“On The Line” is an eloquent exercise in indie pop songcraft from German daydreamers Some Sprouts, who reach confidently into the light after a two-year hiatus with their typical precision and poise.
A driving rhythm hits you first, propelling things with an exciting energy along with some playful funk-indebted bass and driving but laid-back lead. Licks of lyrical and soft-hued guitars provide further summer-scented ambience that in its gentle glow recalls something partially remembered from an early ’00s day dream. There are certainly the indelible fingerprints of the radio reaching guitar pop of that era, but Some Sprouts have their own melodic spark that basks on the line in its own peculiar light.
It’s a song rich in pop-aware and sunlit melodies that are both entwining and beauteous, and – although a slacker somnambulance permeates the pulsing pop sentiments – this still feels like a sound world where deft diligence is more prevalent than indolence. Some Sprouts have crafted a song that seems to be as much about the emotional release at the close of an unhealthy connection as it is about nostalgic, boulevard-bound, bright-eyed, radio-friendly dream pop. And they do it with style.
As Some Sprouts declare, “Maybe we don’t live the pop dream, but we are living the dream pop”. That seems like an appropriate means of entering into their collective mindset. “On The Line” is out now; take a listen below.
Written by M.A Welsh (Misophone)
