Like their name, the New Jersey pop duo Donovan Blanc mixes a retro-folk-pop style (the Donovan part) with a modern, uncaring, and faux-cool attitude (the blanc, or white, part), which come together to create a refreshing sound that still has a familiar feel. For proof, look no further than the music video for “Minha Menina”, the lead single off their upcoming debut, Donovan Blanc.
The new song, with its chimy guitar melodies and well-placed flute selections, mixes lush with lo-fi and bares more than a few similarities to 60s hippie folk-pop. Throughout the track, singer Joseph Black sings to “Minha Menina” (“My Girl”, for those who don’t speak Portuguese, or are unfamiliar with the Os Mutantes song of a similar name) about how he longs for her, asking, “Is it all me? / Tell me lies,” and “Did you call me? / Don’t look so shy.” So while the song is mellow and inoffensive on the surface, you definitely get the sense that there’s something sinister hiding in these lyrics.
The music video, which was directed by the band, only reinforces this notion. In it, a woman dancing is superimposed on shots of a man’s creepily earnest and unnatural smile which is in turn superimposed Black singing in a desolate, lonely room. The effect is one that gets across the message of the song pretty well; the woman that Black is singing to is probably not “Sua Menina”, despite his best efforts.
Donovan Blanc will be out June 24 on Captured Tracks. Download “Minha Menina” here.
