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The much-anticipated EP, Pop Heart Aching Songs, is Dirty Backseat’s latest release following the music video of the single “River”.

The one-man band is the brainchild of music producer, guitarist, and songwriter Moe Hani, and is the latest incarnation of Dirty Backseat since its initial formation as a duet in 2017 with Noha Amin, which saw the release of their first album Goobad in 2018. Now a 360 DIY project by Hani alone, he’s kept up the momentum with three EP releases, the first official being Goodbye in 2019, followed by Foolish Lover in 2020, along with two previous singles “Mind Trap” and “Mind Games” in 2019. Dirty Backseat also collaborated with several artists between 2018 and 2020, most recently with Hashem and most notably with Zeyada, releasing two singles, Aeroplane and No Closure, also in 2019. 

Now, the new 5-track EP Pop Heart Aching Songs is blessed with soothing indie rock magic, and it all sounds just right! Everything you love about ‘90s dream pop and shoegaze music, bearing the wistfulness of it all, all infused with a characteristic modern sound that seems somewhat effortless in nature. Less is more is certainly the case here. The beats are grooving and calming as ever, mangled with a warped, almost-mischievous guitar and reverberating vocal twang.

The EP kicks off with the now-familiar upbeat single “River”, catchy for days following a listen. The atmosphere gets slightly darker and temperamentally cooler through second track “Lovesick”, then manifests a minimal astral journey with space fiction sonic jabs by the third track “Eyes”. “Heart for Sale” is certainly the comedown track; it is fuelled with lyrical sentimental reflections and longing, as it delicately mirrors feelings of restlessness. The fifth instrumental track “Spliff” concludes the EP, while brilliantly capturing the prevailing, leftover mood of all the previous tunes. It is calming, cosmic, gentle, and borderline eerie with emotional wonder, as is the case with the entire album.

Pop Heart Aching Songs, produced by Moe Hani’s SLOVVDK records, is out now and available on all platforms for your listening pleasure. Kickback, tune in, mellow out.

Listen to the album on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and Anghami, and follow Dirty Backseat on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Soundcloud.