One of the most anticipated synthpop releases of the year is out today. Italo disco revivalists Nuovo Testamento return with their sophomore album, Love Lines.
Love Lines is eight tracks of unrelenting ’80s joy. Gone are the darkwave flourishes that punctuated their first album. Here, Nuovo Testamento stick with the incredible hooks and spirited synth riffs that made their breakout single “The Searcher” such an irresistible earworm.
On the album’s title track, singer Chelsey Crowley belts out a monumental refrain of “Break my heart,” while another standout, “In My Dreams,” includes the catchy line, “I don’t care if you don’t care.” “Get Closer,” meanwhile, kicks off with a synth line right out of the school of Harold Faltermeyer.
But the biggest influence across Love Lines might just be early Madonna as she was breaking out of the New York punk scene and embracing her love of dance and nightlife. Pre-release single “Heartbeat” sounds like it was produced by early Madonna collaborator Jellybean Benitez.
Love Lines is the follow-up to Nuovo Testamento’s glossy debut full-length, New Earth, which features energetic sounds mined from ’80s Italo disco and processed through a modern-day darkwave lens. In addition to “The Searcher,” it features another insanely catchy single, “Michelle Michelle.” I included “The Searcher” on my list of the best songs of 2021 and New Earth on best albums of 2021.
If you’re unfamiliar with Nuovo Testamento, they are a trio of veteran musicians from the darkwave scene. American singer Chelsey Crowley is joined by Italian musicians Andrea Mantione and Giacomo Zatti. All three artists have a long history of working in other bands, primarily the deathrock projects Crimson Scarlet and Horror Vacui.