Caroline Polachek - "Sunset"

Caroline Polachek returns with a new single that brings forth a change to her avant-pop sound.

Since the disbandment of her group Chairlift, Caroline Polachek has moved towards more experimental pop sounds that break the mold of the typical chart-topping style of the genre and shifts to something more avant-guard. Her album Pang was her first stylized reveal and she followed it up with last year's explosive, genre-defying single "Bunny is a Rider." This year, she dropped another stellar song, "Billions," that continued her newfound sound of electro-beats, more complex, warped rhythms, and her somersaulting vocals which wrap themselves around sharp corners and bend in genuinely surprising ways. Now, she's returned with yet another twist. "Sunset" is a vibrant song that pushes away the darkness of her previous singles and gives us a fluttering, flamenco-inspired sound that you'd most likely mistake for Barcelona pop star Rosalia rather than Connecticut's Polachek. The dark electronics are absent here and instead the glowing hues of the natural moment it's named for take center stage alongside her absolutely stunning vocal delivery. The Spanish guitars offer a new framework for her to twist her radical vocals around and continues to see her playing by her own rules. While we still have no word on a follow-up to Pang, the singles she's released since that album continues to showcase groundbreaking work from an artist who has already made bold statements and moves away from traditional pop.