Dande and the Lion hit the dancefloor for catchy banger ' Twilight Highway' (Good Intent)

Originally published in Good Intent, August 2nd 2019

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Sydney five-piece Dande and The Lion have been enjoying a fast-paced twelve months, off the back of performing sellout shows at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory and Wollongong’s Radbar.

Earlier this year, they dropped a lowkey synth heavier jam in ‘Stardust’. However, their newest effort ‘Twilight Highway’, which teases a new forthcoming EP, sees the outfit going in a more aggressive, catchier direction.

While ‘Stardust’ was a easygoing synth odyssey with a soundscape that made you feel like you were flying gently through space, ‘Twilight Highway’ feels like a soundtrack to a night out at Studio 54, complete with an explosion of confetti and people dancing in the streets.

The track sees the band channelling their inner Prince to produce a cheesy, but admittedly fun and catchy banger. This is a jam that has nothing to be embarrassed about, and it knows it.

Opening with pitch-bending chords, crisp drums and guitars that seem almost Nile Rodgers-inspired, the track immediately feels like something pulled straight out of the Eighties, but the production makes the track a lot more colourful and wholesome. The lyrics are restrained to begin with, but then explode in the chorus with an infectious mantra of “we’re dancing with the stars,” matching the frenetic pace the song takes on.

As it goes along, the lyrics get increasingly explicit and sensual, and a second mantra of “don’t take me back to my place,” brings an element of drama, one that is matched in the music as the chords and drums hit harder and heavier.

The relentless energy eventually coasts out on the back of synths, as well as letting the guitar and drums play out.

Immediately after it finishes, the energy has jacked you up enough to want to hit the replay button and listen again.

This is a song that is purely out to have fun, and as cheesy as it is, it’s great that Dande and The Lion possess the musicianship to really sell it and make it fun for the listener. It’s a feat that only a few talented artists can really conjure up. With ‘Twilight Highway,’ Dande and The Lion brings a catchy, compelling, electric energy not previously seen in their work, and if this is a teaser for their EP, we cannot wait to hear what’s next!

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