Comprised of Mountain Man‘s Amelia Heath (vocals, synths) and Megafaun‘s Nick Sanborn (synths, programming, production) electro pop duo Sylvan Esso dominated the blogosphere two years ago — and in turn, became a JOVM mainstay for a sound that paired Heath’s coquettish vocals with a slick and somewhat sparse production featuring propulsive and undulating grooves, shimmering synths and big, tweeter and woofer beats that frequently made the material on their self titled debut sound as though it drew from the likes of Rubblebucket, Beacon and others.
Heath and Sanborn will be releasing their forthcoming sophomore full-length effort later this year, and the album’s latest single “Radio” has long been a staple of their live shows and a fan favorite. The song may arguably be the most brash song they’ve released while being a refinement and expansion of the sound that first caught attention as Heath’s sultry vocals are paired with a slickly propulsive and dance floor-friendly production consisting of layers of cascading synths, wobbling low end and stuttering drum programming. And as a result the song sounds as though it were nodding at Soft Metals‘ swooning and sensual Lenses and Giorgio Moroder.
Check out some live footage of the duo performing “Radio” on The Tonight Show Staring Jimmy Fallon. From watching it, it should give you a sense of what their live sets would be live, as they perform in front of an enormous countdown clock.