Following on from their recent single Antidote, Murmur Tooth & Lars Moston are back again with another shot of electronic-disco-pop in the form of Now Is Love.

In contrast to Antidote’s sun kissed yearning, Now Is Love bounces along — a fizzy chord progression riding chunky drums. Murmur Tooth’s vocal delivers a dose of glamour, as she asks, “Hey you, where you going with that starlight?” The sound combines a glossy sheen with a tactile, post-punk sense of energetic distortion.

The observation might clock that Now Is Love’s title is a subtle reference to The KLF’s rave anthem What Time Is Love, whose dance-pop sound is obviously an influence Lars’ sound. The title is a statement of intent — the song is a direct invitation to join in the fun, to lose yourself and dance. Check out the video, filmed in the Egyptian desert and New Zealand mountains, below:

Opening with a simple chord progression and yearning vocals, Antidote has an emotional immediacy that skewered me. The production on Murmur Tooth & Lars Moston’s song evokes electronic pop with Balearic undertones — snappy percussion, sunny bass notes and little textural elements evoke the setting sun on your perfect day… The feeling of a beautiful moment ebbing away, the fear of loss intruding upon a moment of joy, whilst it still unfolds.

Antidote is the result of an unusual pairing. Murmur Tooth is Leah Hinton, who played classical piano, oboe and cello growing up in New Zealand before discovering Nirvana and forming an avant-metal band, El Schlong. Following a second band, Kibosh, she settled in Berlin, built a studio started her “doom pop” project, Murmur Tooth.

Lars Boston, in contrast, is a British-German DJ and producer, who has played dance floors from Fusion Festival to Tomorrowland. His musical productions span a range of influences, and he has seen music released through a variety of labels.

Having met during the pandemic, Moston and Hinton began exploring what their contrasting styles could unlock if brought together. Since collaborating, they have released an instrumental (You, Me, Us, Spines) and a remix of Claptone’s latest single Beautiful. Antidote, which has already received positive responses at Pacha in Ibiza and Paintwork’s in London, is the first single to be released from the pair’s forthcoming LP, No Time To Explain.

Check out Antidote below, or on the streaming service of your choice: