Song of the Day 8/15: Santigold, “Lights Out”

Catching up with some new Sylvan Esso on YouTube, this oldie popped up on my feed — is it proper to call a song an oldie if it was released 12 years ago? I remember how ear-catching it was back then, ethereal vocals over a new wave beat, a sound Pitchfork pegged as a blend of the Go-Go’s and the Pixies.

The third single from Philadelphian Santi White’s solo album — she went by Santogold at the time but changed it when another Santo Gold surfaced — failed to chart, but it did get exposure in a beer commercial. It’s not typical of her usual style, which tends to be more experimental and electronic.