DRUGDEALER & WEYES BLOOD RETURN WITH “REAL THING”
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After a six-year silence, Michael Collins, the leading face behind Drugdealer, and Natalie Mering, the voice behind Weyes Blood, have returned with a new collaboration titled “Real Thing.” For fans of their earlier works, such as myself, this is a long-overdue reunion between two artists who bring out the absolute best in one another.
Collins teased the drop on Instagram in his usual offbeat fashion: a chaotic copypasta-styled clip poking fun at how long it’s been since the two last made music together. But once the theatrics fade, what’s left is something incredibly sincere, “Real Thing” is a song that feels warm, restorative, and undeniably authentic.
To appreciate what makes this reunion so special, we need to rewind. Their first collaboration, 2016’s “Suddenly,” was, to me, a near-perfect introduction to their chemistry. With Collins’ signature jazzy, vintage production and Mering’s lush harmonies, it offered a sound that felt nostalgic and modern all at once. The song has racked over 40 million streams on Spotify, a quiet testament to its reach and staying power.
But the true standout from that era, in my opinion, was the title track “The End of Comedy.” It’s a haunting meditation on personal agency, what it truly means to take control of your life after you’ve been dependent on others. Mering’s delivery here feels like a monologue in a heartfelt “dramedy,” full of loss, clarity, and eventual liberation.
Then came 2019’s “Honey,” a track that lingered in the ache of longing. Lyrics like “I know that you want to be seen, and to be heard, oh to be loved it's not a crime” refuse to shy away from the messiness of love or the emotional spiral it can pull us into. Set against warm, analog drums, the song wrapped its grief in a kind, sonic reassurance.
Circling back to now, “Real Thing” marks a shift. Written by Max Baby, Collins, and Mering, it doesn’t dwell in heartbreak, but rather steps boldly into love, shapeshifting a mature older sister to Mering’s “A Given Thing.” This is a complete 180 from aforementioned works centered around longing; instead, there lies a rodeo about finding what you’ve been waiting for. Mering delivers “Think I found someone who loves me, somebody who makes my life so easy,” in an anthemic moment of emotional clarity. The instrumentation still carries their signature palette: dreamy, vintage, and warm, but the underlying tone feels hopeful. It feels like an exhale after years of holding your breath while standing beside human forms of uncertainty.
My 2025 summer anthem has been unlocked, and “Real Thing” reminds us that reunions are worth the wait.
