A Vintage Pop Release from Pepper Gomez
Pepper Gomez releases an EP that's just about 40 years in the making, possibly even more, as the record displays the most classic and vintage tonalities coming from the actual synths and keyboards themselves, along with brilliant songwriting, danceable rhythms, and robust lyrics that give off her amazingly vivacious and completely infectious energy from beginning to end.
The story of this release does certainly go back quite a distance, and although previously only preserved on cassette tape, Pepper decided to bring it back to life and re-release it into the world today.
What you hear on this record are actual recordings from the '80s, and this just brings you into the aesthetic of the record even further. Knowing that it is genuinely from that time makes it all the more immersive, in my opinion.
This EP will give you heavy-handed bouts of nostalgia up and down, left and right. It's not just about the synthesizers and keys, but it's about the whole flow, vibe, and feel of these songs.
The record blends elements of New Wave, house, classic pop, R&B, and more, all rolled into one record that absolutely feels like it's built with songs that you would hear on the radio in the '80s.
One of my favorite things about this whole aspect is that right now, in 2026, this classic, vintage, old-school '80s pop theme is sort of coming back into play, and you're hearing it a lot in mainstream pop music more and more.
This may be why Pepper decided to actually digitize the record and bring it into the world now.
Either way, I'm super happy she did because I'm pretty familiar with her music in general, and she blends all different kinds of influences into her material and has no problem branching out, grasping on to different genres and approaches all the while.
However, I haven't heard this side of her songwriting before.
It opens a whole new door and is an amazing way to really take a trip back in time and listen to some actual songs that were written back then, soak in the tones of everything, and really just relive these moments with her.
It's obvious the record couldn't have happened without him.
The record is called Demo '85, released originally released under the name Master Plan composed of Pepper herself and Tom O’C, who put a lot into the record and who Pepper often labels as a musical genius.
The whole thing starts with "Pushin' Too Hard", which comes in with a swagger-riddled little vocal intro, amazing percussion, classic, almost Michael Jackson-style rhythms and sounds, along with this sort of blend of what I would consider to be Madonna and Janet Jackson.
It is such a brilliant song, and it's incredibly catchy, super deep-grooved, and insanely danceable.
This is the first track, and it's an amazing one to introduce the rest of the record with because you're getting some of these robust staples that you're going to hear in some of the rest of the songs.
You're also not going to be able to stop yourself from dancing. I'm telling you right now, this is the kind of record that is meant for you to move your body. It's got those neon-lit, vividly bright, and completely addictive pop frequencies and vibrations that pull you right in and make you start grooving with the music.
Once you hear this first track, you automatically understand why I said what I said earlier. All of these songs would have been amazing on the radio during the 1980s.
Her vocal approach is driving and has a bit of attitude attached to it. The vocal track itself has a little bit of an echo effect on it, which gives it a little bit of depth and was also kind of a sign of the times for this kind of dance-pop material.
"Andrew" is also super fun and gets a little bit more quirky with wildly bendy synthesizers and almost cinematically feverish undertones.
I dig this track a lot as well and certainly vibed with the production style and how it felt like this was the track that you would hear during a certain kind of montage in a film from the '80s.
It had a bit of extra color and depth.
"Making Movies" is actually probably the most filmic. There are these smooth vocals that she's putting out there with a lot fewer effects on them, so they're more cut and dry, which I like because you can hear a lot of the lyrics this way.
Throughout all of that, you also have these distant layers of synths that are sort of descending on top of everything, and it does give that air of a movie.
This one also has a little bit of a slower pace, which is cool because it does showcase how she's able to still pull all of that pop sensibility into play, whether the song is faster or slower-paced.
A lot of this displays how Pepper knows how to write hooks. She knows how to embed those in your brain and keep them rattling around in there.
"Daydream" might just be my favorite track on the record, as it does have an upbeat feel, and Pepper really hits it hard on this one, bringing out hints of edginess in its undertone, along with these brilliant keys that are sort of surrounding you the entire time.
This is a very lush song. All of the synth and key layers, along with the cutting beat, really come together super well, and I feel like Pepper really picked up on the attitude of it all.
This was an absolutely killer track and displays some of the best work on the record, in my opinion.
Now, throughout the record, Pepper has a tendency to fall into different characters depending on the song. There are tracks here where she gets really animated, like "Fanning the Flames", which was definitely out there and certainly had a particular way of separating itself from the rest of the songs.
Still, I love how she just fits herself into the song and brings out this particular kind of character and completely different approach based on the instrumental song itself.
She wanted to match that sort of strange energy and did an amazing job of doing exactly that.
So, all in all, there are some out-there tracks that are a little experimental but still super fun and addictive, but there are also complete radio-worthy '80s bangers all over this release.
You definitely need to check this out, especially if you love classic pop music the way I do.
So, stop reading and start listening. Remember where you heard this first.
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