NÉONHÈART - 'Waves'

Los Angeles synth pop duo NÉONHÈART are making waves on new single, 'Aftermath'. 

I don't tend to like much  synth pop or electro pop music, but NÉONHÈART's 'Aftermath'  brings the exact formula that makes me want to listen on repeat. Firstly, it has a catchy pop hook, executed in a meaningful way and it does not feel overdone. The track is conversational in tone, and rich in lyrical imagery which is reflected in its production courtesy of producer HAOO.  Airy and buoyant synth textures and electronic drum beats combine to feel like slowly crashing waves, and we get caught in the tide of Christina O'Connor's soothing, yet slightly melancholic vocal as she laments,  "here we go again getting stuck in waves".

'Aftermath' is an intricate track that moves at a chilled, pace, channeling an emotion that means its listener connects on an authentic level. It has a repetitive quality that is charming and hypnotic, pulling its listener deeper into the song's theme of trying to break out of being stuck in the same cycle, doing the same things, getting the same results and not learning from it.

But there's room for subtle experimentation too and there's a really interesting texture in the track that sounds like a ticking clock, which I guess is cleverly open to interpretation; maybe it can symbolise time is running out or it is time to change. Maybe it symbolises wasted time and the repetitive nature of time in itself and the unhealthy routines we get ourselves into as fairly flawed human beings. I mention this because it feels like a turning point in the track and ultimately,  'Aftermath' is a cathartic learning curve, that ends with a feeling of optimism in its production that smells like hope. 

Words of Karla Harris