Best New Track
âOpen Eyesâ
âOpen Eyes,â a new song by duendita for Mexican Summerâs ongoing Looking Glass series, moves with its own logic. Leading a small jazz ensembleâEndea Owens on bass, Paul Wilson on keys, and Austin Williamson on drumsâthe Brooklyn and Berlin-based soul artist sweeps from her stirring lower register to a lush falsetto, accompanying the wave-like movement of the arrangement: With each line, she may sound like a choir, a string section, or a quiet voice in a dimly lit room, singing only for herself.
duenditaâs multidimensional outlook extends to the lyrics, as her tone shifts from prayer (âBright purple leaves/Holy is He),â to personal reflection (âCurls spun like wool/Got me bullied in schoolâ), to communal love: âIâm wishing peace and stillness to you,â she sings in the closing lines, before clipping and looping her voice into a distorted sample that blends back into the arrangement.