At the center of European duo Close To Monday‘s alluring fever dream of electronica is singer/songwriter Ann and producer Alexander, who work to create music that inhabits the surreal liminal space between blissful tranquility and the onset of harsh reality. One that draws on bittersweet sonic transfusions of emotion akin to Joy Divison and Depeche Mode and echoing contemporaries like CHVRCHES or Boy Harsher. It’s the kind of music that transports you — through aurally tangible sound portals — to a world of their making.
Their first album Perfect Music to Watch Colour Dreams (2019) is exactly that: nine enchanting tracks span both the beguiling depths of their electro-pop and their dauntingly cinematic breadth. Songs like “Four Robots on the Floor” and “Capito?” find them at their most transfixing, their dually euphoric and eerie movements functioning seamlessly as sci-fi soundtracks. Their sophomore record Satisfaction arrived a year later and would push the synth boundaries of their sound with songs like “Hello Spaceship” and “True Solutions.”
When they returned with dance-minded Interference the beguiling vocals of Anna had taken a front seat. It also found them more willing to fuse their disparate pop and rock tastes into a truly mesmeric collage of tones and textures. Opening track “Time” with its droning but driving soundscape, alongside the thrumming enigmatic urgency of “Senses,” are just two of the record’s electrifying offerings. By the time they released their fourth LP Secret Wishes the music of Close To Monday had evolved fully into a hypnotic blend of all that had come before.
Since then the pair have been busy dropping single after single, oscillating between their fiercely hypnotic pop and rock sensibilities. From the spacey wonder of “Animals” and the rushing insanity of “Poison” (feat. QR707) to their newest drop “Stranger.” As their first release of 2024, the song reveals the darkly spellbinding side of obsession, its heady instrumentation a wave of concussive electronica that overwhelms logic and energizes desire.
In many ways, the new track is a perfect synthesis of the band’s enthralling dualities, with Anna’s vocals rising with ethereal clarity out of a raucous sea of crackling electronics. It also highlights their love of pairing their already impressionable creations with stunning music videos. Bathed in monochromatic tones the film captures all the splendid and haunting elements that course headily through their music. Syncing them to their striking eye for capturing the essence of their songs in a visual medium.
“The track delves into the shadows of [the characters’] love story, a complex dance where the desire to break free collides with an irresistible pull, creating a vortex of torment and vitality,” the band said of the single. “Despite their yearning to escape, each attempt only draws them back into the vicious cycle, a paradoxical realm that both torments and breathes life into their existence. The music mirrors this tumultuous relationship, offering a hauntingly beautiful reflection of the individuals’ struggle to break free from a toxic yet life-sustaining bond.”
Words: Steven Ward
Visit Close To Monday on their website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Watch the music video for “Stranger” the new single from Close To Monday below!
