Beliefs is an early contender for best song of 2019.
"Beliefs" is an early contender for best song of 2019. Sofiane Boukhari

Sneaks, "Beliefs" (Merge)

Merge Records' most interesting artist returns with a sneak preview of her forthcoming album, Highway Hypnosis (due January 25, 2019). Past Sneaks releases like It's a Myth and Gymnastics pitched her somewhere between the lo-fi post-punk of Young Marble Giants and ESG (in "You're No Good" form) and the lo-fi bedroom electronica of Magnetic Fields... but with a much less lugubrious and much higher voice than Stephin Merritt.

"Beliefs," though, is another thing altogether. Sounding like M.I.A. on heavy downers, this track is like the most skeletal dubstep pitched to -16. There's an incredibly soothing quality to the backing vocals, an ectoplasmic bliss not heard since Seefeel's Quique. "Beliefs" is a total Robitussin®-funk charmer; it's my favorite song of 2019, and we haven't even scraped our way out of 2018 yet. If you play your cards right, you can catch Sneaks performing Friday, November 16 at Tractor Tavern during Freakout Festival.