I believe in Soda Shop. They make brooding, melancholic guitar pop that sounds like it was unearthed from a vault in the late ’80s, but is somehow perennially applicable in 2015.

Maria Usbeck and Drew Diver met in New York at a DJ set, and immediately discovered they shared common goals as musicians. Both transplants–Maria from Ecuador and Drew from Ohio–the band began to coalesce, sharing ideas about starting over in a new place, and all the stress and triumph that entails. Both had a strong background with music already (Maria sang with the band Selebrities and Drew played guitar with The Drums), so they were primed to start finishing the demos that Drew had begun.

Definitely start with the third track, “Wistful Past” (that name almost hurts to read), to get an essential feel for what this duo is about and work through the rest of this release from there. Their lovelorn tunes feint with seemingly bright guitar hooks and melodies, though Maria’s breath-filled lyrics most certainly exposit the bummed undercurrents of the group. It is the kind of music that helps with the transitions of seasons for sure, but there is more longevity here than just that. The album is minimally produced, and the lyrics seem relatively straightforward, and yet there is a lot more roiling underneath.

Soda Shop’s eponymous album is out September 4 via Velvet Blue Music. Highly, highly recommend.