The 2020 version of a 90s band playing 80s new wave . . . from Italy. Or at least, that's where the band is based (it calls itself Anglo-Italian). In any case, that's about as good an explanation for the sound as I can muster

Matinee Event Horizon (Neon Tetra)

Matinee has a knack for mid-tempo hooks driven by solid riffage and keyboard washes. Since I spent the mid 80s in high school, I'm a sucker for that particular style of understated anthemic choruses, and boy does this band do them well.

This is a pop project, and these folks are clearly hoping to break big. I don't even know what that means these days, and I have no idea if this is a sound that will make that happen. Also, I don't care. Matinee isn't particularly original, but it sure has a solid handle on this sound. I've been listening to this on repeat for some time, and it hasn't worn out my ears yet.

With the caveat that this is kinda precisely the sort of pop project that puts me into a steady state of nostalgia, few bands in recent times have so perfectly appropriated this sound and brought it into the modern day. Pairs well with late-spring sunsets.

Jon Worley