Meridian Kids chase a brighter forecast on “Neon Weather”

Synth-pop records that lean this hard on the eighties tend to live and die on a single question: are the songs there? On “Neon Weather,” the songs are there.

Meridian Kids open with “Headlight Town,” a track that does exactly what a leadoff synth-pop single should do — announces the palette, sets the tempo, and then earns its place with a chorus that genuinely lifts. The verse melody is good, the pre-chorus is better, and the chorus does not collapse on contact.

Track three, “Weekend Architecture,” is the moment the record stops feeling like an aesthetic and starts feeling like a band. The bass is doing something specific. The vocal harmony stack is tasteful rather than overdone.

Mid-album, the energy drifts. “Quiet Boulevard” is pretty but slightly inert, and “Maybe in the Morning” could lose a verse and gain a song. By the back half, though, “Telephone Summer” and “Your Light, Their Light” pull the record back up.

Production from start to finish is glossy, but not airless. The drums hit. The sub holds the room. The synths are doing the harmonic heavy lifting instead of just decorating. This is one of the better-engineered indie synth-pop debuts of the year, full stop.

Best Tracks: “Headlight Town,” “Weekend Architecture,” “Your Light, Their Light.”