Sprightly Summer Tunes: a Listen to The Merrier + Zinnie’s Gold

Think about your favorite childhood (or adulthood!) cartoon. Was there an earworm that burrowed its way into your brain? As a kid who grew up in the early-mid 00s, I find that there’s an astounding amount of fun and inspiring music in the cartoons I enjoyed both as a young child and as an older teen. With the resurgence of songs like “Castaways” from The Backyardigans and the ever-present love of songs like “I’m Just Your Problem” from Adventure Time, it’s no wonder that the nostalgia-evoking sound of animated arrangements is inspiring an entire generation of musicians.

“Gold” is a fresh collaboration between The Merrier and Zinnie. Inspired by the music of Adventure Time, “Gold” has a wistful cartoon charm. The listener is dropped right into the buoyant beat, punctuated with twinkling bell sounds and a jaunty ukulele. Vocals begin far back in the mix, drenched in reverb, before entering into a clean and gentle vocal by Zinnie in the verse. Pensive, almost hostile lyrics juxtaposed against the cheery instrumental gives the song a sarcastic edge — no doubt inspired by the sardonic crooning of Marceline the Vampire Queen. I enjoyed the wordplay between cyclical/sick in the verses. The bassline is prominent and carries the song forward along with playful drum machine hi-hats.

My favorite moment in the song comes in the bridge, where the ukulele lead line is reversed. Fun, carefully placed textures keep the simple, short song captivating.

You can listen to “Gold” here: https://open.spotify.com/album/7gzsQhO1VsFAxYhuY42l46?si=U2mGL7OZTWSOPrGnhvT73Q&dl_branch=1&nd=1

You can listen to The Merrier here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4JfT6FsiR2CPLwXtXyB5pJ?si=WMg7Mb4IT2Or7PpqRBQL3Q&nd=1

You can listen to Zinnie here: https://zinnie.bandcamp.com/releases