A new journey begins for NINA and RADIO WOLF…

Collaboration is at the heart of both; NINA’s most recent releases were with Ricky Wilde and Kid Moxie while as RADIO WOLF, Oliver Blair’s portfolio includes work with Sarah Blackwood, Kelli Ali and a then-unknown Jorja Chalmers when they were members of the new wave trio HOTEL MOTEL.

Created, recorded, produced and mixed in a custom-built home studio in Berlin, NINA and RADIO WOLF aim to convey the darker aspects of romance on the first volume of their ‘Jukebox Dream’ double album. Opener ‘Don’t Trust The Night’ perhaps does too much stopping and starting to achieve momentum but the couple’s fiery first single ‘My Dark’ is a revelatory anti-love song about the dark side of relationships; NINA unveils her inner femme-fatale and on this enjoyable track is more provocative than she has ever been.

Mixing elements of THE CURE and COCTEAU TWINS, NINA’s voice is as exquisite as ever on ‘To See You’ but with all the ruggedness, listener can’t help but wonder what the finished article might have sounded like produced by Ricky Wilde. Another case in point is ‘The Ghosts Of Prom Night’ which could be a glorious synthwave power ballad but instead is realised musically as an overdriven indie number.

There’s a shady swung ‘Twin Peaks’ mood to ‘Galaxy Eyes’ while tape dragged synths and sparring guitar take ‘Cosmic Highway’ into hazier dreampop territory. Lo-fi indie aesthetics act as the backbone of ‘Lost In This Forever’ which comes over like NINA being backed by THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN. But following NINA and RADIO WOLF into a ‘Jukebox Dream’, this progressive title set piece gets lost in its wall of sound with the night vision goggles not providing any further clarity.

The darker moonlight escapades ‘Jukebox Dream Vol1’ add another string to NINA’s bow but whether the fans of “The Queen Of Synthwave” will embrace this alternative persona remains to be seen. With Vol1 offering a glimpse into this other world, it will be interesting to see where the nocturnal atmospheres stretch to on Vol2 which is expected to contain two previous singles ‘Tokyo Cowboy’ and ‘Bluesbreaker’.

‘Jukebox Dream Vol1’ is released by NewRetroWave in red or blue vinyl LP, CD, cassette and digital formats from https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/jukebox-dream-vol-1

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
18th June 2026