"Haunted" is a song recorded by the American musician Laura Les, released on March 12, 2021, as a non-album single. Les is a member of the duo 100 gecs alongside Dylan Brady, and "Haunted" was her solo debut under her own name. An electro-pop-inspired hyperpop track, critics found it had a general horror or spooky feel. The song was accompanied by a Weston Allen-directed music video with the same vibe. "Haunted" later appeared on the HBO series Euphoria.
| "Haunted" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Laura Les | |
| Released | March 12, 2021 |
| Genre | Hyperpop |
| Length | 1:42 |
| Label | Dog Show Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Laura Les |
| Producer(s) | Laura Les |
| Official music video | |
| "Haunted" on YouTube | |
Background and composition
editLaura Les first began making solo music under the name osno1. She later became known as half of the duo 100 gecs with Dylan Brady.[1] "Haunted" was the first solo release by Les under her own name[1] and following 100 gecs' popularity.[2] She fully wrote and produced the song.[3] Les described it as "mostly just about a feeling. Getting overwhelmed by a feeling and how it changes things around you."[4] Musically, she was inspired by electro-pop.[4]
The song was defined as hyperpop.[5][6][7] Matt Moen of Paper described it as "a flurry of giddy electro-pop and hair-thrashing emo".[4] Tom Breihan of Stereogum said that it blends trance, SoundCloud rap, and nü metal, adding that it resembled the duo Crystal Castles had they been "extremely silly".[6] Steffanee Wang of Nylon found the beat reminiscent of Grimes.[8] According to Them, "Haunted" "starts out with sweet, candy-like nightcore synth plinks, until a frantic chorus of her shrieks suddenly heightens the song's tension."[1] Aneesa Ahed of Mixmag described it as "[h]igh-tempo and full of angst and edge".[5] Moen said that the track has a horror vibe,[4] while Them writers said that Les blends cuteness and spookiness.[1]
Release and reception
edit"Haunted" was first played at the A2B2 Night of Fire virtual festival, where Les played solo.[2] After fan requests,[2] it was released as a single on March 12, 2021, through Dog Show Records.[3] A music video was released the same day, directed by Weston Allen.[2][4] Thom Waite of Dazed described the video as "characteristically chaotic",[2] while Stephen Ackroyd of Dork and Allie Gregory of Exclaim! wrote that it is "fittingly spooky".[7][9] "Haunted" was featured in episode two of the second season of the HBO series Euphoria.[5] Following this, the song appeared at number 6 on Billboard's Tunefind-powered Top TV Songs chart for January 2022.[10] Mixmag named it one of the best songs that had appeared on the series.[5]
Track listing
edit- Single – Streaming[3]
- "Haunted" — 1:42
References
edit- ^ a b c d Kim, Michelle Hyun; Trykowski, Tyler; Velasquez, Juan; Champion, Tiffany (March 12, 2021). "New Music Friday: Chika, Mitski, 100 gecs' Laura Les, Lucy Dacus". Them. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Waite, Thom (March 13, 2021). "100 gecs' Laura Les shares visuals for solo single, 'Haunted'". Dazed. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c "'Haunted' – Single by Laura Les". Spotify. March 12, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Moen, Matt (March 12, 2021). "Laura Les actually grew up in a haunted house". Paper. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Ahmed, Aneesa (March 8, 2022). "Simply euphoric: The best electronic and club tracks heard on Euphoria". Mixmag. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Breihan, Tom (March 12, 2021). "Laura Les – 'Haunted'". Stereogum. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Ackroyd, Stephen (March 13, 2021). "100 gecs' Laura Les has debuted a video for a new song, 'Haunted'". Dork. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ Wang, Steffanee (March 16, 2021). "Soundcheck: The 10 best music releases the week of March 15, 2021". Nylon. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ Gregory, Allie (March 11, 2021). "100 gecs' Laura Les drops spooky new single 'Haunted'". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ Rutherford, Kevin (February 17, 2022). "Euphoria dots Top TV Songs chart after second season premiere". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2024.