NESYA – PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG.
The intention of an artist like NESYA is not to create pure pop music. The daughter of a Nebraskan preacher and subjected to religious and sexual trauma, her aesthetic is wholeheartedly goth, punk, and a little vampiric–she even has a video that borrows liberally from that famous scene in Blade that I love so much. But even though her vibe is dark, I can’t help but get the same thrill from this song as I would from stuck-in-your-hair bubblegum pop. It’s catchy as fuck and reminds me of the electro pop I posted so much on this blog back in the early aughts, when it was at its peak. It hasn’t gone unnoticed over here that there seems to be a resurgence of that sound lately, and it’s not just (or even primarily) about bloghouse nostalgia. I’m not convinced anyone is really that nostalgic for most of that stuff, but there was an underlying freedom about the crassness of that sound and aesthetic that I think is naturally working its way back into the collective consciousness. It was just fun, and so is this. This is the first single from a forthcoming album; no bandcamp, unfortunately, but you can grab the track below, or find it on all the usual outlets.
NESYA – “PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG.”
So Durand – Downforce / Corners
It’s been a minute since I covered Ottawan producer So Durand (Simon Robichaud-Durand). Too long, in fact; he’s always got something good up his sleeve, and this is no exception. His latest is a two-tracker on Something Public Records that sees him reworking two of the tracks on his Downforce EP from last year. Where the originals were club-focused 4×4 and breakbeat, these reimaginings take the songs far deeper and darker, exploring the peripheries of dub techno, 2000s garage, cumbia, and a bit of everything in between. Durand’s stuff is always correct, but it turns out he shines brightest when he gets a bit weird with it. These are out now on bandcamp, or available for streaming.
So Durand – “Downforce” (Slow Mix)
So Durand – “Corners” (Closing Mix)
SIDELINES – Just Say Yes
Speaking of getting a bit weird in the club, this track from Dublin’s SIDELINES (Jay Childs) is the result of letting your nose (or ears, as the case may be) lead you to whatever works. Created around a voicemail his kids left him unknowingly while having an argument with each other, Childs hummed in a bassline and programmed the rest of the song around that. The result is something simultaneously unsettling and liberated. I suppose it captures well the experience of parenting young children–awe of their visceral abandon and mild terror at the unpredictability of their motivations. Being a young kid is like slipping in and out of an LSD trip every 15 minutes, so a big part of parent’s role is just to ride that wave with them as best one can. I’ve also included Childs’s previous single, which is a little more straightforward but still shows his knack for letting a good sound or sample lead the song-writing process. No bandcamp for these, unfortunately, but you can grab the most recent one below and find both for streaming all over.
SIDELINES – “Just Say Yes”
SIDELINES – “Broken Harp”