It practically felt like yesterday when Ballerina Black resurfaced to drop their electro-post-punk single, "Devils and Lilacs," immediately earning the attention of fans worldwide.
Since then, the L.A. trio has recapitulated their musical development, focusing on their aesthetics, and polishing their musical catalog with their 2020 original, 'Microphones In The Mattress.' But most recently, on their latest track, 'Hologram,' Bobby Moynahan, Esli Sugich, and Scott Eton fully commit to their sonic expansion; plunge into a nutritive vignette of retro-futurist sonorities, fusing new-wave electronica, with post-punk, and synth-wave, rarely neglecting the 80s-inspired textures that come attached.
The L.A. electronic trio has been propelling their music to the forefront of Spotify playlist with scintillating synth arrangements that super-charge the soul, drum back-beats that inspire the heart, and a sonic aura evokes dance since 2017. So naturally, the up-beat, reverb-heavy, forward-driving energy exposed within the paunches of Ballerina Black's 'Hologram' shouldn't come as a surprise by now.
Over a diligent mid-tempo cadence, Bobby Moynahan's delectable vocals float buoyantly above echoing electric guitars, soaked bass-lines, and a manifold of viscid synths, working in tandem to diffuse 80s nostalgia throughout the entirety of this highway cruising soundtrack.
Though the meter doesn't sway much from start to finish, 'Hologram' works its magic by orbiting around the adhesive top-lines, "tie you up, tie you down, tide you over, it's a tiny town."
There's a sense of longing, romantic hope, and smothered honesty as if Ballerina Black is making a case for the good-natured intent behind their lyrics: "never gonna lie, never gonna leave you, only wanna try to keep you off the ground."
It's a track that works out any kinks and avoids kitsch, feeling like a balanced mix between Depeche Mode and New Order, cooperating over the adhesive sonics penetrates through your headphones, and landing somewhere eager to be explored.
'Hologram' is an essential stanchion in Ballerina Black's shift towards more sonically enveloping territories, leveling-up from the foundations of their Post-Punk classifications, they've departed from the raw simplicity and traditionalism of mainstream, simmering over their new-age radioactivity, and broadcasting 80s nostalgia with every saturated synth component that endows their latest musical catalog.
Listen to "Hologram" here.