New Audio: James Tonic Shares Cinematic and Yearning “At The Time In New York”

James Tonic is a Montréal-born, New York-based dream pop artist, who over the course of seven albums firmly established a sound built on analog synths, live drums and unflinching lyrics. 2024’s Stuck in LA, an album inspired by the West Coast wound up being a breakthrough album for the Canadian-born artist: the album helped hi establish a fanbase, the old-fashioned way while selling out during the tour.

Last year’s Safety, the first part of a planned dream pop trilogy was a nine-song effort that thematically touched on emotional survival. The second part of the trilogy, Safety II was released earlier this year, and featured a darker, more cinematic take on dream pop paired with sharper, edgier lyricism. Thematically, Safety II covers being wide open, fighting back quietly and spotting clear bits when everything seems hopelessly jumbled.

Safety II‘s latest single “At The Time In New York” is a hook-driven, decidedly 80s synth pop/New Wave take on dream pop featuring squiggling bursts of reverb-soaked guitars, glistening synth arpeggios and a propulsive groove as a lush bed for Tonic’s yearning falsetto. Arguably, Safety II‘s most immediate, radio friendly tune, “At The Time In New York” is cinematic yet deeply personal, and rooted in slick craftsmanship and hazy nostalgia for a person — and for a moment — that the narrator can’t fix or get back.

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