- Slick house from one of dance music's biggest names.
- On Peggy Gou's new EP, the first on her new label, Gudu Records, she wonders, just how long is a moment? (Her moment.) Reviews of Peggy Gou's recent 12-inches usually begin by talking about it being her "defining year." This has been happening since 2016. The satisfying Moment ensures her own will last a lot longer than the spotlight's bulb.
On "Starry Night," an acid-tinged piano house track, Gou is more self-aware than a thumb through her aspirational Instagram grid might let on. Underneath the shimmer and sparkle—on Instagram this is designer clothes and stunning settings, on the track they're the light-as-air xylophone and dreamy "ooh"s—you'll find something, and someone, more grounded.
In her native Korean, Gou sings about how quickly popularity and tastes can change. Twice, she switches to English, a gift to her non-Korean-speaking fans who sing along to "Itgehane" but butcher the language. She states nouns, adjectives and commands that you can imagine a crowd repeating back at her as she closes out her set, the final verse going: "World, fearless, pleasure, edge, listen / World, freedom, listen / Now, us?" The warm piano returns as if answering that question: "Yes, you. Dance, now."
If "Starry Night" is for daytime sets, "Han Pan" is for when the sun goes down. The mood is deeper, with subdued steel pans and Gou's distant, cool vocals adding hazy texture. There's a noodling synth line, almost functioning like a post chorus, which also lends itself well to a sing-along. A little over one year after her star-making Once EP, Gou has tightened her modern, versatile formula.
TracklistA Starry Night
B Han Pan