The Best Songs in Dallas Music, 2010: Blending A Whole Slew of Sonic Elements, Blixaboy Reaches His Tantalizing Potential at No. 19

By Pete Freedman Tue., Dec. 7 2010 at 4:09 PM

[Over the next few weeks, we'll be presenting our favorite local songs of the year, counting down from No. 25 to No. 1, one track a day. Today we take an in-depth look at song No. 19 on the list -- and, please, feel free to click after the jump to grab the song as a free download. Also after the jump, check out songs No. 50-20 in the Top 50 list that will update as it grows...]

Wanz Dover, aka Blixaboy

For year, Wanz Dover has promised big things. In the rock world. In the post-rock world. In the DJ world. In the electronic dance music world. In pretty much every world you can imagine, actually.

This year, though, under his dubstep-influenced Blizaboy moniker, his bite is finally matching his bark -- at least in part because, on his self-released, Kliks & Politiks, Dover has taken elements from each of his previous efforts and jam-packed them into an intriguing, rewarding blend.

Bonus mp3: Blixaboy -- "Lion Eyes (featuring Emil Rapstine)"

"Lion Eyes," which finds Dover employing the stark vocals of his friend and fellow area musician, Emil Rapstine of The Angelus, is perhaps Kliks & Politiks' best example of Dover's newly alluring melange. As Rapstine growls out lyrics and a chorus ripped from Elvis Presley, Dover deftly crafts a tantalizing beat below it to further draw his listeners in. And, with a simple, yet infectious, melodica line, he does just that, grasping his listeners by the throat and never giving up.

That's fitting to a degree, as "Lion Eyes" no doubt comes with a dark feel -- darker than the party dubstep phenoms d'jour like, say, Rusko and the like. But where Dover's latest scores most is in the fact that it isn't trying to be something else. It stands on its own, tough-to-describe legs, and, rather than confounds, flourishes.

For years, Dover's short attention spans have seen him jumping from musical genre to genre. And, with "Lion Eyes," all that work has finally paid off.

The Top 50 Local Songs of 2010 (Links to music videos and free song downloads available where applicable; links to streams where neither a download nor video exists.)
50. Dear Human - "Waiting"
49. Nervous Curtains - "All Yesterday's Parties"
48. Spector 45 - "Try Try Try"
47. Smile Smile - "Beg You To Stay"
46. Robert Gomez - "A Natural State"
45. Florene - "Parc Bitch"
44. Mount Righteous - "Eat Your Wife and Kiss The Barbecue"
43. The Strange Boys - "Be Brave"
42. Soft Environmental Collapse - "A Horse & Buggy Complex"
41. Deepspace5 - "Killing With Kindness"
40. Sextape -- "Lubricated Intimacy"
39. Museum Creatures - "Song ABC"
38. Ocelot - "Beating Hears"
37. Sir Silky - "The Squeeze (The Answer)"
36. Bone - "Homegurl"
35. Ishi - "Come Closer"
34. Hoyotoho - "Born Black"
33. Dorrough - "Get Big"
32. Katie Carroll - "Paper Girl"
31. Final Club - "Ruded"
30. Treal Lee & Prince Rick - "Throwed Off (Fuck Errbody)"
29. South San Gabriel - "All Night Long"
28. The Rocket Summer - "Walls"
27. Darktown Strutters - "Lucifer Rising"
26. School of Seven Bells - "Windstorm"
25. Damaged Good$ - "WEHATEDAMAGEDGOOD$TOO"
24. The Burning Hotels - "Austin's Birthday"
23. Doug Burr - "At The Public Dance"
22. The Flowers of God feat. Sarah Jaffe - "Tunnelvisionary"
21. Dondria -- "You're The One"
20. Sundress -- "Locust"
19. Blixaboy -- "Lion Eyes (featuring Emil Rapstine)"
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