SWEEP FREQUENCY #404: Logic Will Break Your Heart
New tunes from Lambrini Girls, The Serfs, Obongjayar, DITZ, Auntie Flo, and more...
OPENING RIFF: "The few times I spoke to him, I could sense how logic and logical thinking were inextricably bound to his mounting derangement, because, in some sense, paranoia is logic run amok." -- Benjamín Labatut, The MANIAC
SMALL TALK: The quote above comes from a lightly fictionalized version of Eugene Wigner describing Kurt Gödel, but it can perhaps double as a thesis of sorts for the Benjamín Labatut's explorations into mad scientists. Labatut's previous novel, When We Cease to Understand the World, is one that I think about quite often as technology improves and ruins our world simultaneously. This comes into even sharper focus in The MANIAC, which focuses primarily on John von Neumann, with Paul Ehrenfest and Lee Sedol serving as a prologue and epilogue respectively. Neumann pioneered too many scientific breakthroughs to list, but here he is also portrayed as a man whose cold logic and rationale makes him into a monster who was responsible for both unspeakable violence and the current scourge of the moment, artificial intelligence. Science has never come easy to me, but Labatut's prose is remarkable in that it makes all of these complex subjects feel gripping, with a fevered pace and terror coming into focus, highlighting that people are pathologically driven to solve problems that lead to big questions and even bigger consequences. Some of this book is downright chilling, and it'll keep you up at night or wiggle its way into your nightmares. Beyond that, I've been utterly shocked at how good The Penguin is, entering the rarefied list of TV shows that transcend their silly genre and make me comfortable to recommend to normal, well-adjusted people. You'll also never look at Cristin Milioti again, because her performance as Sofia Falcone is scary as hell. Let’s get to this week’s new music.
Nearly Every Song From Every 2024 Newsletter Will Be Available in Playlist Form: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
1. LAMBRINI GIRLS - "BIG DICK ENERGY": Given that they've already reached hero status across the pond, it can be easy to forget that Lambrini Girls haven't released their full-length debut yet, but that will change this January. Taking on a phrase that has dominated the cultural sphere from a different angle, "Big Dick Energy" takes aim at all of the different, sinisterly subtle forms that toxic masculinity can take, and the justifiably righteous chorus absolutely shreds.
2. THE SERFS - "PAID IN FULL": While the Serfs dabbled in a lot of '80s-adjacent sounds on their debut album, this new one delves even further into the reaches of the era's best sounds. With just a bit of a modern post-punk tilt to it, "Paid in Full" has some fantastically bright keys as a centerpiece, the kind of thing that wouldn't have sounded out of place at the Hacienda back in the day.
3. OBONGJAYAR - "JUST MY LUCK": Every song that Obongjayar touches as a featured artist brightens way up, and it feels like he's truly been hitting his stride as a solo artist recently, and the case in point is "Just My Luck." Adding a vibrant synth-pop element to his globe-trotting R&B sound, this tune finds Obongjayar moving into heartthrob territory in a way that will resonate with anyone who's turned down hang time to put in work on their creative pursuits.
4. DITZ - "SPACE/SMILE": DITZ put out a pretty cool debut album a few years back, and their follow-up seems like it's going to rule based on this tune. Despite clocking in at under two minutes, there's something sprawling about "Space/Smile," a song that has thunderous drums, increasingly layered instrumentals, and vocals that never let up without feeling rushed or frantic.
5. AUNTIE FLO - "GREEN CITY": Brian d'Souza has been making incredible music under the Aunti Flo moniker for years now, and the latest release on his very cool label is an absolutely gargantuan heater. With the extended cut clocking in at a heroic 15 minutes, "Green City" is built around a Kenyan field recording and transforms into a funky, disco-fueled slice of Afro-pop that tips its cap directly to Fela Kuti.
PARTING SHOTS: Something annoying I definitely noticed during Hurricane Milton was how hard getting realtime news seemed to be, which is the annoying new normal in the age of influencers. Lit Hub has a great new series of articles and book lists about the labor movement for the buildup to election day. A bunch of Pitchfork writers just launched a new online publication, so you should definitely throw your support their way. I don't usually post cover songs in this newsletter, but this Arthur Russell cover from Speakers Corner Quartet and Tirzah deserves a special shout out.
ENCORE: "MOURN AT NIGHT"