First Runner Down

Fundido featuring Emma Dufaux “Get A Grip”

This is a new single out on DFA, which is a good thing, as it would be extremely weird if any other label released it. Like, in genre terms, this is a DFA song. Everything about this song is dialed in precisely to “DFA.” You like the particular snap of a DFA records beat? You like a tasteful yet caustic DFA synth tone? You like a cool, disaffected DFA type singer? You’ll like “Get A Grip.” Simple as that.

As much as this conforms to expectations, it’s not all rote and cookie cutter. I like vocalist Emma Dufaux’s tossed-off attitude as she semi-raps lyrics about setting a guy up to succeed and then knocking him down and out of her way. It’s not really bitter or mean-spirited – she just sounds competitive and a little conniving, in a fun way.

Buy it from Bandcamp.

Meg Stalter “Prettiest Girl In America”

It’s not unusual for a comedian to make a novelty pop song, but it’s not common for those songs to succeed as both comedy and music. If anything, Meg Stalter’s debut single “The Prettiest Girl In America” works better as a song than as a joke. The premise is definitely funny, but it hits hard enough as a genuine dance pop banger that the irony and punchlines are besides the point. I mean, Charli XCX is funny too, you know? A lot of pop music is funny, and Meg fits right in.

Buy it from Amazon.