After collaborations with Rosalía and SOPHIE on 2020’s KiCk i and a recent remix for Lady Gaga, Arca’s latest joint venture, “Born Yesterday” with Sia, represents her latest foray into more mainstream pop. The first single from the producer’s upcoming KICK ii takes a different approach from its predecessors, building off an unreleased yet all too familiar sounding Sia demo. Though breadth and versatility are Arca’s greatest artistic strengths, the decision to build a song around Sia’s stale, soaring EDM power balladry does her distinctive production a disservice.

Sia’s delivery is as earnest as it is predictable, masking her signature platitudes with sheer vocal brawn. “I wasn’t born yesterday/And I am not your baby anymore,” she belts in the chorus with convincing force. Arca’s production, on the other hand, is some of her most subdued work to date. Noticeably less complex than the songs on KiCk i, “Born Yesterday” has an ambient, vibrating restraint that almost recalls 2017’s Arca. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the song fails to transform Sia’s performance into anything remotely exciting; even as the pace picks up and the layers of strobe-like synth pour in, it feels unpleasantly rushed.

It’s almost unjust that best part of “Born Yesterday” is in its final minute, when Arca’s gossamer production ripples into Sia’s softening vocals. “I ain’t your baby anymore/Don’t call me baby,” she croons, synth chattering as the dust audibly settles. Perhaps in another timeline, “Born Yesterday” could have made sense, or at least come as an excellent surprise. In this one, though, it sounds like yet another of Sia’s attempts to draw the listener into the David Guetta Cinematic Universe, where heartbreak can be forgotten in the blink of a shutter-shaded eye.