Coldstar – Time Machine

Between neon light and nostalgia

Sometimes a song hits that one mel­an­chol­ic note that takes you out of the present moment and into a bygone era. ‘Time Machine’ by Coldstar from Switzerland is just such a track – a synth pop tune that feels like a trib­ute to the golden age of the 80s while also trans­port­ing a deep sense of melancholy.

The first impres­sion reminds me a lot of the elec­tron­ic avant-garde band ‘Deine Lakaien’. Especially the vocals flirt with the way Alexander Veljanov puts emo­tion and depth into his voice. These par­al­lels are unmis­tak­able, but Coldstar doesn't just stick to a mere copy, but gives the sound its own sig­na­ture. The melody is car­ried by a mid-tempo beat that doesn't push, but gently pulls along – almost as if the track were a train slowly pulling away, rolling back to a dif­fer­ent time.

The lyr­ics of ‘Time Machine’ rein­force this feel­ing: a prot­ag­on­ist who loses her­self in the past, between neon lights, disco balls and the shad­ows of the city. The images the song cre­ates are atmo­spher­ic­ally dense – wafts of smoke, sil­hou­ettes in leath­er jack­ets and lace, old syn­thes­iser beats in smoky clubs. The long­ing for a bygone magic is omni­present. The line "She's a retro queen, in a time machine, yearn­ing for the magic, where the past has been" per­fectly sums up this bit­ter­sweet long­ing. For fans of mel­an­choly synth pop with a nos­tal­gic touch, it is an abso­lute must.

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Lyrics of "Coldstar – Time Machine"

Neon lights are fad­ing, echoes from the past
She‘s lost in memor­ies, a love that couldn‘t last
Mirror ball reflec­tions, dance floor‘s dis­tant glare
She‘s search­ing for the rhythm, a heart­beat in the air

In the city of shad­ows, where the night unfolds
She‘s chas­ing the echoes, of stor­ies nev­er told

Back to the 80s, where dreams were alive
Lost in the music, in the neon lights
She‘s a retro queen, in a time machine
Yearning for the magic, where the past has been

Leather jack­ets and lace, in the mid­night heat
Silhouettes are dan­cing, to a syn­thes­ized beat
Smoke-filled memor­ies, cigar­ette in hand
She‘s look­ing for a stranger, in a for­eign land

In the city of illu­sions, where the records spin
She‘s a pris­on­er of the rhythm, in a world of sin

Back to the 80s, where dreams were alive
Lost in the music, in the neon lights
She‘s a retro queen, in a time machine
Yearning for the magic, where the past has been