BenZel
“Semi-Detached” (f/ Cass Lowe & Chance The Rapper)
Digital Single
It’s starting to really feel like this NYC-via-Japan teenage duo is on to something special. Though members Umi Takahashi and Yoko Watanabe have kept their faces hidden, they are building quite the identity, thanks to their impeccably crafted brand of sensual dance music that is simultaneously timeless and 100% á la mode. Their new single shows that the group is capable of doing more than making infectious party jams. “Semi-Detached” is an emotive, sparse next-wave ballad about being with someone while thinking about someone else.
Over a pitch-shifted vocal sample, British songwriter Cass Lowe delivers a delicately forceful vocal over stabbed piano chords. It is slightly bogged down by a forgettable verse from blogosphere fave, Chance the Rapper, but it is saved by a surprisingly affective hair metal-reminiscent guitar solo. Though we are still getting to know Takahashi and Watanabe, it’s hard not to feel that we will be hearing for them for years to come.
