Clean, 80's-esque synthwave a la The Midnight or Gunship, but often guitar driven similar to the more straightforward pop songs (Girls, Love Me, This Must Be My Dream) of the 1975. Pretty cool to see the immensely talented Spencer Sotelo (Periphery frontman) expanding on his pop sensibilities, although its a bit apparent the project is an attempt to jump on the overly-80's-influenced alternative pop trend. That's not a detriment, however, as the EP is certainly strong enough to stand alone, despite lyrically and instrumentally bringing nothing new to the table. Guitarist Mike Dawes certainly shines as well, with a few sweet solos and more than enough of those tasty wave guitar riffs. Brought together with superbly atmospheric keys and tight production by award-winning Finnish pop producer Jukka Backlund, *When* is absolutely one of the best synthwave/alt-pop releases of 2018.
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