Release: TOPS - I Feel Alive 03.04.2020

TOPS - I Feel Alive Release date: Friday, April 3rd 2020 (House Arrest) ‘I Feel Alive’ is TOPS’ fourth full-length, following 2017's ‘Sugar At The Gate’ and follows singles "Echo of Dawn" and "Seven Minutes" from last year. Their trademark sound of beguiling melodies over soft-rock grooves, with touches of '80s sophisti-pop and a contemporary experimental palette is intact, but bolder and more expansive. The songs manage to be both immediately catchy and deceptively deep, with Penny's literary lyrics adding an extra dimension to the pure pop hooks. Satisfying yet far from predictable,

(House Arrest) this is a record to be savored, revealing itself slowly, gaining power and poignancy with each listen. For ‘I Feel Alive’, the band members convened in a basement studio in Montreal, recording for the first time with keyboardist Marta Cikojevic who joined the band as a live member in 2017. “From the first time we practiced with her it was clear that we were in sync musically, and we found ourselves improvising together at the first rehearsal” says Penny. “Having Marta manning the keys allowed me to reach for my flute, and gave me the chance to integrate my flute playing with the writing process, using it as an expressive instrument rather than more production element which it has been in the
past.”She continues: “We'd spent a lot of time apart, not working on new stuff or touring, just living life, all in different cities," says Penny.

Tracklist:
1. TOPS - Direct Sunlight03:28
2. TOPS - I Feel Alive02:34
3. TOPS - Pirouette03:06
4. TOPS - Ballads and Sad Movies03:29
5. TOPS - Colder and Closer03:05
6. TOPS - Witching Hour03:13
7. TOPS - Takedown02:43
8. TOPS - Drowning In Paradise03:00
9. TOPS - OK Fine Whatever03:30
10. TOPS - Looking To Remember02:50
11. TOPS - Too Much04:21

When we went to make I Feel Alive we all had a good sense of what we were trying to do and a renewed energy towards playing together. The goal was to get in a room together and play, not holding anything back." "It was a quick process," says guitarist and fellow song-writer David Carriere. "We would work all day writing a song and then demo them the same evening, relying on our natural chemistry as a band to let the songs come into their own." The band’s line-up is completed by Riley Fleck on drums.

15-05 - Amsterdam, Paradiso29-05 - Groningen, Vera 30-05 - Utrecht, Ekko 

For more information: www.bertus.com