“BREAD,” the third studio album by electro-poppers Sofi Tukker, is an acronym for “Be Really Energetic and Dance,” a mantra long championed by Grammy-nominated American duo Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern.

But before it was an acronym, “BREAD” was a literal reference. They see the doughy food as a kind of physical embodiment of energy; the carbs keep them moving. And with “BREAD,” they want their music to do the same for their listeners.

Sofi Tukker is known for animating. Since 2017, when Sofi Tukker first performed at Coachella festival – a year before the release of the duo’s debut album, Treehouse – festival-goers have been drawn to the dynamic, colorful sets and multilingual, genre-bending sounds. Companies like Apple and Peloton have used their songs for campaigns to capitalize on some of their natural momentum. And while their main business has always been creating bossa nova, jungle and house-inspired pop, they’re also trusted DJs with recurring gigs in party capitals Las Vegas and Ibiza, Spain.

With the motto “Be really energetic and dance,” the new album is upbeat, even as it touches on less optimistic themes. Take, for example, “Throw Some Ass,” the album’s first single.

“Hey doctor? Can you give me something stronger? / I tried everything you offered me,” Hawley-Weld lists the remedies she tried until she found what worked. “Throw some ass, free the mind,” she sings before the beat kicks in. There’s a deeper truth behind the feel-good approach – the dance masks a pain.

And it works: The song combines Hawley-Weld’s softly sung, tongue-in-cheek lyrics with Halpern’s chants and electrifying dance breaks to promote her cure for suffering.

This can be felt in the lively “Spiral”, which re-examines time in a relationship after a break-up, and in “Guardian Angel (Stand By You)”, which finds support in dark times.

Nothing is predictable in Sofi Tukker’s collaged jungle pop, but the creations are also consciously accessible, as good dance music should be.

That’s the case with “Cafuné,” co-written with Brazilian poet Chacal. The title, which doesn’t translate perfectly into English, is universal. That’s because the song opens with rapper Channel Tres laying out the band’s global approach: “Nobody’s ever run their fingers through my hair like that / You can’t even translate that shit.” The premise gives listeners unfamiliar with the word the context to realize it’s a sensual idea, enhanced by a staccato beat and Channel Tres’ slow delivery.

“Woof,” which features Nigerian singer-songwriter Kah-Lo, is another example: Halpern repeats the song’s central refrain, “I’ll make you woof,” in his lowest vocal range. Hawley-Weld’s lyrics draw on phrases from four languages ​​- English, French, German and Portuguese – Kah-Lo delivers a verse in English and Yoruba, and the underlying track combines the seemingly disparate vocal sections into a kind of controlled chaos.

“I don’t need the alphabet to say I want you,” Hawley-Weld sings towards the end of the song. Instead, they’ll draw from their own alphabet. And it’ll be a good time.

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