Comprised of songwriters, multi-instrumentalists and producers Dan Halperin and Diwas Gurung, the Brooklyn-based electro pop duo Photoreal have developed a reputation for a sound that draws from 80s synth pop and 80s synth rock among others — while thematically their material explores both relationships and the memories born out of relationships.
The duo’s latest single “That Life” is a slow-burning, atmospheric song that pairs shimmering synths, gently swirling electronics, propulsive drum programming and warm, soulful blasts of guitars with wistful and ethereally cooed vocals. While evoking the lingering ghosts of one’s past relationships and how they influence your present, the Brooklyn-based duo’s latest single channels both 80s synth pop, as well as the synth pop of contemporaries including St. Lucia, Haerts, ACES and others.
Rather unsurprisingly, the recently released video for “That Life” draws heavily from 80s video and TV tropes such introductory sequence which reminds me of Head of the Class, the prom sequence in which the protagonist shyly and awkwardly approaches his object of desire/affection/love and asks her to dance with him — and then they share a perfect kiss. This is cut with sequences e duo perform the song in a smoke machined and mood-setting lit room — before revealing that the entire video was a flashback featuring the wistful memories of the male protagonist.
