Playful keys and laid-back guitar twangs adorn the amiable “The Test,” a new single from Billy Summer, an artist based in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Lyrics express a growing familiarity with woe — “it used to hurt, but now it don’t, but now it only just tickles” — in a vein that reminds of The Cure’s more pop-forward material; the shimmering acoustics and sporadic keys charm throughout.
“But then you never showed up,” Summer sings in the lead-in to another “just tickles,” hook, leading to a frolicking assortment of jangly guitars and pulsing keys. This section, approaching the two-minute mark, plays with an effervescent, inviting quality. “The Test” is an accessible, melodic success from Billy Summer.
The track represents the first single off Billy Summer’s forthcoming EP, Emergency Breakthrough, releasing on June 24th.
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This track and others featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of June 2022’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Rock.
