Started as a ’60s-tinged Psychedelic collective in 2015, the now Utrecht-based, Dutch brother duo of Thom and Jeroen Rondee, under the Cymbaline moniker, swerved, around 2020, their attention and creativity towards vintage analog synthesizers, and rhythm boxes, exploring the cold, urban and electronic-laden music boundaries of late 70s-Early 80s-inflected British New Wave / Post-punk pioneered by the most romantic and futuristic bands such as Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Ultravox, Grauzone, Tubeway Army to name a few, combined with Krautrock propulsive reiteration.
Following the dark, atmospheric, and dystopic debut album, “Computerleven”, in 2022 and a Live Session EP a year later, the group has teased over the weekend the first song, “Shine A Light”, from the forthcoming 5-track EP, “Gegenwelt”, due out on May 17, 2024, via German label Young & Cold Records.
A rousing and catchy rollercoaster ride through shadows and brightness “Shine A Light” features glimmers of the band’s psychedelic past, while still remaining in the 80s with hints of The Church, by the evocative overlay of reverb-filled 6-string flourishes, where cold and glowing Gary Numanesque retro-futuristic synths, swell and swirl somberly, layered with glistening guitar melodies through shuddering, wistful dim meanders, driven by a metronomic hypnotic drum programming and churning bass oscillations, whilst pensive emotional vocals rise into vibrant weeping devotion to shine a light over an unpredictable darkness.
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photo by @analogischerwijs
