- Not being able to get a song's hook out of your head even when you can't quite make out all of the words—always a good sign. It's not like there hasn't been plenty of time for the words of "Principles," Benoit & Sergio's new A-side for DFA, to sink in: the track emerged in early January, leading off the DC duo's XLR8R podcast, where it bled neatly into their "Walk & Talk." In that setting, it was easy to hear it as a mere set-up, but the fluttering synths and galloping groove of "Principles" easily surpass that track. Sergio's vocals are still vocodered till fizzy, but here his light falsetto croon and dragging-the-beat spoken bits seem both overheard and purposeful. The monologue of "Walk & Talk" was attention grabbing and lurid, and it worked, but it's even better to hear these guys can make music without relying on shock tactics.
"Everybody" has the same jerrybuilt sensibility as the A, even as it's also Benoit & Sergio's slickest, most plainly ecstatic record yet. It's easy to imagine a big-room cheesemeister rearranging these elements into something with which to conquer Ibiza: confidently large bass undertow, faint falsetto chants, measured guitar feedback as air-raid siren substitute, synths that might resemble trance if you cranked them a bunch. B&S would rather let you come to them. That's one reason this is so good.
Tracklist A Principles
B Everybody