I’ve always thought of TOPS as a band that made things feel lighter than they really were.
Their earlier records had that soft-focus glow—songs that drifted in like a late-night comedown, easy to sink into, even when there was something a little off beneath the surface. With Bury the Key, released in 2025, that balance shifts. The glow is still there, but now it’s carrying a bit more weight.
On paper, not much has changed. You still get the shimmering guitars, the glossy synths, and Jane Penny’s unmistakable voice floating just above it all. But there’s a different kind of tension running through these songs. The band jokingly called it “evil TOPS,” and while that’s not entirely accurate sonically, it does capture the mood.
Themes of desire, toxicity, and self-destruction sit just under the surface, giving the album a darker edge without ever breaking its smooth exterior. It’s less about reinventing their sound and more about pushing it into new emotional territory.
Tracks like “Wheels at Night” and “ICU2” lean into that classic TOPS groove, all neon-lit and effortlessly cool, while “Annihilation” stretches things further, pulling in a heavier atmosphere and a sense of unease that lingers longer than expected. Then there’s “Chlorine,” which quietly becomes the emotional center of the record, balancing longing and distance in a way that feels uncomfortably real.
What makes it work is how naturally it all fits together. Nothing feels forced. The band still prioritizes melody, still builds songs that move, but now there’s more at stake underneath it.
A year on, Bury the Key feels like a subtle shift rather than a full reinvention. It doesn’t abandon what made TOPS work in the first place. It just lets a little more reality seep in.
And somehow, that makes their world feel even more complete.
