JOE

JOE came out of Dutch commercial radio and it sounds like it - there's efficiency here, but the good kind. The format stacks classic pop hooks next to 70s and 80s material in a rhythm that's actually hard to predict. You start with something from the 90s, then a 1970s soul cut, then something contemporary that somehow fits the mood. The DJs talk, and they're not apologizing for it. There's a chattiness to Dutch radio that makes you feel like you're eavesdropping on friends making mixtapes in a van. Pop radio usually feels like brand management. Not this. At 95kbps the stream's lean but stable,…