MAMI UMAMI return with “(Don’t) think I like you”, a frantic, infectious and emotionally charged new single that turns relationship distance into dance floor fuel. The Malmö duo have built their sound around the collision of hip-hop, pop and club music, and this latest release pushes that formula into particularly energetic territory. Co-produced with Alex Lopez, the track feels immediate from its opening moments and never really lets the intensity drop.

The appeal lies in the way MAMI UMAMI refuse to choose between emotional honesty and pure sonic energy. Jaquelin Elamiri and Leonard Furby deliver their vocals with attitude, while electronic production and driving rhythms give the song a physical quality. It is easy to imagine the track working in a club, but its emotional core is just as important as its ability to move a crowd.

The story behind it is one of those situations that can be both completely understandable and emotionally ridiculous at the same time. Both artists were dealing with partners leaving for work in other cities. They were happy for their partners and proud of their opportunities, but that happiness did not make the separation any easier. In the studio, those conflicting emotions quickly became a song that races through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and something approaching acceptance.

That is where the song’s title becomes particularly effective. “(Don’t) think I like you” sounds like a rejection, but the parentheses reveal the truth hiding underneath the bravado. This is not really a song about falling out of love. It is about loving someone so much that being apart from them becomes difficult to process. MAMI UMAMI turn that frustration into something playful, dramatic and ultimately liberating.

The track continues the momentum established by the AFTERwork EP and their growing reputation as a live act. Having already brought their boundary-pushing sound to stages including Roskilde and Way Out West, MAMI UMAMI clearly understand how to turn emotional chaos into an experience. “(Don’t) think I like you” is another reminder that their music works because it is impossible to neatly categorize. It is pop, hip-hop, club music and something entirely their own.