Review by Nika Kretov.
Photo by Tatiana Pozuelo
NYC alternative pop outfit Laptop are in a new chapter right now, with Jesse Hartman reviving the project alongside his son Charlie and rolling out singles ahead of their full-length album “On This Planet”, due June 5 via Hurricane Cove Records. The newly-released “Xanadu” is a duet with budding Nevis vocalist Anna Hadeed, built like a bright, approachable pop track that keeps letting darker implications seep through the lines.
Musically, “Xanadu” leans into a breezy, sun drenched groove that stays catchy and clean even as the lyric turns toward ambition, ownership, and the American dream getting warped by pressure. The duet is the clear highlight. Hadeed adds lift and texture, and Hartman’s delivery keeps the track moving with a conversational ease that fits the “love song on the surface” framing. Even when the theme gets heavier, the song keeps its composure, which makes the irony feel intentional rather than melodramatic.
The video sharpens the concept by giving the story a second language. It holds the beachside performance steady, then cuts to glossy, candy colored sequences that push the fantasy of paradise as something packaged and sold, and the sinking and fire imagery provides an actual punchline to the premise. It is direct, but it commits, and it makes the track’s darker subtext easier to feel in your gut, not just understand on paper.
With “On This Planet” arriving June 5, “Xanadu” reads like a thesis statement for what this incarnation of Laptop wants to explore: comfort, desire, and the cost of building a life inside a system that turns everything into a product. If you are curious where they take it next, this one is a clean entry point.
The single can be had from most digital platforms https://ditto.fm/xanadu_995c7dd3 or Bandcamp
https://laptoptheband.bandcamp.com/single/xanadu
And for a brighter lighthearted view of where we’re headed with “On This Planet”, we recommend watching ‘Additional Animals’, where you get to see how much Laptop has become more of a fun and adventurous sonic family affair:
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Review by Nika Kretov.
Photo by Tatiana Pozuelo.
