Up-and-coming indie electro pop artist Olivver The Kid has kept a rather mysterious profile – in fact, little is known about him besides the fact that he’s the former drummer of indie sensation, The Neighborhood, and that he left the band to pursue a solo career. And after hearing “Freak,” the latest single and EP title track of his forthcoming debut EP, Freak, Olivver may have made one of the best decisions of his career and life, as the single manages to bear an uncanny resemblance to contemporary acts such as St. Lucia and Haerts; in other words, it’s a slickly produced synth pop sound that owes a great debt to the pop of the early 80s, complete with layers of cascading synths, properly placed guitars right at the hook and plaintive vocals – with a hint of wistful nostalgia. Interestingly, the song sounds as though it could have been on the soundtrack of a film such as St. Elmo’s Fire or The Breakfast Club.

In the case of “Freak,” the song at it heart is a plaintive and nostalgic love ballad of what appears to be a failed, youthful love affair and what it meant for the song’s narrator’s life. In some way, it feels as though there should be a montage of the song’s narrator falling in love – and of their eventual and tearful breakup.