Today two patron saints of the club have come together to produce a miracle. The clerics in question are our barbie-mall-goth queen Kim Petras, and techno-optimist pop android SOPHIE — two of our 2018 PAPER Pride cover stars, who were responsible for two of the best songs of last year. Their holy sacrament is a bop called "1,2,3 dayz up" (feat. SOPHIE), and it's everything you'd imagine: squirmy, plinking and squelchy in the production motifs of SOPHIE, and overflowing with Kim's glitter and candy, featuring a drop that'll rattle dance floors for years to come.
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"1,2,3 dayz up" is one of three new tracks Petras dropped last night, which she's calling "the last songs of this era." The three singles' artwork, each featuring a new color of the neon Petras avatar that's become her stamp, completes the rainbow of Era 1.
The second track, "Homework," features rapper Lil Aaron: a pop-punk homage, which has become characteristic of their collaborations. It's full of musical nods to Avril and Blink 182 which Petras translates into her own sugary pop style. Petras sings and Aaron raps sentimentally about high school memories of copying homework and getting picked up at the corner over a mid-tempo rattling beat.
Finally, there's "If You Think About Me," which Petras says "has the most special place in my heart."
After one listen, it's clear why. It's a break-up track in the Petras style, of disguising emotional masochism and crisis with pop euphoria, all about obsessing over someone long after they're gone. The chorus is addictive, and her cynicism is devastating: "Time is money, time is money/ I ain't got the time to buy a new heart of mine, new heart of mine." Hear them all, below:
Photography: Tom Kerr