On the edge of awakening, there's a moment just before the bliss of an extraordinary dream evaporates. Anderson East bottles that sensation into frothy, '80s pop-infused elixir with "Hood of My Car." The neon single from the forthcoming album Maybe We Never Die departs from the Southern soul for which he's known; in lieu of a horn section and tambourines, East reaches for synth pads and a drum track straight out of Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire." Yet his hefty vocals seem only more urgent in this subdued setting, evoking the raw desire that accompanies new love. "I wanna take you out there to whatever's past the stars," he confesses. "We can be whatever we want and who we are." At least until we open our eyes.
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