Song of the Day: Merchandise feat. Dum Dum Girls - Red Sun

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is "Red Sun" by Merchandise and featuring Dum Dum Girls, from the 2015 "Red Sun" b/w "Echo" single on Sub Pop.

Merchandise feat. Dum Dum Girls - Red Sun (MP3)

Late-night moody romanticism is the tinder of both Merchandise and Dum Dum Girls, so even with their slightly different styles, a smoldering collaboration between the two seems inevitable. On their respective sides of the gender divide, each group has fashioned their own romantic allure, drawing from new wave and post-punk predecessors, each with their own voice. Together, on "Red Sun", a song written and conceived "after midnight" in the hot summer of Merchandise's home, Tampa, Florida, Dee Dee Dum Dum and Carson Cox croon to each other, possessor and possessed, over such a slow-burning groove and woozy psych-tinged twang that you'll be held captive in their scorching embrace.

"Red Sun" is out now on Seattle's Sub Pop Records, and though you can grab it right now from this podcast, you'll want to pick up the 7” single, as it also contains the tragically lovelorn “Echo”, perhaps the chilled aftermath of "Red Sun"'s burn. Find out more about Merchandise here and Dum Dum Girls and here.