Love is timeless. Isn’t it? One might suggest that this phrase be crumpled up and tucked into a fortune cookie, whilst we swap lists of bookmarked Substack essays on the end of romantic love. But the figures. According to one study, more than two-thirds of US Top 40 songs between 1960 and 2010 dealt with love. Only half a per cent dealt with the occult, by the way.
In a better world, Dyke Den, the debut album by the American duo and married couple Darlyyn (Daria Lord and Jaelynn Walls), would at least be close to such chart positions. Because this 35-minute groovy ode to queer love, with its mix of disco, bass music, Chicago house, R&B and soul, might just be the album of the year. Walls sings about emotional and physical intimacy, starting with the flirty vibes of getting to know each other on the bass track ‘Make Yr Move’, offering comfort and closeness on the soulful house track ‘The Feeling’ – which settles somewhere between Mr. Fingers and Thundercat – before love is celebrated and danced to with such naivety and purity on ‘Like A Summer’. Lord has already produced and released several tracks as Bored Lord, and her flair for euphoric dance music – which takes the sweat on your skin into account – has never been more evident. An album that carves out the space it deserves for itself and its protagonists.
Dyke Den
