New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Montreal four-piece TOPS have shared a final pre-release song from their forthcoming album 'I Feel Alive' which will be released on April 3rd via their own label Musique TOPS.
Recalling the best of Prefab Sprout, album opener "Direct Sunlight" flaunts classic pop songwriting highlighted by bouncy synths, the ever breezy vocals of Jane Penny, and even a whimsical flute solo. The dazzling, bright melodies belie a more serious sentiment lingering in the shadows. The track is the latest offering from the new album following "Colder & Closer," "Witching Hour," and the album's title-track.
Speaking on the song, Penny says: "I went to this outdoor pool with Olympic style diving boards one summer day in Berlin, and when I tried to jump off the middle one, I think it was about 5 metres high, I really surprised myself when I realised that I'm terrified of heights. My whole body entered this panicked state, the phobia kicked in right away, and I had to do the walk of shame down the ladder and back to the pool. I wanted to capture that duality, the way that even the sunniest days can have this underlying darkness to them, and how it's not just the physical reaction to fear that casts the shadows, but more how the ever-looming possibilities of loss or discontent are revealed. I wrote this song to remind myself that it's up to me to choose the perspective that I take."
TOPS' planned tour dates are currently being rescheduled with details to follow soon.
'I Feel Alive' is TOPS' fourth full-length, following 2017's 'Sugar At The Gate' and follows singles "Echo of Dawn" and "Seven Minutes" from last year. Their trademark sound of beguiling melodies over soft-rock grooves, with touches of '80s sophisti-pop and a contemporary experimental palette is intact, but bolder and more expansive. The songs manage to be both immediately catchy and deceptively deep, with Penny's literary lyrics adding an extra dimension to the pure pop hooks. Satisfying yet far from predictable, this is a record to be savoured, revealing itself slowly, gaining power and poignancy with each listen.
Beneath the soaring melodies and crisp production, 'I Feel Alive' balances the giddiness of a new relationship with the agony of leaving old things behind. It's an introspective record that you can dance to, music that hits in an immediate rush but sticks around, lingering like the memory of a perfect doomed love affair-both the joy and the pain, until it becomes a part of your life forever.
'I Feel Alive' will be released on April 3rd via Musique TOPS.
Pre-order at TOPS.lnk.to/IFeelAlive
'I Feel Alive' album tracklist
1. Direct Sunlight (YouTube)
2. I Feel Alive (YouTube)
3. Pirouette
4. Ballads & Sad Movies
5. Colder & Closer (YouTube)
6. Witching Hour (YouTube)
7. Take Down
8. Drowning In Paradise
9. OK Fine Whatever
10. Looking To Remember
11. Too Much
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