strongboi Float Into A Funk-Soaked Bliss On “dizzy”
Photo by Dragos Chiriac
Have you ever had a song make you want to cancel all your plans and just sway around in your kitchen? strongboi, the duo of Alice Phoebe Lou and Ziv Yamin have a knack for exactly that. They bring to light music that dances and wanders its way around in your head, and on their latest single “dizzy,” the duo serves you up a slice of funk-infused escapism that sounds like it was dipped in so much honey that it would tempt Winnie the Pooh himself.
This track grabs you like a magnet might grab a penny, or how apple cider vinegar grabbed the fruit flies at my coffee shop job that put me through college, you can’t help but be attracted to it. It also follows the first single, “think twice,” off the band's forthcoming second album. “think twice” arrived at the end of July, and was a hazy neo-psych jewel that made you feel like you were looking through a kaleidoscope, while “dizzy” shows the band stretching into a warmer, even groovier direction while keeping the charm and originality that’s continually defining their sound. Based on the first two tracks we’ve seen off this forthcoming album so far, it’s safe to say we’re in for a real treat on this record.
That’s no small thing to say for a band that started out so humbly, Lou and Yamin, longtime friends and bandmates in Berlin, began strongboi as an experiment in ultra-colorful alt-pop, making music with Casio keyboards and broken-down toys. That playful, lo-fi spirit has stuck around even as the project has grown. Their self-titled 2023 debut turned heads as a seven-song dose of magical thinking recorded straight to tape, which preserved the smudged, caramel-soft sound that has become their very own musical version of a calling card.
While the world continues to notice strongboi, they now have over 40 million streams and roughly half a million monthly listeners on Spotify, and they've been so busy in 2026. The band kicked off their return in June by announcing a headline tour and playing the Newport Folk Festival. Lou has also been stretching out solo, wrapping an arena run across Europe with Olivia Dean before stopping in the US for Shaky Knees, Sea Hear Now, and Ohana Fest.
Not to worry though, for a band so busy individually fans will be able to catch strongboi live very soon. The 21-date headline tour starts off in Brussels on November 24, then moves through Amsterdam, Paris, London and Berlin before heading to North America next year in February. Stops which strongboi will be gracing with their presence along the way include Toronto, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco, wrapping with two nights at Los Angeles’ Lodge Room on March 13 and 14. Artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Salami Rose Joe Louis, who previously featured on fan favorite “unconditional," will also be joining the band on the road.
Live and in person, strongboi perform as a six piece, and it’s their loose-knit precision that makes them feel like a well-oiled machine with magnetic chemistry. They’ve already sold otu shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including a standout night at London’s Village Underground, and last year’s 31-date North American run with Men I Trust only brought them closer to their audience.
Overall, “dizzy” may be an easy invitation to slow down and float for a while, but be careful, because what you love about this track is exactly what’ll capture you about album two.
Listen to “dizzy” below:
