_{By Zach Collier}

There’s a song out there that sits sonically between the h*ck-the-haters girl pop sheen of Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” and the lazy slacker vocal delivery of “Loser” by Beck. It feels like both songs while clearly being inspired by neither, with horns and a bass line that would feel at home in CAKE’s discography.

That song is Die Shiny’s new single, “Healthy Sex Drive.”

Die Shiny is an alt pop duo based in Utah Valley. It features Billboard-charting songwriter Callie Crofts (My Fair Fiend, Callie Crofts) and multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer Zac Bryant. The duo dropped their debut EP Drugs in 2020. “Healthy Sex Drive” is their third new single since their first record, and sees the band entering new territory.

The single is Crofts’ first venture into spoken word delivery, and a brief breakdown 2 minutes in nearly jolts the song into hip hop territory. It’s a nice momentary flourish and keeps listeners on their toes even as they tap them. Crofts is particularly proud of the rhythm section. “It’s my favorite bass line I’ve ever written,” she says. “I’m pretty sure it will be stuck in our heads until we die. I’m not sick of that tasty trumpet hook just yet, though.”

The song was produced entirely in the duo’s home studio, with trumpet courtesy of Utah composer and brass player Bobby St. Mute. A frequent and experienced performer, he’s backed artists like Ben Rector, Tony Vega, and Utah blues rock artist Columbia Jones.

Despite being so danceable, Crofts says this track in particular was a really tricky one to produce. “It was a lion of a song to tame. I wanted to paint a picture of a woman’s experience under the patriarchy (a truly heavy subject) but somehow keep it all… fun and empowering.”

In the Barbie era, this fierce female-power anthem is on theme. It picks apart the mixed messages girls are fed about sexuality under the watchful eye of the menacing male gaze. Preaching feminist ideology without getting melodramatic, this song makes me imagine a world where the patriarchy isn’t fought with bombs or guns, but danced to death.

Die Shiny is playing live at Aces High in Salt Lake City on September 21. They’ll join Shecock, Burning Ave, and Sleepy Moon Ray. Make sure to follow Die Shiny on Instagram and stream “Healthy Sex Drive” below.