Floating in on a bed of ‘80s inspired electronics, ‘Postcard Summer’ is the latest single from The Golden Hour, joining previous releases such as this year’s ‘Fading Lights’ and ‘Your Surrender’. And much like those releases, it’s a track that relishes in understated melody, spaciousness and an unmistakeably sense of nostalgia.
Indeed, it’s this sense of nostalgia that permeates through ‘Postcard Summer’s glacial walls of icy synth, 808 drumbeats and strong vocal delivery courtesy of brainchild Matteo Zandonella Bolco. Drawing its influence from ‘80s indie stalwarts such as New Order and The Cure, it would be easy to dismiss ‘Postcard Summer’ and indeed The Golden Hour themselves as a simple nostalgia kick, and while there’s a certain air of familiarity surrounding the sound and aesthetic, the nostalgia here comes from the narrative itself.
“Kids often lose certainties as they grow up, such as who they want to be or what their dream job would’ve been” Zandonella Bolco explains. “This song makes you feel like there are moments worth sighing for, even though life comes with its fair share of problems, the nostalgia infused single acts like a giant snooze button.”
He’s not wrong. Harbouring such a sense of spaciousness allows ‘Postcard Summer’ to feel like a deep breath amid an increasingly more difficult world; a moment to pause, take a breath and reflect on times that seem much simpler now. And whilst lyrically the track feels quite personal to Zandonella Bolco, the narrative is painted in brushstrokes broad enough for every listener to attach their own experiences and their own meaning to, resulting in a track that’s both stunning, and deeply personal to everyone that hears it.