Senior Dunce has by no means been afraid to embrace his awkwardness, however “Romantic LLM” is a special form of courageous. It’s a love music for the digital age, wrapped in shimmering 80s synths and dripping with melancholy, but in some way nonetheless danceable. The observe asks the form of query you didn’t know you wanted to listen to: what occurs when our most common need—love—is mediated by means of algorithms?
It’s an enormous query, however Dunce doesn’t overcomplicate it. As an alternative, he lets the music do the speaking. The shiny layers of synth create a dreamlike backdrop, whereas DORA’s velvet vocals minimize by means of with a heat that feels virtually startling towards the digital gleam. She doesn’t simply sing on the observe—she humanises it.
The magic of “Romantic LLM” is that it feels nostalgic and futuristic on the similar time. There are shades of The Midnight’s neon sparkle, echoes of Her’s cinematic longing, even whispers of Blade Runner’s melancholy—but it surely by no means collapses into pastiche. It’s very a lot its personal factor, a Dunce creation by means of and thru.
For an artist who thrives on blurring irony and sincerity, this observe appears like an ideal storm. You may giggle on the absurdity of falling for an AI, however you too can really feel the sting of it—the inevitability, the disappointment, the unusual great thing about it. Dunce’s persona because the everlasting outsider has by no means sounded extra relatable.
“Romantic LLM” isn’t simply one other single; it’s a second of readability for an artist unafraid to show awkwardness into an artwork type. You’ll dance, you’ll mirror, and also you may simply surprise what love will appear to be within the a long time to return.
