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Apr 18, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Tristan Williams

David Wax Museum is the project of husband and wife duo David Wax and Sue Slezak. The pair describe their music as “Mexo-Americana,” a blend of traditional Mexican stylings with golden-hued pop hooks, rock riffs, and vibrant orchestral arrangements. The pair already have long recording careers under their belts, but next month they’re set to return with their latest effort, You Must Change Your Life, out May 5th via Nine Mile Records.

They shared the record’s lead single “Luanne” earlier this year, followed by the album’s title track last month. Today, they share another new song, “Best Lover,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Best Lover” finds Wax and Slezak reaching for the heights of pop euphoria, recalling the lush studio production of the classic pop fare of the ‘60s. There are shades of the sweeping orchestration of Pet Sounds and the wall-of-sound production of a Motown classic, all rendered with a joyous vibrancy that feels fresh and vital. Ringing bells, alluring bass grooves, and timpani rolls, all give the track the feel of a dramatic romance. However, the lyrics contrast that wistful element with a harsher reality, revealing the fantasy beneath the romance: “Best lover I never had/The sweetest lips I never tasted/I don’t consider it any of it wasted/The parts of me she awakened/There’s a little part that will never stop waiting for.”

Wax says of the track, “Best Lover” is a hyper-modern, sexy twist on a Phil Spector-esque pop gem, through a Roy Orbison filter, replete with timpani and tubular bells - but brought into the current moment with a funky 6-string bass, a hip drum machine beat spliced with a super-compressed drum kit, and a stop-you-in-your-tracks howling verse. We wanted to take the listener on a 3-minute journey where you can’t believe how much we just packed into the song because each section is so tastefully defined and orchestrated, from the slow build at the top and the Renaissance scene change of the bridge, to the timpani roll reset at the end. And who hasn’t had regret about a love that never came to be? That’s the starting point, but I wanted to go deeper than that and acknowledge the fantasy of it all: “Never had the chance to see if this love existed / Never had the chance for things to get ugly and twisted.”

Check out the song below. You Must Change Your Life is out everywhere on May 5th via Nine Mile Records.