New Tracks by MaJo, Nenci, Jwalt, Avi Vinocur and Zyah Belle
The nymphs and mermaids in the feminist strip club of my imagination are pole dancing to “lydia” by Nenci, a down-tempo, undulating R&B track from the Oakland-based, Vallejo-raised artist. Out this week on San Francisco’s Text Me Records, the new song mixes an experimentalism that evokes the likes of Kelela and Yaeji with an alternative pop sensibility more akin to Rihanna’s ANTI. Throughout “lydia,” Nenci surprises her listeners with sneaky production tricks like footwork-esque drum fills, flute riffs, tempo changes and atmospheric, smoky synths that recall ’80s electronic music greats Art of Noise. (Oh yeah, did I mention she’s classically trained in flute?) An ode to her beloved, and centering queer love, “lydia” is bound to melt the hearts of women who love women—and those who love them.—Nastia Voynovskaya