As with their last two twelves, one of which was Beatz’s #1 of 2006, this one’s just too well done to deny. On the a-side, Singer Zena Kitt dwells on various personal uncertainties in the verse over a spare synth octave thump and rich, long strings, but when the chorus approaches it’s like every sound starts getting really cagey, and when it finally does come the empty space is filled with cheeky chicken-scratch guitars, a healthy dose of horn stabs, and (naturally) “a bri-yut newww li-i-ife.” The songwriting’s smart, the stylized diction is perfect, the instrumental buildups and breakdowns are taut, no note’s out of place, no smirk’s in sight. Just awesome. For his remix, Morgan Geist subdues everything—even the volume is lower—and after a new bassline and lots more space and just enough reverb, we’ve got something of a Metro Area track, the instruments taking turns soloing in the lime.

Escort Recordings / ESCRT-003
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[Nick Sylvester]