If you’re a geek like me, when August and September roll in, you start looking for the first official “fall song”. You know the ones, shimmering and autumnal, unhurried and just a little chilly. It’s now the end of August, and just like a yellowed leaf, Sargasso’s “Bis”, signals a change in weather and a change in the way the day looks. “Bis” is the third song the band has released in 2021, with “Cherry Blossoms” and “Smoothie Sipping” arriving earlier this year.
“Bis” was written by Maria Campos-Saadi (who you can find on bass), recorded/produced/mixed by Sargasso (Campos-Saadi, Noah Goodman, Thomas Hagen, and Soledad Tejada), and mastered by Rebecca Huston. The cover art, featuring an incredible replication of the Bis candy wrapper in ceramic form, is by Cecilia Abeid. The band have shared the following details about the origin of “Bis”:
The lyrics of “Bis” were originally drafted on the box of a popular Brazilian snack by the same name, and gifted as a poem after a late night spent with someone tragically unavailable. Bis also happens to mean ‘encore’ in Portuguese, and over a breezy, bossa-nova-inspired instrumental, the song reckons with the thrill of intimacy and of wanting more of something that isn’t good for you.
“Bis” is one of my favorite tracks, not just from Sargasso but of any band, released this year. Check out those gentle multi-track harmonies! Those warm synths! The perfect amount of percussion! The tasteful no-fuss guitar work! All of that in more in less than two-and-a-half minutes, like a small splash of a lovesick memory on your brain. Sargasso’s music is quite eclectic — you may have noticed that this song is quite different from the two previous singles — “Bis” is a good example of what makes their (and the band) so great. Every piece of sound works together, complementing the next. Everything is necessary. It’s forward-thinking without calling attention to itself. But more importantly than all of that: it just feels so good!
Listen to the song below and follow the band on Instagram / Twitter.
