Speedy Wunderground closed out the 2010s as one of the country’s most adored and respected labels – a burgeoning project built solely on passion and knowledge that is curating and gifting us with some of the most interesting pop music we can behold. As we stumble into the 20s, they deliver their first of the decade – the anxious yet persuasive ‘Dip’ – the latest single from the spaced-out and inviting Tiña.
An influentially calm and pensive take in its immediacy – ‘Dip’ grows from the textured scrawl of ‘I Feel Fine’ yet still retains that keen eye for layered atmospherics and fretful notions of the world. Frontman Joshua Loftin rises into a high-pitch coo, showing his seemingly effortless range but also belying the feeling behind the song with soothing, pacifying vocals and accompanying harmonics.
In reality, ‘Dip’ harbours the insecurities and anxiousness not only of Loftin but a wider consensus – as Australia burns and our political stand-point becomes more and more extreme – Loftin is simply attempting to find his feet, and isn’t afraid to exude his frailties along the way. It’s an honest and wary conversation, with a rich composition accompanying it with compassion.
A charming distraction from the perplexities of life that offers grounded acknowledgement rather than attempting to coax you with sugarcoated suggestions of false hope.