Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team. Today’s installment features “Stop” by Marci.
I’ve well maintained that one of my favorite albums of 2022 was Marci, the self-titled debut from Marta Cikojevic—the keyboardist of Montreal indie rock quartet TOPS. Marci doesn’t make indie rock, though. No, she’s a disco revivalist to her core, putting together some of the most stirring contemporary dance music. Last year, Marci boasted some instant classic tracks like “Entertainment,” “Terminal” and “Immaterial Girl.” To say that I’m excited for whatever Cikojevic’s next project is would be a massive understatement.
Earlier this year, Marci unveiled a new single called “KITY,” which—spoiler alert—may or may not appear on one of our year-end lists. It was, and remains, the hippest dance cut of 2023 thus far. Electronic music is having such a rewarding moment right now that almost no attempt at harnessing the greatness of Carter-era club soundscapes goes unsuccessful. With Cikojevic’s passionate vocals glazed atop a groovy guitar riff coiled into a piano-driven backbeat, “KITY” (an acronym for “Keep it to Yourself”) was a showstopper that cemented Marci’s place in the echelons of modern dance-pop.
What helps Cikojevic stand above mimicry is that her glorious projects pay homage to the greatest pop and disco figures while also maintaining enough space for her to forge her own uniqueness. On new single “Stop,” it’s safe to say that Marci does it yet again—though no part of me expected the song to arrive any other way. “‘Stop’ is that incessant yet addictive thought that’s parked itself inside your head, will you let it take over?,” Cikojevic says of the track. Ditching the funk of “KITY” for a more nuanced, sublime pacing on “Stop,” Marci puts herself on full display without overstaying her welcome or getting too grandiose with it. “Stop” is one of those tracks that is so low-key hypnotizing that, once you realize you’re obsessed with it, you’ve already had the song on repeat for an hour. “I can’t stop singing that song about you,” Cikojevic muses. “The way that it pops over again.”
“Stop” may initially sound vintage, but I promise it’ll feel nothing but contemporary once you spend just a few moments with it. The track is a synth-pop reliquary forged not in the catacombs of yesteryear, but in the dazzling hope of today. Marci continues to prove that she’s the future of dance music.
Listen to “Stop” below.