Boy Harsher continue to explore a brighter side of their sound on ‘Tough Luck (When You Don’t Call)’, the latest taste of forthcoming album GET MEAN. Leaning further into synth-pop without abandoning the darkwave moodiness at their core, the duo wrap heartbreak in something unexpectedly euphoric.
A driving beat and bassline lock the track into a hypnotic groove, surrounded by bright, shimmering synths that recall the more danceable reaches of 80s new wave. But Jae Matthews keeps one foot firmly in the shadows. Her detached, resigned drawl brings a dark sensuality to the track, creating a striking contrast with the buoyant production beneath it. There’s a touch of Joy Division and New Order in that collision of melancholy and movement, but it remains unmistakably Boy Harsher.
Its retro lyric visualiser completes the picture, displaying karaoke-style words across the flickering screen of an old television. ‘Tough Luck’ feels made for driving through rainy city streets after dark, neon reflected across the windscreen and nowhere particularly urgent to be. Heartbreak might be at its centre, but Boy Harsher make it sound dangerously good.
