MODISTE injected the intensity back into synth-pop with their sophomore single, Shadows; a strobe-lit spell of longing, hunger, and surrender, which rejects the cloying trend of saccharine etherealism by adopting the visceral spellbinding veracity of Siouxsie Sioux while maintaining an irrefutable mainstream crossover appeal.
The Louisville trio pulled from the dark glamour of cold, cavernous 80s post-punk aesthetics and the seductive tension of 80s analogue pop to inject into the monolith of a production, all the while allowing the single to feel fiercely alive in the present, as though the track has been dragged from some midnight theatre of obsession and wired straight into the bloodstream.
In the same way that White Lies take the conventions of the darker, synth-heavy corners of aural history to write the future of alt-pop, MODISTE has a distinctly infectious way of drawing you into the thematic core of their evocatively heightened sound, helmed by Sydney Sleadd’s vocals, which command the centre with a magnetic intensity. There is desire in the delivery, but also steel, poise, and a cinematic sense of scale that turns the single into something far bigger than a stylish throwback. Beneath that, the synth work seethes and glows with tactile depth, while the guitar cuts through with surgical precision.
There is also a Lynchian streak running through Shadows, not as aesthetic window dressing, but as a feverish undercurrent in the pulsing swirl of longing, forbidden love, and surrender. Industrial tones tighten the tension, while the analogue instrumentation gives the single a living, breathing voltage. With Sydney Sleadd’s award-winning presence at the helm, Dennis Stein’s decades-deep synth obsession, and Kyle Stallings’ psych-punk and left-field electronics pedigree sharpening the edges, MODISTE feel built for obsession.
Shadows is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast