Captivating with its ’80s rock nostalgia, “Neon Skyline” is a recent track from The Art Crimes Band, a band based in Cork, Ireland.
Excitable percussion, stylish synth tones, and twangy guitars guide into Grace McMahon’s lushly entrancing vocal presence. The warmness of a saxophone emerges seamlessly alongside. The ardent “like love,” refrain sinks into a synth-fronted serenity, then punctuated beautifully by the saxophone’s suaveness. With shades of The War on Drugs in its driving ’80s atmospherics, with also some shades of Weyes Blood in McMahon’s enthralling vocal presence, “Neon Skyline” is a stellar single from The Art Crimes Band.
The track takes inspiration from author Jay McInerney’s novel Bright Lights, Big City, and was originally conceived by guitarist Stephen Kirby amidst a night-time drive from Los Angeles to Vegas. The track’s completion wouldn’t come until a decade later, with the lyrics being inspired by McInerney’s novel, described as “a tale about a character’s time spent caught up in, and notably escaping from, the mid-1980s New York City fast lane.”
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This track and others featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of October 2022’ Spotify playlist.
