Happy Halloween! Actually we’re candy-free in our house, and things are decidedly unspooky while trying to keep up with a sleep training four month old and a very grumpy dog, but there’s always time to appreciate this year’s best (band) couples costume?
Are these links so good they’re scary?
Where You Ko, I Will Follow – Really loved Pete Wells putting the closure of Momofuku Ko this week into context. As someone who moved to NY at the height of the first wave of David Chang’s empire, the sense of possibility Wells captures when describing Momofuku restaurants from that era is spot on.
What’s “Herb” In Swedish? – Come for a thoughtful essay on Olof Dreijer from Sam Valenti IV and what “minimal” actually meant in 2006, stay for the video of Karin Dreijer doing karaoke to “Heartbeats”
Are the Cardigans Secretly Metal? – Rob Harvilla goes deep on “Lovefool” and the Cardigans’ metal roots for the Ringer
On to the best of the week! You can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Yard Act – Dream Job
If you’re going to steal a part, be bold enough to do it loud and proud. “Dream Job” nicks the bass part Rick James’ “Give It To Me Baby,” but the band is smart and/or dumb enough to play stupid, leaning hard into the bass part with layers of gravel guitars and chanted chorus vocals. For a song about the dreariness of the work week, Yard Act know how to get the job done.
Sampha – Dancing Circles
I’ve been trying to spend more time with Sampha’s new LP Lahai, especially since his debut Process was one of my favorite R&B records of the last decade – but it hasn’t latched for me quite yet. That said, “Dancing Circles” is a near-perfect example of how his skills as an arranger and singer are so intertwined it feels impossible to praise one without mentioning the other. The track’s metronomic build, supported by production by Pablo Díaz-Reixa/El Guincho, is all that tethers Sampha’s floating piano and vocal, looming like an ever-larger clocktower over the song’s sweet melodic bloom.
The Reds, Pinks, and Purples – Did You Put Your Song Up Today?
Glenn Donaldson went and wrote an indie pop jam about every indie musician’s darkest thoughts…and unfortunately, it’s a jammer. This one is for everyone trying to hype up their Bandcamp and accidentally called their music “content” to their friends and were ashamed.
The Embassy – Dream On
If you have mixed feelings about this single from Swedish duo The Embassy, wait until the perfect acid bass drop at 1:25. The humid pace of the song’s tempo and encroaching layers of voices and synth show why the band spawned so many Balearic imitators with their debut Futile Crimes in 2002.
NLE Choppa – WE SEE YOU
A truly bizarre flip in the recent trend of obvious, possibly venture capital-fueled, sample-driven rap hits. There’s something delightfully stupid in putting “Funkytown” into a half-time rap track though. You may not love it, but you’ll probably like it more than you admit.
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Dolly Parton – Don’t Call It Love
Dolly’s 1895 album Real Love doesn’t have any of her hits, and in fact recycles a Kenny Rodgers duet two years after “Islands In The Stream,” but bangers abound on this synth-laden LP. “Don’t Call It Love” has a massive Tina Turner-sized chorus delivered plainly, so you don’t realize how massive the hook is until you find yourself singing it to yourself all day.