The latest single to come ahead of their new EP ‘Lost in the Shuffle’ builds up with melodic magic before your very eyes.

London trio Mylar are plugged into that wonderful lineage of bands dedicated to proving that art and pop can happily coexist. Their modernist, clean-cut synths hark straight back to the stylised heights of Wire, The Blue Nile et al., a lineage that traces through the retrofuturism of Field Music and The Futureheads and into more contemporary groups like Younghusband.

New single ‘A Man Will Make’ is packed with moments of understated genius, which speak of a love of the detail learned from the like of those aforementioned bands. A soft but clear synth, which could well have featured on the Wii homescreen music, opens the track,  as vocalist Tom Short opens an earnest vocal line about the false promises “a man will make.” 

Gradually the track builds up. The humble lead synth is backed by something a little more shiny, drum machine rattles the music along, and layers of vocals from the other band members chime in. All of a sudden you’re ankle deep in a bedroom synth symphony – ankle deep, that is, because the song never strains to overwhelm you. Anchoring the simplicity of the lyrics and the masterful restraint of each sound, the whole piece comes to life before your very eyes with exceptional clarity. Returning to the lyrical theme, it gives the impression of the realisation and acceptance of having been “led up the garden path,” as Short puts it.

Trailing new EP ‘Lost in the Shuffle,’ this single is a showcase of the group’s impressive sensitivity to the needs of a song, guiding the listener’s experience as if with the hands of an auteur.