CS Hellmann sparks a synth-punk fire with new single 'Burned Romances'

With his latest outing 'Burned Romances', Nashville’s CS Hellmann delivers a searing blend of post-punk edge, synth-laced swagger, and lyrical disillusionment, a track that pulses like neon heartbreak under rain-slicked streetlights.

Produced by longtime collaborator Jared Corder (with engineering by Kriss Jedd at Polychrome Ranch), 'Burned Romances' captures that elusive sweet spot between grit and gloss. There’s a War on Drugs-inspired propulsion at the core, but Hellmann doesn’t coast on influence alone. Instead, he weaponises it by twisting synths, drum machines, and clean, brittle guitars into a sound that nods to David Bowie and Peter Gabriel while planting its feet firmly in the now.

From the jump, the track grabs you with a landscape both driving and dreamlike. Hellmann’s vocals, delivered with a cool restraint, surf the tension throughout. There’s bitterness in the bones of the lyrics, but also an uncanny clarity. 'Burned Romances' is a reckoning with emotional fallout, steeped in stream-of-consciousness truth.

What elevates the song, though, is its musical architecture. This is maximalism with purpose: drum machines snapping, synth bass looming, and guitar lines that jangle and stab in equal measure. The bridge swerves into a more theatrical, Bowie-esque orbit, pulling the song momentarily into something more cosmic before crashing back to earth in a final surge of resolve.

If this is what CS Hellmann sounds like when he’s coming out swinging, we can’t wait to hear the knockout that follows. 'Burned Romances' is messy, melodic, and deeply magnetic, the kind of song that makes you remember your own wreckage… and dance through it anyway.