Total Makeover frontman Noah Stitleman used to make downbeat synth-pop under the name Neighbors. After retiring the project following last year’s Failure, Stitleman has returned with a new group and a new name: Total Makeover. And while the group have indeed revamped Neighbors’ grayscale electro-pop, giving it a sharper, rougher edge, it would be a stretch to call the Brooklyn group’s name a perfect descriptor; even the most ragged guitar work here is pinned to the rippling back of a serious dance groove.
Total Makeover was produced by Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, Hamilton Leithauser) and will be released on August 21, but you can hear the slowly blooming cut “New England Highway” now. The track begins with a few strums of guitar, and Stitleman buries his voice like he’s singing into his hoodie. And even as it builds outward, girded by arpeggiated synth lines and a steadily pounding rhythm, Stitleman keeps himself sealed in the center, as if the song is a landscape he’s traveling through. Give “New England Highway” a listen below.
Total Makeover track list
1. Girls With Boyfriends
Total Makeover is out August 21 via self-release.
