Kevin Bronson on October 4th, 2018

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When in doubt, play power chords. That seems to be the mantra singer-songwriter Peter Verdell followed as he embarked on his new project Forever X2. Verdell previously fronted the band Act As If, which released two full-lengths and two EPs before going on hiatus after 2016’s “Lovers Online.” Now he’s turning back the clock and indulging his inner teenager, using good ol’ radio-friendly power-pop as a template.

The first single is the crunch-tastic “Keep the Devil Waiting,” which sounds like five or six hall of fame guitar bands got together to share hooks and haircuts. “I wanted to channel ’90s bands like Blur and Beck, without coming across nostalgic,” Verdell says, explaining that coming up with the opening line — “Feet in the world / with the girls and the bees” — gave him a serious case of devil-may-care. “That lyric excited me. It sort of breathed new life into me, and made me feel like life could be fun. I need more of that feeling.”

“Keep the Devil Waiting” is the first tune from a six-song EP written in Verdell’s downtown L.A. apartment and recorded in a sweltering garage in Silver Lake with producers Arieh Berl and Yianni Anastos-Prastacos. “I wanted the songs to capture how I felt when I first started playing music,” he says. “Informal and fresh, sweaty and loud.”

The release date for the EP is to be announced.

||| Stream: “Keep the Devil Waiting”