Oslo’s exceedingly colorful pop craftsmen Cold Mailman will be back with a new album next spring, and they’ve shared lead single Where Scars Don’t Show.” It’s an arching retro pop song that reminds me of what Ben Folds and the Notwist might come up with if you sent them 30 years into the past and locked them in a room with Trevor Horn. However it actually came about, the end result is immensely likable, all baldfaced emotion freely blending with an adventurous pop-rock arrangement. Cold Mailman’s Ivar Bowitz offered some insight into the new project:

The idea was to make an album based on an eclectic mixtape from the 80s, and from there we expanded in every direction. It’s still firmly rooted in music and moods of that decade, but instead of mimicking a style we’ve tried to extract a sort of essence and then just let go and see what happens. Oh, and it’s very emotional.

Listen to “Where The Scars Don’t Show” below.

“Where Scars Don’t Show” is out 11/26 and Cold Mailman’s album is expected Spring 2015, both via Beyond.