STAFF PIX 10/31: CHILLS!

“My Girlfriend Is a Witch” by October Country

She’s on a broom… she’s riding high… she’s leaving trails of smoke across the sky… she’s my girlfriend, and my girlfriend is a witch! October Country’s 1968 smash hit “My Girlfriend Is a Witch” spooks with a classic Halloween trope: the witch with spells up her sleeves. She’s magic and maybe even a little weird but the drumming and guitar counterparts are bewitching. By the end of the track, you’ll be obliged to turn into a warlock for her—if only to listen to this song again. — Heather Thorn

“Willoughby’s Theme” by Ethel Cain

This track is the second song from Hayden Anhedönia, a.k.a. Ethel Cain’s sophomore album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. The instrumental record begins with a soft piano melody but transforms into something far more visceral. With its swelling synths, this song feels like static in between my ears. Anhedönia creates a wall of sound that feels dizzying and inescapable, leaving you in a trance with its beauty. Her EP, Perverts, which is a collection of ambient, droning sounds and spoken word, was inspired by “Willoughby’s Theme.” Fun fact: I play this during my closing shift at the gym so people will leave. — Delaney Roberts

“Spider in the Snow” by Dismemberment Plan

A seasonal pick, to be sure. Nobody captured the malaise of the city life as successfully or as painfully as The Dismemberment Plan on Emergency & I, whose jagged, off-center emo sound was the perfect vessel through which to channel the young adult indignations of lead singer Travis Morrison. From its opening moment, “Spider in the Snow” aims to stab you clean through the soul, a droning synth creeping in like the audial embodiment of pure dread. It’s about loneliness, the crushing limbo of having to struggle through endless cold days and long shifts and being rewarded with fake friends, terrible managers, and the endless ennui of the city. It sounds freezing cold, never progressing beyond a stagnant 7/4 backbeat and loping guitar riff, and when Morrison opens the song with, “The only thing worse than bad memories, is no memories at all/ From the age of 20 to 22 I had five friends/ None of whose names I can recall,” it’s hard not to immediately get the memo. — Lucca Swain

“Lovefingers” by Silver Apples

There’s something truly sinister about Silver Apples’ “Lovefingers.” From its eerily grainy vocals down to its continuous murmuring drone, if one track could encapsulate the feeling of being hypnotized, it would be this one. I first discovered “Lovefingers” when watching Civil War two summers ago and its rumbling sighs of apocalyptic-esque ritual rehearsal have stayed in the forefront of my mind ever since. With timeless percussion and repetitive synths, “Lovefingers” feels like the love-child between the best of Suicide and CAN. It’s fitting for the descent into autumn and a perfect introductory track into the off-putting mystique of Silver Apples discography. — Sophie Parrish

“Witches” by Alice Phoebe Lou

“Witches” by singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou, originally released in 2020 as a single, is an empowering anthem perfect for the fall season. Lou experiments slightly with her sound on this track, utilizing folk, jazz, and DIY elements, but her lyrics remain grounded as she sings “I’m one of those witches, babe / Just don’t try to save me / Cause I don’t wanna be saved.” The drums, fast paced and rhythmic, provide a strong musical foundation that allows the synths to take the spotlight as they blend with the singer’s distinctive vocals. “Witches” is Lou’s first attempt at recording her music on an analog one inch tape machine, a fact that shines through in the track’s retro and personal feel. — Emeline Chopin

“Horse Tears” by Goldfrapp

If Beth Gibbons was cast as the lead in an opera about a horsegirl, it would come close to describing the eerie baroque drama of Goldfrapp’s “Horse Tears.” The track is an enigmatic closer to their otherwise trip-hop infused debut, Felt Mountain. Besides the anchor of a mournfully recurring piano, the occasional reverbed guitar strum, and Alison Goldfrapp’s smoky voice, there isn’t any downtempo here. Instead, cheeky “La la la la la la la”s that sound straight from a doll—or worse, a Labubu. In the last minute of the track, a theremin and violin entwine around one another like a call and response with a spirit beyond the grave…Though nothing like the stellar songs throughout the album like “Pilots” and “Utopia,” which rival Portishead’s Dummy, “Horse Tears” is a cinematic Mood (with a capital M), full of drama and tragedy. — Christian Jones

“?????A” by Arca

We’re lost. It’s dark, rainy and the road is barely visible through the fog. Rural western mass is deserted. Not a single breath startles the air. We sit at a stop light for what feels like an hour, on a wet road amidst an empty downtown. The remnants of a population lingers. The fog makes the red-light ooze over the entire field of vision. There is an energy that has entrapped us in this volatile nothingness. It reveals itself only through its relentless control of the car radio. The only noise that penetrates the stillness is the nine-minute march of Arca’s “????? A.” Regardless of any attempt to change the song, it persists, piercing through us and into the cold dark night. There is no other choice. We relinquish control and let the synth surround us as we become swallowed by the red glow. — Avery Piazza