Kevin Bronson on July 8th, 2016

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The new duo Rival Cavves unveiled their first song last month — “EZ Way Out,” an intoxicating whiff of synths and echoing guitar with a sober lyrical sense. “I’ve seen you at your best / I’ve seen you at your worse / I couldn’t even tell the difference at first,” sings Marissa Longstreet, almost deadpan, a wonderful juxtaposition to the oh-so-romantic soundscape laid out by beatmaker Matthew Lieberman.

About the “new duo” part: Longstreet fronts the rock band SLUGS, and Lieberman is one-half of left-field electro phenoms Magic Bronson. The duo originally met in 2012, and got reacquainted when they become neighbors in North Hollywood last year. Hangouts ensued, and with Lieberman making beats on his Roland Juno-106 synthesizer and Longstreet laying down vocals, Rival Cavves songs were born. With their primary bands taking a breather this summer, the duo are releasing some singles. Neither of the first two sounds like the cookie-cutter stuff dominating the synth-pop genre.

Today, Rival Cavves released the second, “Controlled,” an ’80s fever dream in both sound and spirit. “The song is about that push and pull of trying to walk the straight and narrow but ultimately giving into temptation both in life and in love,” Lieberman says. “And realizing how much and how little control you have in it all.” In other hands, or maybe with a bigger budget, this one would become an overblown mess. For the size of our dance floor, it’s fine.

||| Stream: “EZ Way Out” and “Controlled”