Listen to Touch Sensitive and Matt Van Schie's Luscious New Project, Tear Council

It's not unusual to look back on the early days of Australian synthpop with a sort of nostalgic love. Although the scene birthed much of the insufferable 20-something festival fashion we know today, it indeed had many crowning moments. Along with Cut Copy, Bag Raiders, and a slew of Modular People acts, the scene also brought us the acclaimed group Van She, made up of bandmates Matt Van Schie, Mikey Di Francesco, Nick Routledge, and Tomek Archer. Throughout their existence, the outfit brought us a slew of instant classics like "Idea of Happiness,""Jamaica," and "Strangers," as well as a collection of well-receivedremixes.

In the time since their formidable releases as a band, guitarist Matt Van Schie and synth player Mikey Di Francesco have each been busy with solo projects. Operating under his own name, Matt Van Schie continued to produce indie music; Mike Di Francesco, leaning towards Australia's flourishing electronic scene, would gain notoreity as Touch Sensitive at local label Future Classic.

Now, the two have teamed up for a new musical project, Tear Council.

At its core, Tear Council is a dedication to the heartfelt, melodic bands that inspired their early years. Tour bus banter long behind them, Matt and Mike have applied an edge of maturity to the sentimentality of yesteryear. "The vision was always going to be a nod to those idols," Matt tells me. "But we've brought it up to speed with modern times."

Modernize they have. In their first release, "Anywhere," Tear Council have shed their bright, poppy choruses of old and replaced them with more somber, introspective verses. Flush with a stripped-down, simpler bassline it oozes disco from every pore.

Matt holds back when I ask what we can expect from the pair later this year, but he shares that will be lots more to come. When I ask why it took until now for them to team up, he responds simply: "It just felt right."

Pre-order "Anywhere" on iTunes here.

Tear Council is on Facebook // Twitter // SoundCloud

Ziad Ramley is on Twitter