The second that Soko, a French singer and actress, opens her mouth on "Lovetrap", it is clear whose world we are in: "Kinski Assassin blew a hole in my chest," she gulps, a direct quote from the song's author, Ariel Pink. The two have collaborated before, and they have a nice chemistry. Pink's music is hermetic and self-referential to the extreme; it’s difficult to imagine him (or at least the character he plays) singing a meaningful duet with anyone except a mirror.-=-=-=-

But "Lovetrap" is a rare Pink collaboration where the energy flows in both directions: Soko’s presence breathes some fresh air into Pink’s cramped-basement universe, and Soko’s song takes on the air of slight unreality that distinguishes Pink’s best music. The song feels sewn together by fragments, stitched in a haphazard hand that could only be Pink's: it is a moony, breathy ballad in the verses and then warps into a leering supermarket-pop singalong for the chorus. It works, even if you don’t quite know how.