SWEEP FREQUENCY #413: Go With It
New tunes by Snuggle, Snapped Ankles, MIKE, Matilda Mann, John Beltran, and more...
OPENING RIFF: "Don’t fight the darkness. Don’t even worry about the darkness. Turn on the light and the darkness goes.” — David Lynch, Catching the Big Fish
SMALL TALK: I am, at the end of the day, a sucker for all things related to animals. That’s why I had to mentally brace myself before I watched Flow, the adorably stressful (!) story of a black cat making friends to survive at the end of the world that just garnered some well-deserved Oscar nominations this morning. Though it has all the markings of a kids’ movie, Flow has just enough of a dark edge to steer your little ones clear of it, and it has some surprisingly psychedelic, open-to-interpretation moments on top of being a not-so-sneaky climate change parable. While I definitely expected to give my own black cat a lot of love by the time it was over, I didn’t expect to be as invested in and gripped by what amounted to a wordless film that made stunning use of open-source software. The rest of my week's brain space was spent preparing for and running a marathon, followed by the sheer awe of looking at a historic blizzard here in New Orleans. I did, over that time, however, check out the best recording to date of Despacio, a roving party with one of the best speaker systems in the world as David and Stephen Dewaele (aka Soulwax/2manydjs) join forces with James Murphy himself on the decks. The mix is damn near six hours long, and -- as you might expect from a trio of very seasoned party-starters -- very patient in its buildups, its peaks and valleys. Let's get to this week's new music.
Nearly Every Song From Every 2025 Newsletter Will Be Available in Playlist Form: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
1. SNUGGLE - "MARIGOLD": Featuring Andrea Thuesen and Vilhelm Strange of newsletter fav Liss, Snuggle is definitely an exciting new duo to me. "Marigold" is a hazy, dreamy thing of beauty, one whose understated vocals and sparse instrumentals make for perfect winter listening, and I can't wait to see what these Danes come up with from here.
2. SNAPPED ANKLES - "RAOUL": Snapped Ankles have been killing it for a while, but it feels like they were made for this extremely chaotic moment in time when you hear a track like "Raoul." With crunching synths, thunderous drums, and spooky, howling vocals, this tune is the kind you can picture yourself getting sweaty dancing to in a grimy warehouse.
3. MIKE - "BEAR TRAP": It's always a great day when we get something new from MIKE, and it also comes with a lovely new profile of him over in Pitchfork (complete with a harrowing Japanese jail story). As for the tune itself, "Bear Trap" has some dusty, head-nodding production to go alongside MIKE's sprawling but relaxed flow, and I'm as hyped as ever for his next album dropping next week.
4. MATILDA MANN - "JUST BECAUSE": I've highlighted the charming indie pop of Matilda Mann here in the past, and her debut album is finally coming out next month after a string of excellent EPs. Bringing in a bit of orchestral flair and a grooving bass line simultaneously, "Just Because" is equal parts wistful and realistic, a tender ode to those times we confuse a fling for love.
5. JOHN BELTRAN - "BELLE ISLE": John Beltran has been around for quite a while, and hearing a warm slice of disco-infused house from the man is a balm for these harsh temperatures. With a heavy dose of cow bell, "Belle Isle" will transport you to somewhere more tropical for at least six minutes.
PARTING SHOTS: I don't have a strong enough love to write about David Lynch thoughtfully, so I'll leave it to my friend Iz and his beautiful tribute over at Defector. I still don't feel fully prepared for another four years of Trump, but we should try to remember that we're in this together no matter how burned out we are. Speaking of which, this essay tries to find a through line between How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Luigi Mangione, and the politics of rage. GQ has a nice list of simple, achievable ways to get your life together now that you've already failed at your resolutions.
ENCORE: "THE SHAPE I'M IN"