As Sylvan Esso, singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn craft danceable pop songs that exude an ambivalent, searching quality. Sure, they're catchy as anything, and Meath — a veteran of the a cappella folk group Mountain Man — knows how to command a spotlight. But Sylvan Esso's songs also bear the weight of melancholy, even as Sanborn's springy arrangements send them soaring.
Since its release in 2014, the duo's self-titled debut has held up incredibly well — so well, in fact, that new material feels like a bit of a surprise, simply because the older songs still sound so fresh. But after a pair of bonus tracks trickled out last year, Sylvan Esso is preparing a new album for release in 2017, and surprise-dropping a new song overnight: Titled "Radio," it matches characteristically propulsive electronics with Meath's scathing commentary about commodification.
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