Group Activity: Cheap Cream’s “Kissing Game”

Remember a week ago when I said the move was for once-online-only electronic artists to form pop-focused units with vocalists? Welp, add another example to the pile. Maltine-adjacent creator Nagomu Tamaki has teamed up with an artist named Erica, who based on some quick search-engine-powered research was in the idol unit Electric Ribbon, to become Cheap Cream (yeah, I know, could use a little more thrill than a poster you might see outside a pharmacy). Their first song “Kissing Game” came out in September, but it’s a charmer even a month on. Taking cues from New Jack Swing but also modern dance-pop and a sprinkling of Web-born goofiness, “Kissing Game” springs all over the place, building towards a hook that is peak Especia to these ears. Tamaki’s backdrop is busy but never overwhelming, while Erica adds the rest. Listen above.