Elias Rønnenfelt has released his debut single “Like Lovers Do,” out today through Escho. Co produced by Rønnenfelt and Nis Bysted, “Like Lovers Do” was mixed by Andrew Sarlo and includes contributions from Iceage member Dan Kjær Nielsen. The video, directed by Kasper Miz, shows Rønnenfelt dragging a self decorated karaoke machine through the streets of Milan.
“Like Lovers Do” is a jacked-up shuffle that comes out of nowhere. Lots of melody but no chorus, the song barrels forward and always away. “Everyone’s gotta head nowhere fast / I’d rather head there than back.” Despair, resistance and momentum are still the snarl in Rønnenfelt’s voice, 15 years after the teenage punk sang the first words on Iceage’s debut single. The artistt tells his darlin’ to rest as they fly past the mess of existence.
Rønnenfelt calls out tenderness as the only answer to bullshit. He brushes against his worst memories before casting them aside. The song breaks into bright light with seconds to go, a synthetic melodica arriving as a garbage can zydeco choir to reveal something it took the whole mean workout to make clear: he needs his lover too.