Founded in 2019 at a party in the legendary Rockfabrik in Ludwigsburg, VIOLET is set to revive the colorful, extravagant '80s, a decade full of great melodies, hits, and an unmistakable sound, in the here and now. With their debut album, "Illusions," released back in 2022, which fans and the press voted number one among time machines back to the '80s, the young band from the Stuttgart region immediately played their way into the spotlight. It's only fitting that VIOLET will follow up with their new EP "Silhouettes" on CD, vinyl, and digitally at the end of February 2026. If you like authentic 80s sound and count bands like STARSHIP, HEART, TOTO, or ROXETTE among your favorites, you definitely shouldn't miss VIOLET.

The EP has five studio songs. "Set Me Free" is first. A steady and strong keyboard presence leads off the song, followed by Jamie's emotionally laden vocals. The music is just a bit on the thin side at times, and tinged with sadness, but they do deliver a powerful, vocal harmony led chorus. "Dangerous You" has more energy and fire, and the sound immediately takes me back to the music I used to listen to in the 80's. It's sentimental, catchy, and quite pleasing, and you can easily sing along with the chorus. "Somewhere, Somehow" might be the anthem song on the album. It has a slow, big, melodic sound where the low and high sonority are toggled for maximum effect. Again, keyboards are a welcome addition to the song.

"Calling for You" is the "power ballad" on the album. Defined as "a slow, emotional rock song that builds from a soft intro to a loud, dramatic, guitar-heavy climax, featuring powerful vocals, intense lyrics about love or heartache," and that definitely fits the bill. The demo song "Fall in Love" is the final studio offering. You can tell it's one of the earlier works, because the bones of their sound are there, but it just needs sharpening up a bit. I also prefer Jamie's vocals to his. Although the EP only had five studio tracks, you can chart the band's progress from earlier work to now, and they really hit their stride here on this album. It's catchy, fun, energetic, and they know how to deliver a chorus, fresh and ready.