Lost Balloons’ ‘Numb’ Is Marked Men Gone Full Indie-Pop

Lost Balloons debuted quietly in 2015 as a project of Jeff Burke (Marked Men, Radioactivity, etc.) and Yusuke Okada (Blotto, Suspicious Beasts) with a self-titled debut for Alien Snatch Records. After years of hearing Burke sawing away at power-pop, the LP showed his softer side, proving that his melodies and ideas weren’t just limited to a singular format.

Lost Balloons are back with Hey Summer, a shimmering indie-pop record that's closer to Love than the Ramones. In fact, Lost Balloons is probably the best example of the convergence of two minds, with Burke’s pop sensibilities seemingly moving toward the forefront and away from the instrumentation, and Okada’s Suspicious Beasts fueling some of the songwriting and arrangements. Burke’s propelling rhythms exist within this world, but this time they're replaced by acoustic guitar, horns, slide guitar or organ, leaving both voices no distorted guitar to hide behind.

The first single from Hey Summer is "Numb," a three-minute indie burner that reminds us more of "Up Against the Wall" than it does, say, "Alright." Vocals are front and center here, with Burke harmonizing and playing against a speedily strummed acoustic punctuated with horns and other instrumentation. It's a delight, and one that will appeal to fans of either indie or virtually anything that Burke or Okada have done in the past. Stream that track below.

Hey Summer, the second LP from Lost Balloons, hits on June 16 via Dirtnap.