Go ahead, cut me right to my nostalgic core. I've got nothing to hide, it is what it is. I was born in '78, so there's a soft spot in my psyche for pop tunes of the mid-80s like the one that Maya Vik has just released called, "Hustlebot" (specifically, the Initial Talk remix). Sure, this throwback sound has reared it's head plenty of times before, but what's so unique about this mix of "Hustlebot" is that it is almost devoid of any connection to modern/present times: it may as well have been an unheard and unreleased demo that was lost underneath your old Care Bears plushies circa 1986. There's no fusion here, it's not a "nod" to a certain era, it just is what that used to be and this is a direct result on this remix from Initial Talk's involvment. If you're in love with the vibe he creates, search out more of his work at the link above.
Don't take my comments above as a overt criticism because they are not that. Further, it's rather astonishing how accurately the song conjures the late 80s so well, not only in production value (though those vocal glitches might be slightly modern) but also in attitude (attractively bored), composition (buoyantly optimistic) and arrangement (superbly touched with liminal space).
The only saddness I have here is that younger folks who are appropriating this sound - like Maya Vik - are too young to have truly experienced the hazy wonder of tunes like these pumping out of cheap American speakers while a few kids meandered around a greasy old Galaga arcade game in a wood-paneled pizza place at sunset on a Friday night in late June.
"Hustlebot" is an infectious earworm indeed, so don't hit "play" above unless you're ready to repeat it a few times. Put it on your earbuds and go buy yourself a slice.
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