Just in time for spooky season, Muo Duo’s new single “Arachnophobia” is a funky, trumpet-heavy dance anthem with a mix of groovy bass lines and an intoxicating beat track. The brother and sister duo illustrates the journey of a toxic relationship, in which the song’s subject still wants their partner to cherish them, even if they’re not so caring back.
The single finds a perfect balance between the song’s silliness of the lyrics and the seriousness of the not-so-subliminal substance of the duo’s message: “Dance with the devil / I want you loving me / You give me arachnophobia / I want you loving me / Even if you’re evil to me.”
The song feels like you’re entering a haunted ball with all kinds of creatures in attendance. As you look around for a partner to dance with you throughout the night, two swinging ghosts serenade the candle-lit and cob-webbed ballroom. Suddenly, there is your dysfunctional partner, a dashing 6-foot spider, coming to sweep you off your feet.
The arachnid-like description of the song’s subject is the sort of off-the-wall imagery that gives the song a playful vibe. In this case, the music and production shine over the lyrics. If you use some brain power to really follow along with the storyline here, the lyrical images of spiders and evil beings have the potential to be much more potent than the metaphors at hand. Simplicity can sometimes be best when it comes to having fun writing lyrics.
However, sarcastic lyrics like “Are you happy now, happy now / Sitting in your mini Mc- mini McMansion / On your cellophane cell-a-phone / Spinning your spider’s spiderweb of lies / I’ve been feeling sorry for you / With your terrible, no good, state of mind,” bring back the song’s tone, but it still leads with a child-like playtime atmosphere, a Halloween anthem you’d hear playing in the elementary school gym on a crisp fall day. The nostalgia of the soundscape is charming, and if you listen closely enough, the message of a failing relationship lies just below.
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