On its debut album, Brooklyn’s Courtship Ritual did more with less, crafting skeletal and skittering dance-pop with just a few ingredients. Monica Salazar and Jared Olmstead used bass, synth, and programmed drums in really surprising ways. The songs on Pith could be gloomy one moment and borderline euphoric the next.
The duo returns with a new single called “Down Low” that’s almost symphonic thanks to the brasher elements added to the mix. But closer listening shows Courtship Ritual still uses empty space like a third member, bouncing bass and drums off all the silence. It’s a sleeker and sharper sound, but those ingredients are still perfectly weighed and measured.
“Down Low” is out now via GODMODE.
–Art Levy
