24 04 22 Laura Bentley Dads Downstairs X Best | Missax

When the indie‑electro duo Missax dropped their latest single “Dad’s Downstairs × Best” on April 24, 2022, the track instantly became a talking point in underground clubs and on streaming playlists alike. Frontwoman Laura Bentley, whose lyrical voice has been described as “a whisper‑shout that rides the line between nostalgia and futurism,” delivers a performance that feels both intimate and larger‑than‑life. The Story Behind the Song The title is a playful mash‑up of two recurring motifs in Missax’s catalog: the domestic, almost cinematic image of a father lingering in the hallway, and the relentless pursuit of “the best”—whether that be a beat, a love, or a moment of self‑realisation. In an interview with SynthWave Monthly , Bentley explained that the phrase “dad’s downstairs” was a literal reference to the cramped studio she shared with her father while recording the demo. “He’d be in the kitchen, humming along, and I’d be in the basement trying to coax the perfect synth line,” she recalled. The “× Best” part, she added, was a nod to the band’s habit of tagging their most experimental tracks with a multiplication sign, signalling a collision of ideas. Musical Landscape From the opening bar, the track plunges listeners into a low‑frequency rumble that mimics the thump of a basement subwoofer. A glistening arpeggio, built on a 7‑note Lydian scale, weaves through a syncopated drum pattern that feels both human and machine‑crafted. Bentley’s vocals sit atop this foundation, layered with subtle vocoder harmonies that echo the “downstairs” motif—each line feels like a call and response between the present and a memory of a father’s humming.