Fresh Music Friday: BOY SODA, Father John Misty, Dorsal Fins

Hello and welcome back to Fresh Music Friday! in this week’s episode, Miya Sywak, Zoe Biggs and Christine Lai tackle tracks from BOY SODA, Father John Misty, and Dorsal Fins, that are so smooth Santana could have written them… hmmm.


Lonely – BOY SODA

Miya: Once again, feeding into a chill rainy day vibe, and once again he’s got that lo-fi bop vibe. The synth is kinda retro but the whole song screams quirky TikTok trend.

Zoe: Now this is a track I’ll definitely be adding to a playlist. There’s a comforting lo-fi synth element that opens this track and continues throughout. BOY SODA’s vocals and flow are both strong. The elemental differences throughout this track and production choices maintain interest, showing off some range before returning to the catchy chorus. This is one that’s going to be stuck in my head all day.

Christine: In a crossover of the R&B and hip-hop arena, Boy Soda brings smooth vocals and percussive beats to the forefront of his latest track, ‘Lonely’. The musical arrangement is lined with spaces of soft orchestral sounds, and lo-fi tunes backed by a synth-rock sensibility. ‘Lonely’ champions a trap-drum and weaves velvet vocals with smooth electric guitar licks. Boy Soda leaves an imprint on his listeners, and is brazen, pleading for someone to show him “a cheat code for my happiness”. He raps in the second half of the track, “I want a relationship / shit shit / thinking with my dick”, tightening his grip on former lovers by looking to the past to reconcile with the present. Boy Soda is Frank Ocean meets Jayden Smith meets Andre 3000; a force to be reckoned with.


CHLOë – Father John Misty

Zoe: I’d never heard Father John Misty’s music before, so I was excited when I was suddenly listening to a big band swing number with indulgent orchestration. Father John Misty’s tenor is smooth and pleasant to listen to, however, I did find myself waiting for stronger vocal choices to be made in the bridge and key change. Overall, I had a blast picking up all the intricacies of the scoring in this track and following the lyrical storytelling.

Christine: The titular song and opening track of Father John Misty’s latest album, Chloe and the Next 20th Century, ‘Chloe’, is rapt with an orchestral arrangement that imbues a striking and rhythmic jazz swing. Packed with a flourish of saxophone and sparkling piano touches, the track buzzes with a fever reminiscent of 1950s Hollywood dive bars (picture: Cary Grant, cigar in hand, tapping the ends of it into his ashtray). Vibrant strings crescendo, which steers a theatrical soundscape, against the backdrop of dimly lit lounges; a film noir sensibility. Tillman (Father John Misty) insists on an ornate composition that beguiles the listener to the narrator’s pining afflictions with Chloe, the ‘borough socialist’, a woman who he comes to adore “the more they abhor you”.

Miya: Hand me a glass of whiskey and shoot a gangster! This is a slow town bop where I feel like Bonnie and Clyde except the crime is not doing my class readings.


Criminal – Dorsal Fins

Christine: A drawn-out “aaaah” to a stripped back soundscape, brings Dorsal Fins’, ‘Criminal, to life; a stark awakening to their eclectic tone with highlights of vocal ascensions. The pulse of the song transforms as a vigorous beat raises inflections of a Bossa Nova rhythm. Dorsal Fins entwines the mid-tempo variations on percussion beats with synth plug-ins that offer a sensation of listening to a song underwater. In a genre-shifting bend, the track navigates a shoe-gaze, alternative funk sound with short vocal incisions that adds a playful timbre. “Love can be deceiving / to lose it all is just so tempting”, ‘Criminal’ holds us in rapture and offers a reprieve from the rush of the everyday.

Miya: Not gonna lie, Enya rip off. I get the lo-fi bop vibe but the simplicity just isn’t working for me, the beat is fun but the scratchy vocals stop my study flow.

Zoe: The lively percussion and vocals in the chorus are the highlights of this track, and right on brand for Dorsal Fins. It’s a track that makes you want to get up and dance, with its soul and funk-infused rhythms. If it was any longer it would run the risk of dragging on, but it doesn’t, and I think it’s a great single to precede their new album.