Lion Babe address modern isolation and find solace on the dance floor in their Pet Shop Boys-inspired “Western World,” which features Raekwon. The track will appear on their forthcoming sophomore LP, Cosmic Wind, due out on March 29th. It’s the follow-up to their 2016 debut, Begin.
“Western World” interpolates Pet Shop Boys’ hypnotic rhythms from their Eighties classic “West End Girls” with added sultry funk twists and buoying hand claps. Singer Jillian Hervey croons about the loneliness and listless repetitiveness found navigating life in a “Western World” where “you’re on your own” and it’s “hard to find some peace.” But some redemption can be found on the dance floor, where people can “look for each other,” she sings. “Together we can feel the beat.”
Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon continues the encouraging words. “You know how I pop,” he raps. “It’s just a radiant glow I got that make me keep radio on lock/All about love we premiere/Baby we here/It’s like this: let me lighten your bliss.”
“It’s about the current climate of our American culture and soul,” Lion Babe said of the song in a statement. “Honored to have Raekwon help paint this wild picture of the present.”
“Western World” follows Lion Babe’s previous release of LP single “The Wave” featuring Leikeli47, which is the official song for the “Kids Heart Challenge” by the American Heart Association. The nationwide initiative encourages kids in participating schools to learn about heart health through dance and raises funds for the organization’s life-saving mission.