London-based queer solo project Strange DNA uses horror imagery while exploring identity, transformation, and the experience of feeling like an outsider on new single “Reanimate.” That approach takes a pointedly personal direction here, using the idea of things that refuse to stay buried to address the lingering weight of racism, homophobia, and religious hatred. Written in a bedroom setting, the dark-pop track turns those themes into an appeal for renewed wonder and a sense of possibility.
A delectably, eerie visceral alt-pop production, “Reanimate” commences with a spooky resonance — where a ghostly synth wavering is quickly accompanied by playful percussion and a series of buzzy electronic injections. A driving bass line emerges thereafter, followed by the artist’s melodically debonair vocal emergence. The verses enamor in its momentum, depictions of traversing to “a sycophantic beat” venturing to a chilling call-and-response vocal feeling. The riveting chorus ensues, where a beckoning to “tear up out my insides, and make me feel so nice” melds with more distorted fervor.
An especially memorable segment shows around 02:40, when the foreboding synth elements build with gradual, glimmering intrigue to a reprisal of the track’s central hook. Stab-y high-pitched synth tones then adorn the conclusion and into a vocal-laden send-off. Full of haunting stylishness and momentum-filled melodic charisma, “Reanimate” is another stirring output from Strange DNA, who also caught our ears earlier this year with fellow dark-pop success “Cry.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
