The Love That Remains [LP]

The third album from , 2016's , finds the synthy Brooklyn outfit fleshing out their ambient, new wavey soundscapes with a sophisticated maturity that straddles the line between '80s-style adult contemporary and club-ready dance pop. The first full-length album of new material since the departure of singer , who left during the early stages of recording in 2014, showcases the talents of co-founding leader . In light of 's departure, began collaborating on new material with a handful of other co-vocalists including , , and . Surprisingly, the result sounds a lot like 's previous work, albeit with an added emotionality. Many of the songs, like the bubbly "Lovers Wake" and the yearningly romantic, EDM-tinged anthem "Mountains (Love Won't Burn My Heart)" deal explicitly with themes of love, heartbreak, loss, and acceptance. Despite some of the heavier emotional subject matter at play on , it never feels belabored or overtly maudlin. With a tight backing ensemble of musicians, delves headlong into a set of songs that wouldn't sound out of place on an '80s album. In that sense, also brings to mind the work of such similarly inclined acts as fellow Brooklynites , Canada's , and Belgium's . Cuts like "Giants" and "Savages" find dueting over shimmering synths, huge drum beats, and neon-toned guitar lines. Elsewhere, the '80s influence is brought even more to the fore on cuts like the -esque "Devotion" and the -influenced "Paradise Gold." On has taken his heartache and turned it into something kinetic, sultry, and euphoric. As he sings on "Crowded Streets, "We'll run into the crowded streets/Hands will meet and then we'll see/Into the echoes of the one belief/That our love will never die." Ultimately, it's that sense of something more at stake that helps resonate long after it's over. ~ Matt Collar