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Music

The World's Funk Punk is Inspired By Big Youth and Spider Eating Pigs

Listen to a track from the Oakland band's debut album.
Image: Alejandra Alaca

The World's "Some Like it Hot" could be the funkiest and most rambunctious song about global warming that you hear this week. Over some Tina Weymouth-in-Stop Making Sense-like bass lines, solid drumming and two saxophone assault, vocalist Amber Sermeno sings about not listening to warnings . One line goes, "Old hygge creatures in the ice age, iguanas in a cot, what else do you expect when you boil that pot?"

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I suggest to her that that Sting and Bono should understand that audiences react to issues more when they can dance to them. "Actually that's how this song came to be," she replies. "Bono WAS looking for some more funk so he contacted me! But as you could guess, global warming is an issue near and dear to our hearts. It's all about living in an unrecognizable world after the ruling class used it up and left it behind. I think what sparked it was my friend talking about how pigs grow larger in warmer environments and eat tarantulas. Thinking about that while listening to Big Youth formed a global warming song. I don't know how these things work."

Following an excellent four-song EP, the Oakland five-piece return with their debut LP on UK label Upset the Rhythm. We've already heard the buzzing "Hot Shopper" and are stoked to premiere "Some Like It Hot", an energetic number that remains 'dancey' without being a dance track. "There's always room for more dancing!" says Amber. "None of us are talented but we'll do it. Everyone but Stanley [saxophonist Stanley Martinez], so I'm sure he's hiding the best dance moves for the right occasion."

We are also keen to hear the album's closing songs "I Fell in Love with a Slumlord" with intriguing lines such "He sneaks around in desert camos, what's he up to? Nobody knows. But how I wish he'd go and spy on me!" Sermemo explains it was written during a tense point in a cold war between her and (being me and Andy) and their landlord. "When all I could do was obsess, looking through the blinds to see what this doofus was doing that particular day, Andy helped distract me. I forgot what happened the day we wrote that song but I was having a meltdown. Andy passed me a bass with a little part in mind and in a few hours we had this demo recorded. I sung that song so loud and earnestly hoping our landlord would hear it, and that it would confuse him or cross some wires in his brain or something. Definitely pulled me outta my funk."

'First World Record' is available Oct 9 through Upset the Rhythm.