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The Zolas trade a ’20s screen for a ’90s scene on ‘Ultramarine’

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It’s hard not to immediately connect with “Ultramarine,” the flashy new single from Vancouver’s The Zolas. It jumps out in striking Cool Britannia fashion, once again making us nostalgic for not only the Last Real Decade, but the Britpop sound that shattered hearts and mind from here to the Good Mixer. But as the ’90s gloss douses the ears with infectious sonic revelry fit for a pogo bounce, the single’s basis as a fantasy far from modern-day technology gives it a life we haven’t felt since we spent all our allowance on import CD singles.

“‘Ultramarine’ is a psychedelic fantasy about throwing our phones off a bridge and going out to look for real connection,” The Zolas say. “In 2020, we’ve all been feeling the aches of internet addiction more than ever. It’s like an abusive marriage we can’t quite quit.”

It’s all too much. And like the great poet S. Ryder once sang, it’s all twistin’ my melon, man.

“Our brains aren’t evolved to process the knowledge of every human rights injustice happening on earth at this moment,” the band adds. “Or that 16 people we know are having the perfect summer weekend while we’re here scrolling. Who can sleep after staring into a hot blue beam of pure information right before we close our eyes? Google Maps makes it impossible to get lost and yet we’re feeling more lost now than ever. Time to pull the plug on all that and find our own way back.”

By the gods of Anderson, Rossiter, Dean, Coombes, Morriss, Witter, and all the others, let The Zolas remind you of what once was.

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