The Tiny Desk Contest Entries That Impressed Us This Week

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This year's Tiny Desk Contest judges are excited to finally be getting ready to pick the 2019 winner. In the meantime, there's a lot going on in the Tiny Desk Contest community.

You can take part in our weekly, just-for-fun, fan favorite votes, where we select some entries on a theme and ask you to weigh in. There's still time to take part in this week's vote, Desks in the Wild!

You can also see every eligible entry to the Contest on the Tiny Desk Contest website. There's so much great music to discover from this year's entries; below are a couple that impressed us this week.

Racoma, "The Kicker"

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Though the Tiny Desk Contest team generally advocates for vehicular safety, we were pretty impressed with Racoma's entry video for "The Kicker," which the Seattle-based indie band filmed inside a moving car. The song has a gentle, Wilco-indebted sound and a twangy, careening melody, perfect for driving around with the windows down on a sunny spring day. — Marissa Lorusso

Eric Long, "Come On Baby and Dance With Me"

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Eric Long's song "Come On Baby and Dance with Me" is a soft ballad blanketed by deep soul and intimate guitar. This Tiny Desk Contest entry video, filmed by Chad Leto, features Americana imagery of vintage posters, American flags and low lights beaming up above. The song itself, rooted in slow blues and folk, is comforting at its very core. Long's vocals have a timeless timbre that sounds well-traveled, self-reflective and pure. — Jacqueline Reed

40 Million Feet, "This Small Earth"

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40 Million Feet's entry, "This Small Earth," is a beautiful piece of instrumental music; It's also a testament to how music brings people together. 40 Million Feet is made up of Shyam Nepali, who plays the sarangi, and Charlie Giargiari, who plays guitar. The band name is the approximate distance between Boston and Kathmandu, Nepal, Charlie and Shyam's respective hometowns. The story of how they met is in the video's description, and it's a story worth reading. The blend between the unlikely pair of instruments is something magical, effortlessly capturing the essence of two different music worlds. — Pilar Fitzgerald

Kelechi, "Circles"

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Many of us Southerners are susceptible to waxing poetic about the Waffle Houses of our youth at a moment's notice. Kelechi's entry is not just a song about Waffle House as much as the everyday places where love strikes us. In "Cirlces," Kelechi infuses joy into the idea that staying in love can be just as marvelous as falling into it. — Cyrena Touros

Astyn Turrentine, "Maybe It's Okay"

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Astyn Turrentine's "Maybe It's Okay" describes the beginning stages of falling in love. The budding feelings are reflected in the song's graceful arrangement, building softly from Turrentine's steady guitar and honeyed voice. The mirrored harmonies from Josh Sipfle support the narrative and percussion by Garrett Morris drives the intensity of the song. All the mixed emotions that come with the narrator's curiosity and cautiousness conclude with the acceptance of her feelings of infatuation: Maybe, it's OK. — Clara Maurer

Goons, "Fight The Feeling"

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Fellow Stranger Things fans know the nostalgic value of '80s-inspired synth-pop. (Rest assured, there's no Demogorgon here.) Goons' entry, "Fight The Feeling" is a certified banger that will make you want to don your matching denim jacket and get down. The song features danceable beats and sensational vocals and the entry video is visually extraordinary — one of the most creative productions I've seen in this year's Contest. No spoilers here. You'll have to see it to believe it. But I'll just say this: Let the games begin. — Pilar Fitzgerald