The current, vaguely postmodern cultural landscape relies pretty heavily on a large degree of detachment: musicians obsessively hiding behind self-aware irony and indifference for fear of seeming too invested in their own emotions. Apparently no one bothered to inform Sykes of this fact because the London-based trio’s new single, ‘Gold Dust’, is a delightfully un-ironic and relentlessly catchy piece of pop music. Upbeat guitar work and soft, layered synths interweave beautifully, and there’s a special place in my heart for anyone with the balls to, un-ironically, use a handclap snare so enthusiastically. This all underpins soft female vocals, which sing of that particular, invincible feeling of being in love, bringing the song to a quietly anthemic finish. It’s a tune that, by rights, should be twee and saccharine to the point of being sickening. But Sykes are so willing to embrace their own pop sensibilities, and ‘Gold Dust’ is so invested in it’s own total sincerity, that it’s near impossible not to love.
Gold Dust is released on 14 July
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