You’ll Only Want Cake

Casey Dienel “High Times”

“High Times” is a story about a woman having a one night stand with a hot dude at a hotel in Palm Springs, and it plays out lyrically and musically like a hazy memory of something you’re vaguely surprised actually happened. Casey Dienel sounds bemused throughout, and describes the encounter with a droll, critical tone. “He said some things that seemed borderline basic, but when he took off his shirt, I acquit him,” she sings, striking a perfect tonal balance of humor and sexiness. It’s kinda Prince-esque that way; this isn’t far off from the sort of witty erotic fantasies he shared in a lot of his best ‘80s material. The difference is that while Prince always presented himself as an intensely desirable person, the subtext of “High Times” is that the character is slightly confused that she’s hooking up with this tan, clean cut, all-American hunk, but is going along with it because, hey, why not? She compares the situation to splurging on cake after a juice cleanse, and it’s hard not to root for her as you listen: Get that cake, girl!

The most immediately striking musical element of “High Times” is the bent, sped-up string part that opens the track and loops throughout. It sets the tone for the piece very nicely – graceful and confident, but also a bit warped. That feeling gets twisted at the song’s climax, when Dienel’s character hands the dude her key and invites him back to her room. At this point, the bass shifts so it feels as though it’s moving against the tide of the song, and the cathartic vocal hook – “in 103, in 103, if you wanna get lost find me in 103” – sounds slurred and psychedelic. The reality of the song changes in this moment, snapping out of a sunny fantasy and into a scene that’s more grounded in physical reality but distorted by lust and booze. It’s “this is really happening!” and “what the fuck is happening?” at the same time.

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