After last year’s “Leaving Depression” EP, the Indonesian unit re:NAN return with an improved version of their elegant and bright retro strand of New Wave, strewn with moody Post-punk-laced shadows while reviving the theme from the 2021 single “Lost Consciousness pt. 1”.
Combining the underlying doom of their lately experienced “quarter life crisis”, with the vibrant and exhilarating, as much as decadent and romantic synth sound of the ’80s, the Malang, East Java-based trio of Dwiki Wahyu Enanto (lead vocal/bass), Rizky Adha Dharmawan (guitar/sequencer), and M. Rifki Rahman (synthesizer), deliver a 5-track EP, titled “Lost Consciousness, Pt.2”, via fellow independent label Haum Entertainment, replete with a deftly energetic and captivating interweaving of rich swirling glowing synths, danceable carpets of driving electronic rhythms and solid throbbing basslines, heightened by sparkling guitar adornments and bittersweet emotional vocal delivery, within a whirlwind of nostalgic sound references such as OMD, The Human League, Depeche Mode, as well as the inescapable The Cure and New Order.
Among the best episodes, along with the New Order/Depeche Mode-laced “After Sunday” featuring the layered vocals of Fancy Energy, soaring in a cathartic release of restless dread, stands out “Eternal Love” propelled by a thumping drum programming and menacing humming bass oscillations, bouncing hopelessly lost in an obscure sea of emptiness and pain, pierced by poignant guitar riffs and shimmering and twinkling synth sweeps, while urgent emotional vocals and downcast spoken words re-find purpose and meaning in the form of “Eternal Love”.
The silver lining is growth and maturity leave re:NAN more able to deal with life’s darkness, despite their clear influences, showing increasing growth, creativity and heartfelt energy.
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