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It might be cliche to say, but one listen to Arden Jones’ upcoming EP, FLASH, proves the old adage to be true: everything old is new again. The project takes us back to the mid-2000s, when electro-pop ruled and heartbreak sounded better over danceable synths. 

FLASH's tracks are short and sweet, packing a major punch before whirling you off to the next song to keep the party going. The production brings to mind groups like MGMT and Passion Pit, who Jones is currently on tour with, and each song wouldn’t sound out of place on the excellently-curated soundtrack of the original Gossip Girl. 

Jones packages emotional subjects in exuberant, anthemic sounds. “You say it’s trying times // it’s never stopped you trying,” he sings on “deadlove,” a track about standing beside someone as they navigate a hard time. 

“This shit won’t matter when we’re dead, love,” he wryly reminds the subject of the song, adding, “I’ll be right here until you’re better.”

On “someone new,” Jones takes aim at a lover who’s changed in an effort to mask their own pain — “Act like a new girl every day // take drugs and photographs, pretend to laugh and say you feel pretty,” he sings. “I never see you feel sad.”

FLASH's moments of joy are just as intense, whether it’s on “black&white,” where Jones throws caution to the wind and tells his partner, “If we crash, we crash // I need you here right now,” or on the ultra-danceable closing track “chemical.”

“Call it a miracle, or call it chemical,” he says of his dependence on his lover. “No matter where I go, I hope I’m going with you.”

With FLASH, Jones takes the best elements of mid-00s electronic pop and creates a project that will make you feel like you’re dancing the night away at a warehouse rave. 

Listen to FLASH below: