SWEEP FREQUENCY #419: Pump It
New tunes by Search Results, M(h)aol, Deem Spencer, Panic Shack, Tamten, and more...
OPENING RIFF: "Every life is organized around a small number of events that either propel us or bring us to a grinding halt. We spend the years between these episodes benefiting or suffering from their consequences until the arrival of the next forceful moment." -- Hernan Diaz, Trust
SMALL TALK: There are a lot of club DJs who have the same secret weapons: the kinds of songs and remixes that are just familiar, just banging enough that it will liven the room up right away and pack the floor. While that can feel lazy depending on who does it, DJ Funk's mixtapes were basically entire sets of those very songs, cut and transformed into their contemporary forms by the ghetto house legend. With the sad news of his passing last week, it felt like a perfect time to revisit some of his iconic mixes. Everything you find on the Freaky Style tapes are absolute bangers, filthy and busy and downright sweaty. It was a pleasure to revisit it all as I tried to work quickly through a large pile of things at my day job, and it made me reflect on what a debt we owe to so many dance music legends who are passing away without ever reaping the benefits of the movements they kickstarted, which is reflected beautifully in the wonderful newsletter First Floor this week. Beyond that, the names and hype behind Deli Boys made it feel like I had to check it out as soon as it premiered, and I'm super glad I did. While we've got a decent amount of acclaimed TV shows returning at the moment, Deli Boys is one of those binge-able shows that feels unique in its perspective and well-crafted in its storytelling despite how easy it is to tear through. 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. SEARCH RESULTS - "WRINKLE": I have nostalgia for a certain type of lo-fi rock that is best heard live in a semi-legal warehouse space. Thankfully, Irish rockers Search Results have scratched that itch in a way few current bands can, as "Wrinkle" totally rips and has a hilarious video filled with stock office photos to boot.
2. M(H)AOL - "DM:AM": Speaking of sick Irish rock bands, M(h)aol just announced the follow-up to their excellent debut album, and I'm really loving the first single. An ode to the extremely creepy, extremely demanding folks who slide into the DMs of public figures, "DM:AM" is a foreboding post-punk jam that has creeping distortion in all the right places.
3. DEEM SPENCER - "EVEN IF IT IS THO": Deem Spencer's got a pretty robust body of work, and I was an especially big fan of his fairly recent ode to aging in hip-hop. To accompany the release of his next EP, he's dropped a bleary but smooth jam called "Even If It Is Tho," a tune focused on keeping on regardless of what's going on around you.
4. PANIC SHACK - "GOK WAN": Panic Shack have had a great ability over the years to make songs that draw a through line from the feminist issues that we grew up with to their contemporary (and eerily similar) equivalents, and "Gok Wan" continues that trend. Their first single in three years, this tune absolutely shreds while reflecting on the insane body image issues of the TRL pop era that have creeped back up in this crappy new Ozempic era.
5. TAMTEN - "SZTUKA ZNIKANIA": Tamten is a bit of a pivotal figure in Warsaw's slept-on music scene, and I'm loving everything I've heard from the producer's next record. Billing itself as a part of a fictional '80s adventure film, "Sztuka Znikania" is equal parts funky and shimmering, with vocals that almost sound like a damn dead ringer for Robert Smith.
PARTING SHOTS: It goes without saying that what is happening to Mahmoud Khalil is abhorrent, and it's shameful how slow the Democrats are being to defend him. Any time I see someone I know link to Bari Weiss's horribly dumb "publication" The Free Press, I think less of them, and I'm glad I'm not alone. The Tournament of Books is underway, and I'm fairly happy with which books are winning so far. Now that we’re five years out from the start of the pandemic, it’s unsurprising that divorce novels and memoirs seem to have reached a fever pitch this year, as this exhausting-seeming roundup indicates.
ENCORE: "NEAT NEAT NEAT"