WL//WH Track Of The Day: THE NEW ROMANTICS “Hard to Let You Go”

Track Of The Day  THE NEW ROMANTICS  

The New Romantics is the cinematic Synth-Pop project of Brandon Biondo from Knoxville, Tennessee.

According to Discogs, active since around the 2010s, Biondo, in addition to having been part of fellow Knoxville’s indie rockers Royal Bangs, was the mastermind behind the trio Coolrunnings, even with a single for our beloved Breton label Beko Disques and a rather tasteful 7″ for our other favorite, London’s Too Pure Records; as to say, it’s a small world…

With a scattered bunch of singles/EPs under his belt since 2013, The New Romantics dropped last week his latest track “Hard to Let You Go“ via his own DIY label Dracula Horse, the follow-up to last December’s “Let You Down”, that the always attentive Andreas of Cold Transmission hadn’t let slip for his Mixcloud “Cold Haze”, two samples that somehow best exemplify the duality of the band’s ’80s inspired sound, teetering between a cool-toned slice of guitar-laden New Wave of the former, to the darkly dancing Synth-Pop propelled by rolling Moroder-like bassline, Depeche Mode-esque tinny clang and topping fluting synths of the latter, compelling heartfelt artisanal analog pop craft in both cases.

Seemingly sorely dedicated to his mother’s departure, “Hard to Let You Go” draws pain, regret, and shame from an intimate confession of letting go.

Pressing, taut drum beats unremittingly bounce along a lithe ascending bassline and a vibrant ringing twine of relentless piercing guitar melodies, interspersed with angular and jerky riffs, to reverberate insistently over mechanical, frozen, slightly distorted vocals, releasing airless breaths of angst into a tightly woven shadowy maze of bittersweet obsession.

Keep up with The New Romantics: