The best music bridges gaps, and Loyal connect more communities than most – old disco with hyper-modern dance music; Radio 1-beloved pop with cutting edge indie Spotify playlists; studio geekery with banging live shows; heart on sleeve lyrics with high concept sci-fi stories... It makes sense that when the band formed they ruminated on the concept of ‘the ancient future’. If some bands didn’t exist you’d know exactly how to invent them, but LOYAL sound like a band you’ve loved forever but can’t possibly imagine. If this all sounds a bit abstract then we should examine the evidence. With close to 10 million Spotify plays alone, ‘Light Up With You’ is a melodic piano soul ballad wrapped in a joyous, shimmering pop song. Hype Machine-topping ‘Crave It Still’ meanwhile is euphoric gospel built on a pure disco funk foundation. ‘House For You’ is the house record Foals promised to make. And yet, every song sounds just like Loyal – that subtle, lush, slightly off-centre production with emotional yet understated vocals that just… touch you. Next up sees the heart-on-sleeve 90s piano house anthem ‘Architect’, starting a new chapter for Loyal with their own label, some longer dubbed out songs and that live set that will surely connect even more communities. We can see those blissed out hugs in the crowd already. The 90s are back and they’ve been brought firmly to the future.