I Was Dreamin’ When I Wrote This

Rex The Dog “Every Day (Could Be Our Last Day)” – As any Prince fan can tell you, fear of sudden, pointless death is a perfect subject matter for dance music. Sometimes you actively want escapism, and other times you have to be told why you actually need the escapism. The lyrical hook in this track is minimal and rather on-the-nose, but you don’t need much more than a slogan when its arrangement gets across its nuance with the emotional vocabulary of synth pop . (Click here to buy it from Juno.)

Black Moth Super Rainbow + The Octopus Project “Lollipopsichord” – I’d rather not think of the maddening internal politics involved in two separate bands arranging and rearranging the other’s work, but somehow Black Moth Super Rainbow and The Octopus Project made it work, since their collaborative album The House of Apples & Eyeballs is a strong, coherent collection of music. For the most part, they submerge their respective identities into a group aesthetic, though this particular song leans heavily in favor of Black Moth Super Rainbow’s sound with its screeching synthesizer hook and winding structure. (Click here to buy it from Black Moth Super Rainbow.)