Buffalo label Steak & Cake Records is back with another summer single and video by pop act Kelli Bobbi. “July Rush,” directed by Brandon Schlia and starring singer Jazmine Frazier, epitomizes the youthful defiance of summer days and nights.
Kelli Bobbi embodies 1980s revival. The name alone sounds like it belongs to an ‘80s pop icon, and the video for “July Rush” serves some fashion nostalgia with oversized jackets, bright high-waisted shorts, crew socks, smoky purple eyeshadow, neon shades, and denim – though you’d probably see these styles walking around the city right here in summer 2019.
This then-meets-now aesthetic also comes through in the music, and it’s infectiously fun. The track has an instant, understated catchiness from the beginning; synth, a simple drum beat, and Frazier’s breezy vocals evoke the timeless feelings of optimism and excitement that come when the summer really starts to get going every year. The sound continues to swell throughout the verses as new synth tracks appear one by one, layering until they erupt into one blast of a dance-funk chorus.
The video combines this build-up with shots of people in a field on a sunny day, a spotlight in the dark, the coolest bike I’ve ever seen, and eventually a covetable dance break as the chorus explodes. Then, just like July – before you know it, it’s over, and you immediately want it to start over again.
“Nobody’s stopping us” is the mantra of Kelli Bobbi on this single. After listening to this summer anthem more than a few times, I think it could be mine, too.
Written by Grace Trimper