Summer hits and sinister sounds

Summer hits. They are despised – at least amongst so-called music aficionados. Summer hits are shallow; they are as catchy as they are quickly forgotten after the hot season has passed. Who still listens to Luis Fonsi's Despacito or Master KG's Jerusalema?

The issue with summer hits (let's say: hit songs in general) is that they are played endlessly in a short amount of time. It's the death sentence that killed many iconic songs. Example? Just think about Adele's Hello.

I try to avoid the mainstream's summer hit and find my own. And I think I've found what I was looking for in today's Weekly5: Last Chance by Casper Caan, remixed by no other than Hot Chip.

Contrasting this sunny vibe, this week's edition also features a variety of darker, sinister sounds for post-punk and rock music fans.

Casper Caan – Last Chance (Hot Chip Remix)

In May 2021, New York City-based producer Casper Caan put out the track Last Chance. The original release itself is worth a spot in playlists worldwide, an electronic piece of art with an unusual indie-rocky feel.

However, there's now a remix of Last Chance by no other than London's indie legends Hot Chip. They removed the scratchy, jumpy nature of the original and added a thick bassline, ironing out the edges and transforming the track into something that only can be described as a veritable summer hymn.

Hot Chip's remix spreads hope and evokes an aching yearning for freedom. Let's get out there!

Drangsal – Exit Strategy

28-year-old Max Gruber, aka Drangsal, is one of the wild, young, up-and-coming German musicians. In his first album, Harieschaim (2016), post-punk and new wave influences were already shining through his songs heavily. The record's opener, Allan Align, is a perfect example of the vintage sound.

Drangsal's latest single certainly has this post-punk vibe, but it has been pushed to the brink of existence. Exit Strategy is a fast-driving track, the synthesizer crying like a chainsaw. However, Drangsal's voice, grandiosely reciting the German lyrics, counterpoints the exploding sound.

But the most astonishing thing about Exit Strategy is the uncanny similarity to the modern pop-punk sound of die ärzte. Drangsal even sounds like their frontman Farin Urlaub. But in the end, this doesn't take anything away from Drangsal.