The songs of Better Dreaming came to Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner with unusual ease, and they’re effing fun - some of Tune-Yards smoothest, funkiest, and most direct pop music to date, and yes, you can dance to it. On their return to 4AD since 2021’s sketychy., they asked themselves what would happen if they simply let the songs come out, following any trail they wished - first thought, best thought style.

There was strong desire to move, to make music that would enter the ear and immediately loosen up the joints, get the whole body wiggling. After covid-isolation, and time away from touring and live shows, the desire to be moved by music was undeniable. The insane experience of growing an actual human being influenced this as well. Garbus and Brenner’s 3-year-old can be heard singing on “Limelight”.

The song was born from dancing together as a family to George Clinton. The kid liked the demo so much that whenever Garbus and Brenner tried to push the track forward with a new version or edit, he would demand the first version. Thus the infectious, effortless original groove stayed true. Better Dreaming is ferocious in its invocation of self-love, of collective action, of dance floor liberation, ego-death deliverance, and a future we could all thrive in.

When diving into the present darkness of the world, Tune-Yards asks themselves how much literal energy and joy can be conjured and pumped through the music. In its life-affirming art-pop of the apocalypse, Better Dreaming comes true.