Music is cyclical; we are all aware of that. Ideas and inspirations, fads and fashions, scenes and styles all come back around, and, in music at least, do so at, fairly regular intervals. But the art of surfing such creative waves when they come back around is to do so differently, ride them out to different creative ends. The trick is to consider them not nostalgic echoes, but unfinished business, less the sound of what has gone before, more a torch to be picked up and carried headlong into…well, who knows?
And that seems to be the attitude and approach, whether one consciously adopted or not, at the heart of “Heart Shaped Glass,” the latest single from Florence-based synthwave duo Out Run.
For every ’80s echo, there are at least double the number of cutting-edge sounds at work; for every familiar groove, there are two or more modern clubland moves.
And so what we have is a song that feels like a tribute to the rhythms and patterns and sonic innovation of those early synth pioneers, but which uses all of that to power modern, of the moment synth pop. It is spacious and, for all its upbeat qualities, relaxed; it is infectious yet also sophisticated, textured, and refined. Perhaps the reason this blend of old and new works, this retro-futuristic sweet spot is reached, is found in their use of analogue synths, which serve as the perfect stepping stone between the analogue and digital worlds, the old and the new, the what was and the what might be.
Seductively simple and simply seductive, it’s the sound of the past taking root in the future!
