Here’s That Sound That You Wanted

Sextile “Women Respond to Bass”

There’s a few different Jicks-era interviews where Stephen Malkmus says that some lyrics he wrote were just some nonsense meant to sound cool and fake-tough, essentially him doing his semi-ironic take on boilerplate 20th century rock conventions. That’s more or less what you get in this Sextile song, but in a bratty rude electroclash/Prodigy mode. And like, what would be the point of doing anything else with a hyperactive banger like this? It’s pure abrasive head-empty energy – lyrically, you’re just gonna have to change your pitch up and smack that bitch up. Also you can just say something true – yes, women do respond to bass!

Buy it from Bandcamp.

Tchotchke “Did You Hear?”

Pretty much everything about Tchotchke – their melodic sensibility, their vocal affect, their look, their slick but understated lead guitar parts, their lyrical POV – calls back to the late 70s and early 80s power pop scene I showcased on this playlist from a few years ago. And this is clearly by design, they’re working at a high level in a sub genre that was played out well before any of them were born. Beyond the impressive craft, the thing I find interesting here is how the lyrics about dating a man with erratic levels of interest make sense in any time period. And I think that’s the meta point here – the game of love doesn’t change very much, this type of guy will always lead on these sort of girls, and maybe this playful sort of tone is the best way to approach it.

Buy it from Amazon.