Coming out of the Austrian music scene is The Golden Blades with their new single, "Augmented Reality". The single is also their first since 2023's "Unexpectable", but they can be forgiven for the nine-month wait as this track is mega.
A bold synth-driven indie-rock song with a smattering of retro sounds.
The intro is a pure synth for the first 30 seconds before an industrial-sounding hammer smashes its way in and shortly after a powerful drumbeat engages with a deeper synth tone.
Vocally it's very 90s with tones reminding me of Garbage with how the voice flows over the track. The chorus holds within it some glorious moments with high-toned key sounds mixed in with those aforementioned vocals flowing over the top. The breakdown after the first chorus has more guitar entering the fold, albeit with a very electronic effect dubbed on top, and it's here that I knew I was going to be vibing hard to this track for ages.
The song is also lifted from their as-yet-untitled debut album, due out later on this year, and I'm sure this track will go down well enough to get even more fans interested into their sound.