Philadelphia’s Johnny Dynamite and the Bloodsuckers has long peddled in tales of dim-lit romance and cheap perfume epiphanies. On his latest single, The Lure, he leans deeper into his bag of broken ballads and plastic passions. Guitars glisten; the drum machine clicks like a lover’s heel disappearing down an unfamiliar hallway; his voice, part croon, part curse – oozes longing laced with lipstick and late-night radio. The track swaggers between spangled synth-pop and jangle-leaning goth.
The Lure draws from a lineage of synth-pop longing and gauzy recollections: part comedown anthem, part early morning memory. Think Pet Shop Boys slipping into vulnerability after the club lights fade, or M83 soundtracking the final slow dance at a prom no one will talk about again. There’s a trace of Seventeen Seconds-era Cure beneath the gloss, but filtered through MGMT’s playful nostalgia and a dash of late-night whimsy.
In the video, Johnny Dynamite drifts through Philadelphia’s quieter corners with a kind of aimless grace. Directed by Dynamite and Claire Wardlaw, the visuals mirror the song’s polished tension and soft-focus haze. Shot with a fisheye lens, the camera stretches sidewalks and side streets into intimate, slightly off-kilter spaces. Alleyways, parking garages, and half-lit corners become the setting for a performance that feels more personal than posed, Dynamite moving through each frame like someone caught between memories and new beginnings, suited in thrifted charm and bittersweet resolve.
Watch the video for The Lure below:
Listen to The Lure below, out now via Born Losers Records, and order the single here.
This spring, Johnny and the Bloodsuckers take that twilight tenderness on tour, supporting synth-pop soulmates Korine across North America. Tonight they kick off the road trip at Johnny Brendas in Philadelphia, meandering through New England, Toronto, the Rust Belt, the Pacific Northwest, California, the deep South and finally, Washington DC.
- 4.18 Philadelphia PA – Johnny Brendas
- 4.19 Brooklyn NY – Elsewhere Zone One
- 4.20 Providence RI – Alchemy
- 4.21 Syracuse NY – Song & Dance
- 4.22 Toronto ON – The Baby G
- 4.23 Pittsburgh PA – Bottle Rocket
- 4.24 Detroit MI – Smalls
- 4.25 Chicago IL – Schubas
- 4.26 Minneapolis MN – Cloudland Theatre
- 4.28 Kansas City MO – Recordbar
- 4.29 Denver CO – Hi Dive
- 4.30 Salt Lake City UT – International
- 5.02 Seattle WA – Central Saloon
- 5.03 Portland OR – Mississippi Studios
- 5.05 Sacramento CA – Cafe Colonial
- 5.06 San Francisco CA – Bottom of the Hill
- 5.07 Los Angeles CA – The Echo
- 5.08 Santa Ana CA – Constellation Room
- 5.09 San Diego CA – Voodoo Room
- 5.10 Phoenix AZ – Valley Bar
- 5.12 Denton TX – Rubber Gloves
- 5.13 Austin TX – Empire Control Room
- 5.14 New Orleans LA – Siberia
- 5.15 Tampa FL – New World
- 5.16 Orlando FL – Will’s Pub
- 5.17 Atlanta GA – The Earl
- 5.18 Raleigh NC – Pour House
- 5.19 Washington DC – Songbyrd
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