The self-described breakup pop duo follows 2018’s Vodkawine with a new single called “Plastic & Pearl.”
The woozy, dazed quality that underpinned Sad Girls Aquatics Club’s debut lingers after five years; surprisingly, a global pandemic, the enervating creep of consumer capitalism, and the continued collapse of our environment are not great for a person’s mental health. The melancholy is rendered even more opulently on “Plastic & Pearl,” a twinkling, rippling synth bath that explores the letdown that comes with having your dreams come true and then realizing that you’re still you. The music stays quiet at first, all burbling keyboards and blipping percussion; about 70 seconds in, though, a little Phil Collins-goes-808 drum fill and a clipped “WHAA…” sample introduce a smeary, weeping guitar riff that rips the entire track open, allowing its muted colors to deepen and bloom outward like a big polyester flower. Rarely does sadness sound so comfortingly warm.
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