Reinventing the past with emotion, harmony and melody.

Lips of Strangers bursts out of the gate like it has neon in its bloodstream with latest EP Too Long For Lovers. It boasts synths that ping-pong across your skull and drums that bring forth percussion so heavy it practically leaves footprints with each beat of the bass. By the time the vocals, equal parts smooth and charmingly nerdy, slide into the bubbling title track, Lips of Strangers has already threaded the needle between ‘80s nostalgia and characteristically modern cleanliness.

Seas of romance crash against dark shores in “On and On Forever.” The second of five tracks on Lips of Strangers’ latest EP pairs deeply velvety male vocals with airy and delicate female vocals. “Love is all that you can measure” encapsulates the song’s tone: careful, slightly pained but hopeful despite it all.

Track three, “Burn it down and start over,” uses its bright and joyous guitar to create a truly fun song. It jumps around its listeners earbuds as if it wants to hop off the music staff and start dancing right then and there. While the album as a whole is very stylistically similar, it never feels overdone or lacking in creativity. Instead, it’s connected familiarly. Each song may have similar traits and similar sounds, but they also have their own characteristics and personalities.

“Your Heart Is a Winding Road” leans into experimentation, using vocals not just for melody but as rhythmic and percussive elements. The non-linguistic vocalizations repeat with hypnotic insistence, forming a textured rhythmic backbone that shifts the song into more avant-pop territory. It’s a bold choice that pays off by giving the track a distinct sonic identity, intertwining emotion, harmony and melody.

The EP waves goodbye with “We Never Dance,” a track that blossoms beautifully. Its breezy, beach-washed introduction conjures a sense of drifting warmth as if the listener has jetted off to a Caribbean shoreline, drink in hand. As the chorus peeks in, the band reintroduces the signature synths that have become the EP’s defining characteristic. The combination of ease and effortless coolness creates a satisfying final chapter, one that ties the project together both thematically and sonically.

Lips of Strangers’ latest EP prevails because it embraces a consistent tone while still allowing each track its own distinct narrative. It’s cohesive without becoming repetitive, nostalgic without feeling oversaturated and polished while still charming. The band doesn’t simply mimic the past, but rediscovers it and makes it their own.