Live-API verification revealed advanced-syntax queries hurt more
than they help on this endpoint. Switching the import-modal Deezer
search back to free-text + local rerank.
# What live testing showed
Hit Deezer's public API with both query forms for the issue #534
case (`Dirty White Boy` + `Foreigner`):
**Free-text (`q=Dirty White Boy Foreigner`):**
- Returns 21 results
- Real Foreigner Head Games studio cut at #1
- Live versions at #2-10
- Karaoke / cover variants at #11-15
**Advanced (`q=track:"Dirty White Boy" artist:"Foreigner"`):**
- Returns 12 results
- "(2008 Remaster)" at #1 — canonical Head Games cut MISSING from
top 8 entirely
- Live + alt-album versions follow
Advanced syntax DOES filter karaoke at the API level (none in the
12-result set vs. 5 at positions 11-15 in free-text), but it has
its own ranking bias that surfaces remasters / "Best Of" cuts
ahead of the canonical recording. Net regression for the user-
facing goal.
# Fix
1. Endpoint reverts to free-text query with local rerank applied.
2. Local rerank gains "remaster" / "remastered" / "reissue"
patterns under VARIANT_TAG_PATTERNS (soft 0.4× penalty — user
may want them but they shouldn't outrank the original).
3. Client kwarg support (`track=` / `artist=` / `album=`) preserved
for future opt-in callers (e.g. exact-match flows where API-
level filtering matters more than ranking).
# Verified end-to-end against live Deezer API
Re-ran the exact #534 case through the live API + new rerank.
Top 15 results post-rerank:
1. Dirty White Boy — Foreigner — Head Games ← REAL CUT AT TOP
2-10. Various Live versions
11-15. Karaoke / cover / tribute variants ← BURIED
Real Foreigner Head Games studio cut at #1, exactly the user's
ask.
# Tests
- `test_relevance.py` — variant tag patterns extended; existing
tests still pass (50 tests).
- `test_search_match_endpoints.py::test_joins_track_and_artist_into_free_text_query`
— replaces `test_passes_track_and_artist_as_kwargs`; verifies
endpoint sends free-text join, NOT field-scoped kwargs (the
prior test asserted the wrong direction now).
- Karaoke-burying assertion at the endpoint still pins the
user-visible behaviour.
- Client kwarg path tests untouched (still pin advanced-syntax
construction for future opt-in callers).
# Verification
- 75 relevance + endpoint + query tests pass
- 2445 full suite passes
- Ruff clean
- Live Deezer API shows real cut at #1 post-rerank
Broque Thomas