The Singles Jukebox

Yeah, where HAVE you been, Cassius?

[Video][Website]
[5.00]

Edward Okulicz: I admit I haven’t heard a Cassius single since 1999 (the year, not necessarily the song), and my memory was that they were compentent but prone to adding oversaturated and thin toppings, decent grooves struggling under tinny samples or vocals which compromised their ability to make me move because they never sounded natural. “The Missing,” too, has a competent bottom-end for stumbling around on the dance floor, but now they have the opposite problem; Tedder’s vocal is all-too-weighty. He’s lumbering and funkless, making this music to buy drinks to, but not to consume them to.
[4]

Tim de Reuse: Until the day I die I will preach about what a profound impact Daft Punk made on anyone who wanted to make anyone else dance in the aughties, and how you can still feel the ripples from stuff like Discovery if you look hard enough. With that in mind, this song sounds like an errant great-grandchild of “Crescendolls”; the ascending bassline stretchs out over a few measures, but the bubbly sugar rush is well preserved. Instead of synths and plastic shouts we have sleaze like “Your heart’s down low, your heart’s down low.” We have a gorgeous, idiotic, memorable hook: “It makes sense, baby.” The early 21st century has given us plenty of Parisian house duos and a glut of Soundcloud imitators, so it’s no small feat to find a logical progression from the masters of 2001 that hasn’t already become passé.
[8]

Katie Gill: I don’t know who exactly Ryan Tedder is the poor man’s version of but he’s definitely the poor man’s version of somebody. Maybe the poor man’s Justin Timberlake? This song does give off some “Can’t Stop The Feeling” vibes and Tedder’s giving off a very Timberlake falsetto. It’s catchy and I wouldn’t turn it off if it was on the radio. But I just can’t get past that familiarness.
[5]

Alfred Soto: I thought male falsettos became illegal after Future Sex/Love Sounds.
[3]

Scott Mildenhall: Something certainly is missing, and it feels a bit like that thing is about half of the song. Tedder’s presence makes sense upon discovering that Cassius had two tracks on his band’s last album, and in tandem with Pharrell he seems very happy to be returning the favour, but that wave of joy doesn’t carry everything. The colour is constantly coursing, but — even with Tedder — never comes by a chorus.
[6]

Will Adams: In which Ryan Tedder tries Pharrell karaoke on a song where a lyric like “we can go missing, and they won’t find a trace” loses all of its sinister connotations. Meanwhile, I order another beer.
[4]