In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing. This week, with June just heating up, we asked: What song says “summer” to you so far this year?
Is it possible to sing along with a song when there aren’t really any words? It feels a little sillier than actual words, but it’s damn fun to intone along with Brooklyn’s Xenia Rubinos on “Whirlwind,” a short, sharp blast of percussion and beautiful, breathless mouth noises. Rubinos covered Talking Heads for A.V. Undercover last week, and started off with what we at first thought were vocal exercises, but turned out to be her own wordless spin on the song. On “Whirlwind,” Rubinos and drummer Marco Buccelli sound like a down-to-earth version of Björk, all gorgeous and weird but never floating too far into the ether. The video for “Whirlwind” offers a perfectly herky-jerky visual accompaniment, too: It’s just the duo chopped up and scooting around their van. It’s not even the most representative song on the excellent new Magic Trix, but it sure is fun to participate in.