Ever hear a song so good you physically have to pause what you’re doing, make a stank face, and stare at the speaker like it just disrespected you?
No? Well, you’re about to.
“COOL GIRL” by tech house and electronic pop duo CHROMETONGUE, comprised of Austin artist and producer Primo the Alien and producer/engineer Taylor J Webb, is exactly the track it thinks it is.
Following their debut single, “FLOOR,” “COOL GIRL” leans into full-throttle energy with no subtlety, making it nearly impossible not to start moving, whether in your chair or on your feet.
Clocking in at 2 minutes and 46 seconds, it pairs fast-paced, relatable lyrics with a sharp, enigmatic beat that pulls you along from the first bar.
It’s clear this duo knows how to have fun in the studio, or at the very least, they make music that sounds like it.
Primo’s spoken-sung delivery lands with ease and confidence, an impressive feat given how relentlessly driving the production is beneath her vocals. However, if melody and beat aren’t your thing and you’re more in it for the meaning of the lyrics, the track packs a punch in that department as well, with lyrics that reframe and challenge what it means to be a “cool girl,” an “it girl,” or, more broadly, a woman deemed “enough” by society.
"I don’t know how to be a cool girl
But I know how to be the girl
To make the beat fat
Make the bass slap
Make the cool girls dance with their hands in the air
To my track girl"
On the inspiration behind the track, Primo adds, “I’ve had so many humiliating, awkward interactions in the music industry, and being a ‘nobody’ in the room with ‘somebodies’ is ripe with weird clout-flexing and power dynamics. I had this cringey interaction with some industry people that left me doubting everything from my talent to my appearance and even my clothes. So, after this particular interaction, I sat down to write ‘COOL GIRL,’ and it just kind of poured out.”
Treading the line between delusional self-confidence, often necessary in an industry that constantly leaves you guessing whether you’ll “make it” or not, and self-loathing, that friction seems to propel Primo to keep making music and collaborating.
Primo goes on to describe how writing "COOL GIRL" was her way of sticking up for herself, saying, “Maybe I’m not the things that they want—this perfectly put-together, marketable package—but I know how to write a fucking banger, and I BRING IT TO YOU EVERY TIME. So whether they want to admit me into their little club or not, they’re sure as hell going to add me to the top of their playlist.”
With a memorable, hard-hitting refrain like “I’m not a cool girl, I am the cool girl soundtrack,” the track expertly blends self-awareness with relatability, making listeners feel like they’ve found their people.
