“I imagine us as a rock band, trapped inside of a nightclub,” says frontman Harry Parsons of the Newfoundland rave punk band Ctrl+V (pronounced Paste). After more than a decade of being a drummer in touring bands, he began to experiment with making electronic music. Along with co-writer/producer Sweetboy Music, the songwriting soon began to flow, and the pair began shaping their sound, influenced by darkwave, hard rock, and a dash of punk. 

Their debut EP, Prequels, is dark, yet optimistic. Mysterious yet fun. The bittersweet opening track, “Apple Blue,” sets the mood with a feeling of isolation and loneliness. “The title puts me in a neo-noir film headspace. It’s like a David Lynch version of a heavy song,” says Parsons.

This road to glossy and gritty darkwavey goodness was augmented by producers/mixers John Fryer and Mark Needham (who mixed the debut Killers album, Hot Fuss) and the guidance of Ted Sablay (touring guitarist with The Killers), giving the songs a slick and heavy delivery.