The latest single from Pink Eye Club, Windmill scene mainstay and disco luminary Haydn Davies, reminded me that I have an unfinished podcast I must listen to. The other day I started listening to Dr. Laurie Santos' latest hot take on her podcast The Happiness Lab, which eloquently broke down why small talk sucks. Now Davies' new track — which previews his forthcoming album Emotional Dance Music, due out in October — made a spunky soundtrack for this opinion.
Glittering synths introduce Davies on "Small Talk." He clears his throat as he's about to make a big proclamation. He begins to recite verses about insomnia-inducing anxiety that passing casual conversations cause him. Eyes wide with fear, he's running the lines through his head: "Oh how I shake, oh how I cry/ I can feel it coming my way/ The 'How was your day today'/ 'The weather outside looks so nice'/ 'How’s the dog and how’s the wife?'" Emotion is building. He's about to fucking blow.
"I’m sick of all the boring small talk," he yells as the beat picks up and we're airlifted to an '80s rave in an abandoned warehouse. Maybe no one's there. Maybe we're alone and free to move about without the creeping fear of social expectations. Pink Eye Club's proclamation rings strong: "I’m sick of all the small talk/ And I just wanna dance tonight."
In a press release, Davies shared that "Small Talk" is the first song from his forthcoming "autobiographical" album (Emotional Dance Music). He continued:
It represents a time in my life when I used to connect with people on the dance floor rather than in conversation. These days things are different and my confidence has grown, but it’s a reflection of a time when I couldn’t just simply go up to a group of people and start a random conversation. I feel as though I’m not alone in this but music & dancing helps even the most introverted of people create genuine human connections.
Listen below.
