Dominic Fike Delivers His Most Heartfelt Work to Date in "Aćaà Bowl" and "Rollerblades"
Dominic Fike released his debut EP, Don't Forget About Me, Demos late last year, and with it, he delivered a vision of what popular music will look like in the years to come. And in spite of the monumental popularity of his debut, Fike has spent the last year being oddly quiet - at least until today. Returning with two new singles, "Aćaà Bowl" and "Rollerblades," Fike proves his earlier bout of success was no mere fluke; we are witnessing the birth of a new kind of star.
Outside of Fike brewing up a storm of rumors as to whether he was joining BROCKHAMPTON (he is not) earlier this year with a BROCKHAMPTON-directed music video for his hit single "Three Nights" and appearing on Kevin Abstract's album ARIZONA BABY, 2019 has been sorely lacking in any major Fike-related news. As if to remedy the problem twice over, "Aćaà Bowl" and "Rollerblades" arrive as two of his best and most heartfelt singles to date.
Attempting to nail down "Aćaà Bowl" and "Rollerblades" with any number of hackneyed genre descriptors in many ways feels like a fool's errand. The evolving sentimental string section and light static fuzz of "Aćaà Bowl" could have been plucked straight from a Sufjan Stevens record, meanwhile, the slow-burning affair that unfolds in "Rollerblades" is an understated work of musical genius that feels like it could have been pulled off by no one else but Fike himself. Taken together, the stripped-back nature of the two tracks pulls from a myriad of genres and inspirations to create an intoxicating concoction made up of a vast range of moods and sounds.
While "Aćaà Bowl" and "Rollerblades" may arrive in stark contrast to what we heard on Don't Forget About Me, Demos, there is an innate excitement to be had over what Fike is doing here. This is the next chapter in a fully realized body of work from an artist who knows no bounds or limitations, genre or otherwise. Fike is a musical chimera.
Listen to "Aćaà Bowl" and "Rollerblades" below:
For more on Dominic Fike, revisit the first time we discovered the artist with an Apple logo face tattoo.
