Kevin Bronson on August 14th, 2015

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Between 2010 and early ’14, Blonde Summer released three EPs of guitar-driven indie-rock that made you believe in guitar-driven indie-rock again, with a slew of singles like “Silver Jesus,” “Cathode Ray,” “Slow Days Fast Company” and “High Times” earning some radio play and placements in film and television. Late last year, songwriter Chris Pope debuted a side project Solai that found him experimenting in nostaglia-drenched synth-pop. And now, for the band’s next EP, Pope is marrying the two worlds — the title track of Blonde Summer’s fourth EP, “Paradise,” is a Modest Mouse-meets-MGMT rave-up baked in synth and summer sun. “The entire EP is a sonic change for the band,” Pope explains. “I really wanted to explore more of the pop world, and so instead of writing songs with the guitar, I put a keyboard and a drum machine in front of me. I hadn’t ever played keys or made up drums, so it was a whole new world, and “Paradise” was the first song I wrote that way. I was describing the writing process and a beach vacation.” The EP will be out Aug. 25 — just add sunscreen.

||| Download: “Paradise”