Candy Riot may well have formed in the 2020s and become a mainstay of the Texas club scene since 2022, but the band’s collective heart and head appears to be living somewhere in the wilds of 1984. Their ‘Nico Loretto’ album from 2024 is absolutely loaded with superb retro pop, and its best songs blend the new wave aesthetic of the skinny tie brigade from the early years of US MTV with synth sounds pulled straight off early Depeche Mode albums, Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’ and Soft Cell’s brilliant – and eternally grubby – ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’. A combination of really bright sounding arrangements and great, harmonious pop vocals result in the kind of listen that feels nostalgic, even when the material is unfamiliar.
Realising that not everyone is willing, or adventurous enough, to invest the time in getting to grips with new material, Candy Riot devised a plan to reel in new listeners. Released in February 2025, almost a full year after that second album, ‘Mirrors (A Covers EP)’ does exactly what it says on the tin. On the short release, the band holds up a metaphorical mirror to their favourite bands and chief influences, and deliver a selection of really tight covers that really play to their musical strengths.
Madonna’s ‘Borderline’ is presented with some bright keyboard sounds and the original melody intact, but beyond that, it’s fair to say the band have made it their own. Firstly, the programmed rhythm is a little quirkier with the click-track style beats bolstered with occasionally busier fills, but the new interest goes a little deeper once the main riff is presented in a harsher tone, and the underscoring instrumentation replaces the once bright sounds with something a little dirtier. The male vocal also provides a very different feel, even if the tones are in a higher register, but overall, this is a solid effort that suggests this EP will be more than a few hacked out favourites. Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass’ is taken from its disco root and transposed into a world of early 80s synth pop blasts. Although the harmony vocals are very much in keeping with the core of Candy Riot’s own compositions, the prominent synths come straight from the world of Depeche Mode’s ‘A Broken Frame’, and once those are married to a louder snare-like beat, this track becomes a very strong synth-oriented jam. It’s great to hear this with a fuller sounding voice, even if the Debbie Harry performance is destined to remain the definitive take, and the way this band have managed to weave in a few nods to Human League’s ‘Dare’ via a deeper synth tone lurking behind the main melody ensures this has plenty of character.
It isn’t as sharp as ‘White Wedding’, though. It turns out that once you strip away Billy Idol’s energised pop-rock edge and the guitars to concentrate on a prominent synth rhythm, the track becomes quite a different beast. Granted, by holding onto the original vocal melody, it remains very obviously ‘White Wedding’, but the marriage of warbling sounds juxtaposed with bright sounding washes of 80s synth creates something that feels fresh. If that’s not enough, the band have found time to wedge in a jubilant sax solo that’s unashamedly 80s. So much so, in fact, it’s likely to remind most listeners of “shiny saxophone man” from ‘The Lost Boys’ and Tim Capello’s classic ‘I Still Believe’. This can only be a good thing. Possibly the least familiar to UK listeners, a cover of The Romantics’ ‘Talking In Your Sleep’ tips the hat to the new wave era. As with the best of the material here, though, the band haven’t played it entirely straight. The chopping guitars have been replaced with something broader sounding – almost like something pulled from an album by The Killers – and the drum intro is pure Stock, Aitken & Waterman production line gold. Elsewhere, blankets of synth help this to sound like a Candy Riot original, and a broad pop vocal fits brilliantly with a slightly slower arrangement. Although this is possibly the most contemporary sounding track at the time of release, lovers of 80s influenced material certainly won’t be disappointed.
Best of all, a version of The Jam’s ‘That’s Entertainment’ is borderline unrecognisable. Replacing the stripped down acoustic guitar and snare drum that drove the original cut behind Paul Weller’s non-rhyming narrative, you’ll find post-disco beats and pointed synths that sound like a cross between ‘Dare’ era Human League and peak Soft Cell. The bassline comes courtesy of a second synth pumping hard, whilst a semi-gothic vocal evokes ‘Love Like Blood’ by Killing Joke. Bringing in a female vocal midway shifts the tone more towards latter-day KMFDM in a cheeky pop mood, and the way occasional guitar sounds threaten to disrupt the flow bring a welcome extra edge. It’s never going to replace the original cut in your long term affections, but its great to hear something so bold.
Although a couple of these tracks have been played fairly straight, with ‘That’s Entertainment’ being rebuilt from the ground up, and ‘White Wedding’ stripped of its rocky vocal, ‘Mirrors’ couldn’t possibly be accused of being too safe. Whatever route these covers have taken, it’s always great to hear those 80s-drenched keys in full flow, and the featured vocals on each of these tracks are very strong. In terms of extra curricular listening – whether or not you’ve become a fan of the band via ‘Nico Loretto’ – it just works. Come in for the Jam cover, then stay for the rest. If you love 80s tunes and the sounds of retro synth sounds that have been underscoring indie pop since the late 2010s, you’ll certainly enjoy this.
March 2025