Tapping into the pitch perfect formula that made their last single, “Huggin & A Kissin” an epic, glorious cacophonous synthpop monster, LA’s Big Black Delta have returned with a brand new single in advance of a SXSW performance and their soon to be released debut album.
Layering decaying melody atop decaying melody on a bed of distorted drum programming, “Side of the Road” is like the 2001 Monolith reimagined as a shimmery Tres Leches cake of Big 80’s, early MTV, Thomas Dolby-esque sound. You half wonder how it doesn’t collapse beneath all the sugary, milky wetness, but then you try it and what’s keeping it together is less important than how totally affecting and absorbing it is.
A former member of local band Mellowdrone and touring band member for like-minded synth-anthem artists like M83 and White Sea, frontman Jonathan Bates knows how to strike the perfect balance between pop nostalgia and studio experimentation to come up with something completely unique, mesmerizing, and sublimely delicious.