Exclusive Song Premiere: ‘Lover Girl,’ Sarah Jaffe

ABOVE: SARAH JAFFE

We’ve followed the career of Texas-based singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe with interest over the years. Her sweet 2010 string-backed ditty “Clementine” jangled around in our head for months; and she totally surprised us with “Glorified High,” an ironic-nihilistic electro anti-party anthem, two years later.

Right on schedule, “Lover Girl,” the first track from Jaffe’s upcoming Don’t Disconnect, which we’re pleased to premiere here, is another pleasant left turn. But it’s a synthesis of sorts, too, marrying Jaffe’s more recent interest in electronic production with a nearly decade-old idea. “I wrote “Lover Girl” years ago when I was just out of high school just as a folk/acoustic song,” Jaffe explains. “I never put it on any previous records because I just wasn’t thrilled with it; so it just kind of collected dust for about nine years. When I went to Marfa last summer to write for Don’t Disconnect, I made a handful of loops; one in particular was a loop that I specifically made to remake ‘Lover Girl.'”

The song is worth the wait: sexy and downtempo, laced with slippery synths, it’s an argument in favor of evolution.

SARAH JAFFE’S DON’T DISCONNECT IS DUE OUT AUGUST 19. SHE’S CURRENTLY ON TOUR WITH THE POLYPHONIC SPREE. FOR MORE ON THE ARTIST, PLEASE VISIT HER WEBSITE.