New Job has a glossy, easy-going disco sound that feels perfect for June. It is a song for the moment as the sun just starts to drop below the horizon on hot summer days.
What really stuck out for me is the way Dance Lessons have layered multiple vocal harmonies together whilst creating something that feels popular yet interesting, polished yet real. The artist is most calls to mind for me was Róisín Murphy, who similar brings beautiful vocals and a finesse to music that is ultimately experimental.
Dance Lessons are a London-based, female-fronted and female-produced trio. New Job is their second single and Dance Lessons’ Ann said it became weirdly prophetic:
“It was never meant to become personal. I initially wrote it late last year – before a break-up. Afterwards, I went on a mad search for new ways to distract myself. The song shows the similarities in perspective of two people post-breakup, both using distractions to mask the sadness.”
The video for New Job was shot by Sarah Chatfield in a COVID-19 locked down LA. Having previously worked with Lily Allen, Lykke Li and The Cribs, Chatfield was challenged to work unconventionally, without a crew and with minimal equipment. It's also shot entirely on iPhone, which is impressive given how great it looks!
The result perfectly captures the dance interpretation of New Job, performed and choreographed by Gabri ‘GQ’ Gilliam and Shantel Ureña. In a sense, the sight of a couple dancing through empty streets feels analogous to the experience of trying to move on from a break-up - the sense of isolation, of being busy for the sake of it, and the weird reality that the only person who genuinely knows what you are feeling is the precise person you are working to move on from. Together, even in moving apart.