FUNKTIONSLUST – “Unstable” (Stereogum Premiere)
FUNKTIONSLUST are a fledgling London duo who have shared the stage with fellow up-and-coming pop luminaries Wet, and they share a similar sensibility for clean, minimalist pop. I love Wet, so I don’t go around throwing out that comparison lightly, but FUNKTIONSLUST’s new single “Unstable” warrants it, I think. They’re more to-the-floor house-driven than Wet are, but they have that underlying sense of vulnerability and anxiety that makes for the best pop music. The track is all tight grooves and bundled up nerves, gently encroaching pings that twist up the tension. Sage Redman’s voice sounds resolute but there are little things that she does that betray her uneasiness: the way she mumbles through the hook “Right away, I feel unstable,” as if she’s rushing to pull everything together; how she draws out her words in other parts, creating a choppy rhythm that the track plays right into. “Unstable” comes from from their upcoming new EP, Window — check it out below.
FUNKTIONSLUST’s new Window EP is out 11/20. They have a few other songs up on Bandcamp right now.