Sylvan Esso think you should splurge on good-quality yogurt

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, better known as Sylvan Esso, have been bringing their low-key electro-pop to the masses since 2014, bursting onto the scene with their self-titled debut album and the single “ Hey Mami .” Over the years, they’ve put out a number of excellent records, dabbling in dustier, more fragile textures on Free Love , going dancier and glitchier on No Rules Sandy . The two are constantly pushing at the edges of their sound while retaining the core of what makes a Sylvan Esso record sound like a Sylvan Esso record.

Their new album Ow ∞ , released this past Friday, represents perhaps the boldest reinvention of their sound, however. It’s unabashedly nostalgic-sounding, trading the glitchy modular drums and glossy dance production of Free Love for turn-of-the-century breakbeats and distorted guitars. At times, the songs recall bands like Soul Coughing and Blur, on tracks like “Hot Slob” and “Concrete Glen.” But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of bleeps and bloops and modern vocal production techniques to keep fans of past albums happy.

To celebrate the release of Ow ∞ , Sylvan Esso agreed to answer our weekly questionnaire.

Nick Sanborn: My laptop. I have loved a series of MacBooks dating back to when I graduated from high school and cannot imagine working without one. I am absolutely one of those millennials who despises typing or doing any important work on a touchscreen.

Amelia Meath: I wish the phone was actually a food replicator. So many problems would be solved.

NS: Eight, which feels a touch low compared to my normal ADHD tab expanse. No pins besides email, though, I like a tabula rasa scene when I open a browser.

NS: I still frequent a version of the old Monome forum , which is generally focused on programming and instrument design. The people there are excellent and interesting and so welcoming and nice. It’s the only place on the internet that feels more positive than detrimental to me.

AM: I had a T-Mobile Sidekick that I saved up for when I was in high school. It was the coolest phone I have ever owned. I kept my journal on there :D

NS: EarthBound , which was a gorgeous, heartfelt, quirky JRPG on the Super Nintendo that came out in 94. It’s beautiful and strange and full of humanity. I still play it all the way through every few years.

AM: The first Zelda I played was Skyward Sword on the Wii. We lived in a house with a whole bunch of other people, and we would all hang and play together. It was a joy and became my gateway into playing games as an adult. There have been so many others that I have fallen in love with since then — Hollow Knight , Blue Prince , Hades — but Skyward Sword was my first love. So much lore.

NS: I rarely wish I had made something that I already like, since I feel like me making it would have ruined it being what it is in the first place. But I have been dreaming about a really specific thing — an AM/FM radio with an analog tuner that I could control remotely with a computer or sequencer — for literal years. There are many things out there that are close but not quite this, so much so that it’s kinda maddening.