your lead
Hands down: My mind’s made up; you’re the best I ever had
Hands down: It feels so good when opposites attract
Hands down: I’m not one for getting too attached
Hands down: But my mind’s made up; you’re the best I ever had
We don’t have too much in common
Except we puff that marijuana
You got my head spinning like tie dye
I’m spaced out like it’s sci-fi
That good connection like wi-fi
Let me get to know ya
So specific, she likes the strangest things
My intuition tells me to let her keep
Making decisions, she does it naturally
So I will follow, follow, follow your lead
Hands down: My mind’s made up; you’re the best I ever had
Hands down: It feels so good when opposites attract
Hands down: I’m not one for getting too attached
Hands down: But my mind’s made up; you’re the best I ever had
(Brrrr)
I don’t slow down
I’m too wavy
But I don’t know how
We both ended up tangled in this place
But I’m here to stay
I can’t fake the wave
I guess it’s safe to say that I got you
And you got some new lingerie with that stuff, ooh
I create a new halloween for that costume
Not for having pants on
I got a pair of cuffs, put your hands down
But usually I’m solo, dolo
Act a fool
I don’t know so and so
I’m home alone
With thoughts of mom at night
Go out at night
About to ask you out
There’s no more out
Cause it hurts to see greens
On really bad scenes
And love is just pain
I’m late to these things
You want it
I will follow, follow, follow your lead
Hands down: My mind’s made up; you’re the best I ever had
Hands down: It feels so good when opposites attract
Hands down: I’m not one for getting too attached
Hands down: But my mind’s made up; you’re the best I ever had
[Repeat the previous verse once.]
Oooh yeah, yeah, yeah
