Murmurings that foreshadowed the return of Melbourne indie pop duo Gypsy & The Cat (the union of Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers) surfaced in April with the single Climb Into The Music (featuring Melbourne singer-songwriter Paul Kelly), after a two year break following 2012’s The Late Blue. It wasn’t long after that they released their bright, rhythmic dance track Evolution, a collaboration with Melbourne disco-darlings Client Liaison that couldn’t have been more divine if the 80s itself had delivered it, leotard, snap bracelets and all.
Now, they’ve gone and dropped a surprise EP Hearts a Gun, a delirious, sparkling assortment of multi-faceted, falsetto-led psyche pop splashed across 6 truly delightful tracks. Reflecting the duo’s chameleonic ability to swing between different slivers of the pop world, the EP zigzags between shimmering, synth-led dance (just TRY not to whistle to the title track Hearts a Gun), more eclectic, ambient dream pop (as with the dreamy, INXS-feeling Sunday) and the hazy, alt rock-vibes of Red Wine and Cigarettes (not dissimilar to Wild Nothing’s Empty Estate). It’s a truly delightful surprise for a Monday, and you can listen here:
Hearts a Gun is the precursor to a highly anticipated third full-length album, which they’ve been recording for the last 18 months after their incredible two albums The Late Blue (2012) and Gilgamesh (2011), which you’ll remember fondly for its celestial, rolling keyboard-led single Jona Vark (which to this day, is the song that reminds most me of warm, glistening summer ciders in Byron Bay, where I first heard it). Standing them in good stead for the album ahead, they’ve also quietly amassed some pretty remarkable musical street-cred, having been supported by Mark Ronson on his East Village radio show, released singles through Young and Lost, Kitstune Maison and mixed their debut album with David Fridmann (MGMT, Flaming Lips) and Rich Costey (Rage Against the Machine).
With a trifecta of surprises under their belt for 2015, we can only hope that the album release comes just in time for Christmas, and perhaps if we’re *really* good little boys and girls this year, a national tour as a stocking-stuffer.