Desire, the nocturnal electro-pop duo of singer Megan Louise and former Chromatics/Glass Candy mastermind Johnny Jewel, released their self-titled debut album in 2009, and they didn’t come back with another LP until 2022’s Escape. But the wait for another Desire album should take significantly less than 13 years. After covering Metronomy and Frankie Goes To Hollywood last year, Desire have announced vague plans to drop a new full-length called Games People Play later this year. They’ve also shared a new single.

If you’ve spent any time listening to Desire — or, for that matter, to most of Johnny Jewel’s other problems — then there’s nothing too surprising about the new song “Darkside.” It’s got all the languid neon-noir glamor that Jewel brings to so many of his tracks. Over blinking keyboards and slow 808 tick-tocks, Megan Louise invites you to take a night drive and crash into the starlight, baby. Here’s how the duo describes the track:

The song is about the invisible line we draw between our outer reality & our inner world. The darkside is a metaphor for the unmasked internal space that we rarely share with strangers, a secret realm that never sees the light of day. On the endless hunt for love, we crave a deeper connection that can only come with truth. The mirror sees you… on the darkside. Crash into the starlight.

Desire and Johnny Jewel will play some co-headlining dates this spring. Below, check out “Darkside” and the group’s touring plans.

TOUR DATES:
3/22 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge *
5/21 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Button Factory *
5/23 – Paris, France @ Le Trabendo *
5/24 – Manchester, UK @ Yes (The Pink Room) *
5/29 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera In The City *
5/31 – New York, NY @ Knockdown Center *^
6/28 – Vancouber, BC @ Rickshaw Theater *

* with Johnny Jewel
^ with Black Marble, Orion, Farah, Joon, & Mothermary

Games People Play is out later this year on Italians Do It Better.