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Music

Listen to Miniboone's "Baby, I Hope So"

R. Kelly, meet Hall & Oates.

Power-pop scientists Miniboone have been working tirelessly on a chemical compound that can successfully bind the slacker protons of indie rock and the sincere silliness of '90s R&B. Maybe that's prepostorous: R. Kelly's sexbomb rhymes couldn't possibly tango with David Byrne long enough to call it an actual dance. But now, it's time to suck it, haters, because the New York band have accomplished such a feat with "Baby, I Hope So," one of Miniboone's most ridiculous singles ever, which we're premiering below. The track begins with some effervescent guitar jangle, layered over an odd-meter beat and Queen-era backing vocals. By the time you hit the high pitched hip-hop "baby" vocals on the hook, you're in Daryl Hall's basement watching a Joseph Gordon-Levitt film, surrounded by crushed velvet and an intense amount of geranium scented candles.

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"The CD player in our van is broken and the tape deck spits out our iPod cassette adapter, so we listen to a lot of bargain bin tapes when we're on tour," singer Craig Barnes tells Noisey. "One of the tapes we've picked up over the years is a Hall & Oates greatest hits type compilation where the last song is a live version of 'Wait For Me.'"

He continues, because this dude clearly really does love Hall & Oates.

"At the end of the song, Daryl Hall goes off on his own doing these ridiculous a capella runs while the crowd cheers. Maybe it would make sense if you could see the crowd, like maybe he's walking down a catwalk and shaking hands and hugging people while he's singing it or something, but on tape, in our van, it sounds surreal and hilarious. We've listened to that tape a lot, and 'Baby I Hope So,' which is sort of an homage to classic R&B love songs, is the proof."

Miniboone's upcoming self-titled record is out on September 10 via Ernest Jenning Record Co.