To celebrate the release of their collaborative single alongside the rising British alternative R&B artist iamkyami, the Berlin-based producer neana tweeted this: “If Gwen Steffani’s Wind It Up (Neptunes original mix) had a younger, hotter cousin it would be HMU by neana & iamkyami.”
It's not a bad description of the track. “HMU” is just the sort of brash, hedonistic pop that is making waves at the moment. It captures the full-on 2000s revivalism that we're living through during this Brat summer. Electroclash chords are interrupted by a rubbery kick drum and broken snare fills—it hits that sweet spot between Timbaland-revival hyperpop and some nasty indie sleaze. iamkyami's lyrics are equally direct and effective. “Hit me up, we can go to the club,” she sings in a pitch-shifted voice.
This is a tune that is buoyant and fun, and certainly not concerned with tomorrow's hangover. It's not that deep, in other words, and it doesn't need to be. But that also doesn't mean it isn't a banger. Within the musical language they speak, neana and imakyami are not imitators but innovators.