Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s music pick is a euphoria-filled dance record that’s as heartfelt as it is uplifting.
Genre: Electronic, House
Label: Young
Release Date: September 8, 2023
Vibe: 🪩
Romy’s Mid Air is the kind of house music I craved the most when I was a DJ. It’s full of rapturous, life-affirming moments that stand in stark opposition to the sad, solitary vibes much of today’s pop music wallows in. Instead, it’s as much an ode to the communal power of the dance floor as it is a meditation on acceptance and being vulnerable enough to let yourself be loved. Working with an all-star cast of songwriters and producers that include Stuart Price, who scored a mid-2000s dance-pop hit with Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor, Fred again.., and bandmate Jamie xx, she evokes turn-of-the-century house music sensibilities and proves how timeless those sounds are. Throughout, Romy’s vocals echo the cool confidence often associated with the likes of Everything But the Girl’s Tracey Thorn. It’s an excellent, knowing performance.
The record begins with a highlight, the slow-burn opener “Loveher,” which features an eponymous refrain that burrows its way into your brain and refuses to leave until your body is locked in a sufficient groove. The Price-produced “The Sea” is an effortlessly airy production that takes the essence of 90s club culture and updates it with a more muscular low end. The most poignant (and arguably the album’s best) moment comes during the nu-disco closer, “She’s on My Mind.” It sets you up for an unrequited love payoff before pulling the rug out from under that assumption in glorious fashion. In a conversation with Hypebeast, Romy said the music she first heard in queer clubs was a “huge inspiration” for Mid Air. “Lyrically, it was important to me to be open and honest about my relationship without any shame […] Hopefully the songs can provide more representation and visibility and another queer storyline for other queer people to connect to.”
To say she passes that test with flying colors is to undersell how good this record is.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈