Category: Reviews (Page 1 of 207)

A THOUSAND MAD THINGS Hate It EP

24 June 2026 /

‘Cry & Dance’ by A THOUSAND MAD THINGS was undoubtedly the best body of work released in 2025.

The project of William Barradale, his style of dark synthpop explored themes of desire, shame and insecurities through his own personal experiences as a young gay man. With his haunted demeanour, his vocal delivery falls under the spectre of doomed romantics like Billy MacKenzie of ASSOCIATES.

Following a majestic debut headline show at London’s Paper Dress Vintage comes the new EP ‘Hate It’; William Barradale told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Although all these songs were made at a similar time, EP2 has more energy in its production and tone. I picked the songs I felt had more to say for themselves to go second. ‘Cry & Dance’ was about establishing the project and EP2 feels more expressive and darker in tone. I have a whole concept about what it is to be a flawed person and each song represents a different part of that person (the thoughts, the feelings, the body, the needs etc). I wanted to hold back these songs for EP2 because I wanted to wait until I had some attention to share them. The sound is similar though and it’s a lot of the same synths and production style.”

Photo by Romy Caton-Jones

Still maintaining the sharp modern songwriting of its predecessor which eschews the longer intros and fades of Synth Britannia, the ‘Hate It’ EP begins with haunting gothic swing of ‘Promises’. Mournfully reflecting that “I’d never break the promises I chose to make that night”, it catches the bouncy rhythmic snap of THE CURE during their fantasy phase to exude an artful pop demeanour.

A cousin to ‘Wide Awake’ from ‘Cry & Dance’ in its literal cry, the hypnotic technopop of ‘Remorse’ asks the question “what did I do to hurt you?”. In a sign of the times, ‘Truth You Seek’ exudes a frustrated intensity that “this is my final vow”; built on a colder cacophony of synths, the engine room acts as the backbone to the seedier uncertain aspects of romantic yearning expressed in Barradale’s theatrical vocals.

The sombre bass driven drama of ‘Empty Part of Me’ sees Barradale note “how can you not hate the way they stare at you and me?” while displaying his lower and higher vocal registers before the ‘Hate It’ title song closes the EP with some dark disco dancing; singing of “ugly sin”, there are elements of SUICIDE as there was on ‘Girl’ on ‘Cry & Dance’ while there is also a Cold War drama lurking over proceedings.

Less immediate than ‘Cry & Dance’, the glorious darker overtones of ‘Hate It’ dig deeper and show that the debut was not a fluke. With yet-to-be released songs such as ‘Loving Was Easier’ and ‘Cracked Mirror’ outlining that there is more to come, A THOUSAND MAD THINGS is now the great hope for dark British synthpop. With promising acts like MIRRORS and EAST INDIA YOUTH unable to sustain their initial creative momentum, William Barradale is here to fill that void with his honest soulful celebration of all aspects of the human condition and chooses to be the better man!

The ‘Hate It’ EP is released by Nettwerk on 26th June 2026, available from https://athousandmadthings.bandcamp.com/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th June 2026

THE MINDS There Are Two Truths

19 June 2026 /

When SIMPLE MINDS released the documentary ‘Everything Is Possible’ in 2023, it was an enjoyable 90 minutes that offered the historical perspective of front man Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill.

But it was notable for downplaying the roles of three former members Brian McGee (drums), Mick MacNeil (keyboards) and Derek Forbes (bass) who had been involved in the first four SIMPLE MINDS albums ‘Life In A Day’, ‘Reel To Real Cacophony’, ‘Empires & Dance’ and ‘Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call’.

However the joint Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill memoir ‘Our Secrets Are The Same’ published in 2025 went further and laid claim to the pair writing most of the songs and that some band members were lucky to even get a cut of the publishing at all! But as Brian McGee declares: “whoever’s in the room writes the song, whoever starts from the beginning to the end of the song, records it, plays it, is part of the team, should be credited equally!”. Certainly in the way SIMPLE MINDS worked back then, music would be jammed and then structured as instrumentals before Kerr added words and vocals.

With a desire to speak their truth, reflect on the good times and give fans a special view on the conflicts at play, ‘There Are Two Truths’ is an independent documentary series exploring contested narratives. The first episode re-examines the history, conflicts and creative legacy of SIMPLE MINDS by those who were there.

As well as Brian McGee, Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes, presenter and SIMPLE MINDS fan Ben Barclay also speaks to SIMPLE MINDS’ first manager Bruce Finlay, lawyer Robert White, former drummers Mike Olgletree and Mel Gaynor, original second guitarist Duncan Barnwell and The Blitz Club DJ Rusty Egan. He is not afraid to ask difficult questions about the decision making process within the band, particularly those associated with Jim Kerr who comes over as astute but having an agenda from the start.

Subtitled ‘Our Shares Are Not the Same’, the hour long exploration of authorship, credit and fairness does not pull any punches. From the moment that SIMPLE MINDS signed to Arista Records and released their debut album ‘Life In A Day’, there was contention. Songs were credited as being written by “Kerr / Burchill” but as Mick McNeil says: “It would be naïve to deny that the keyboard parts didn’t make that a pop song, it wasn’t the guitar… the contribution to the commercial aspect of ‘Chelsea Girl’ and even the track ‘Life In A Day’, I think they’re massively influenced by the keyboard parts that scream out commerciality…”! As Forbes adds rhetorically: “Did Charlie put in that keyboard part on ‘Chelsea Girl’? I mean that’s f*cking boll*cks innit?”

Lyric writing is often publically misinterpreted as “songwriting” with credit bias towards words. But as Elvis Costello recently said to MOJO about ‘Shipbuilding’ which he co-wrote with producer Clive Langer: “I get more credit for that song than I deserve because if it wasn’t for Clive’s melody, I wouldn’t have had anything to hang the story on.”

For the second album ‘Reel To Real Cacophony’ and beyond, the arrangement was changed to the songwriting credits being split equally between all five members of the band… or was it? The documentary reveals through past contractual paperwork that Jim Kerr was bagging 50% of the publishing as lyricist, even on the record’s three instrumentals! This was similar to the stunt that Ralf Hütter pulled on the KRAFTWERK tracks ‘Spacelab’ and ‘Metropolis’ from ‘The Man Machine’ by repeating the one word titles as vocals and claiming they were lyrics, thus diminishing Karl Bartos’ share! So that meant Burchill, MacNeil, Forbes and McGee were only getting 12.5%! However, as the albums including the follow-up sold poorly, the issue fell under the radar while the band signed to Virgin Records to achieve a breakthrough with the ‘Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call’ double opus.

But McGee would leave in 1981, and then Forbes would be fired from SIMPLE MINDS with his contributions to 1985’s massive selling ‘Once Upon A Time’ being written out of the eventual publishing. MacNeil would leave in 1989 and over the following years, it was discovered that the retrospective share agreement percentages of Forbes and McGee were reduced even further form the original 12.5% while MacNeil’s went up to 20%. On that pre-1982 section of the back catalogue, Kerr and Burchill have evened up and are now on 30% each.

This documentary is made with a much lower budget so has nothing like the production values and locations seen in ‘Everything Is Possible’. But it is the content that matters although the AI generated moving images, particularly of past decades, may not be to everyone’s taste. Certainly ‘There Are Two Truths’ is eye opening and prompts more questions rather than making conclusions. While the angle is naturally based towards MacNeil, Forbes and McGee who have since reunited as THE MINDS, their points are backed by documentation and perspective. As Barclay closes his commentary, he remarks “Make of that as you will” and ultimately it is up to individual SIMPLE MINDS fans to decide what has gone on.

Just about every act be it KRAFTWERK, JAPAN, VISAGE, SPANDAU BALLET, THE SMITHS and many others have fallen foul on the issue of publishing. But it’s no coincidence that acts like U2, DURAN DURAN and COLDLAY have maintained harmony by agreeing to split everything equally from the start before they hit the big time. As the journalist and author Hunter S Thompson was once quoted as saying: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”

With a future episode on ‘Arrivals & Departures’ on the way, ‘There Are Two Truths’ will not only appeal to long standing SIMPLE MINDS but anyone remotely interested in the often-unseen dynamics and perils of being in a band.

‘There Are Two Truths’ is available to view on YouTube

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
19th June 2026

NINA with RADIO WOLF Jukebox Dream Vol1

18 June 2026 /

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

Remix / Remodel – The VINCE CLARKE Remixes

15 June 2026 /

Without doubt, Vince Clarke is a supreme pop genius with a run of hits that began in 1981 with DEPECHE MODE and continued with YAZOO, THE ASSEMBLY and ERASURE.

There have also been collaborations with Jean-Michel Jarre, Paul Hartnoll, Martyn Ware, Ana Brun and the late Robert Marlow as well as numerous remixes. 26 have been chosen by Vince Clarke himself on this new Cherry Red collection ‘Remix / Remodel’ with many of the tracks never having been released on a physical product before.

While Clarke’s programmed synthesized melodies and counter-melodies are desired textures in pop, what he is first and foremost is a songwriter. So with that in mind, this collection of remixes for other artists has many variables with the end result dependent on time, budget, connections and reciprocal arrangements.

These Vince Clarke remixes successfully work in some unexpected quarters; Johnny Marr’s ‘Spirit Power & Soul’ is superb and somehow, Clarke has turned THE SMITHS guitarist into classic DEPECHE MODE. And speaking of his former band, Clarke’s Extended Vocal take on ‘Behind The Wheel’ is darkly hypnotic but it doesn’t come close to the totally brilliant Shep Pettibone single remix which came out in its own right in 1988 and surpassed the underwhelming ‘Music For The Masses’ album version.

From 1988, the Vince Clarke remix of HAPPY MONDAYS’ ‘WFL Wrote For Luck’ was considered incongruous back in the day but this indie dance hybrid still packs a punch under the strobe lights. FRANZ FERDINAND’s ‘No You Girls’ gets an enjoyable electro-disco makeover while the SAINT ETIENNE instrumental ‘Blue Kite’ is given more form under the watch of Clarke who uses THE GRID’s ‘Floatation’ as his blueprint. With WARRINGTON-RUNCORN NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT PLAN’s ‘A Shared Sense Of Purpose’ getting its hauntology backdrop percussively industrialised, the hypnotic ‘Faito’ by Clarke’s own VeryRecords signings ALKA benefits from the interventions of the boss which come over very Jean-Michel Jarre.

However, the understated ballad ‘Almost’ by OMD, which is said to be the song turned Clarke onto the synthesizer, does not benefit from his busier interventions which have been retrospectively added 40 years after the song was recorded. Similarly, the treatment of SOFT CELL’s ‘Bedsitter’ under the ERASURE banner does not work either but perhaps the original version is just too known for any remix to stand a chance. For that reason, one would expect his remix of Andy Bell’s ‘Dance For Mercy’ to possess the bounce of ERASURE but it ends up being a rather ploddy guitar-based number!

Girl group THE SATURDAYS were at one point virtually glued to the hips of Vince Clarke, what with their ‘Situation’ sampling debut single ‘If This Is Love’ in 2008 and a cover of ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ in 2009. In between was Clarke’s remix of their third single ‘Issues’ but it chugs away without any real consequence, as does ‘I Wanna Get Better’ by BLEACHERS aka Vince Clarke fan and Taylor Swift producer Jack Antonoff.

In a collection that is more miss than hit, what is missing? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK would have included Clarke’s remixes of ‘Other Too Endless’ for Polly Scattergood, SPARKS ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way?’, Alison Moyet’s cover of ‘Whispering Your Name’, Robert Görl’s ‘Part 1’ and NITZER EBB’s ‘Ascend’ while preferring ‘Before’ by VeryRecords signings Reed & Caroline over the included ‘Electrons’. There are some excellent reworkings on this collection but ‘Remix / Remodel – The Vince Clarke Remixes’ is ultimately for completists only.

‘Remix / Remodel – The Vince Clarke Remixes’ is released by Cherry Red Records on 26th June 2026

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/various-artists-remix-remodel-the-vince-clarke-remixes-2cd-edition

Text by Chi Ming Lai
15th June 2026

HARALD GROSSKOPF Glitches Brew

5 June 2026 /

Kosmische trailblazer Harald Grosskopf is back with a new album ‘Glitches Brew’, the title being a jokey pun on the iconic Miles Davis’ record ‘Bitches Brew’ to reflect the productive friction between man and machine.

Harald Grosskopf first made his solo impact in electronic music back in 1980 with his now classic solo debut record ‘Synthesist’ establishing a musical language that bridged the often improvised kosmische tradition and sequencer-driven electronics. He was already a German music veteran having worked as a drummer with Manuel Göttsching in ASHRA and Klaus Schulze while before that, he was a member of the Lower Rhineland rock band WALLENSTEIN.

A swift follow-up to 2024’s ‘Strom’, based in his garden studio and continuing to work to a click track, Grosskopf used mostly digital instruments on ‘Glitches Brew’. The process allowed him a speedy realisation of spontaneous ideas that could later be reshaped using more analogue tech. In 2024, he told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I like the quick access that music software and virtual instruments offer. This way, I can always stay in the flow of spontaneous creativity without wasting time on wiring synths and dealing with tons of processing tools.”

With a cacophony of deep throbbing sequences, the opener ‘Leisure Life’ is like an aural spinning top building towards a percussive centre with subtle melodic drifts. ‘Spheroids’ though is much heavier and more mechanical, pumping into the cosmos before pulsars sparkle in its second half.

Both ‘Flow’ and ‘Stranger Strings’ (another great pun) take proceedings to a steadier pace, the former drifts past the stars across its 8 minutes while the latter embraces the cocoon of The Upside Down. But the spacier ‘Panta Rei’ utitlises much more rugged rhythmic approaches while maintaining a wonderfully cerebral mood from Grosskopf’s sweeping signature synth.

Making use of deep staccato voice samples, more freeform keyboard playing and offbeats, ‘LiLaLu’ ventures into slower jazzier territory before the rippling technopop of ‘Kalter Lärm’ arps and pulses with faint string pads acting as distant melodies into cosmic bliss.

‘Glitches Brew’ is unmistakeably Harald Grosskopf despite the greater digital interventions adopted to expand his field of possibilities. This is human and machine in harmony, where rhythm is liberation and the future is something to reappraise.

‘Glitches Brew’ is released by Bureau B in CD and vinyl LP formats, available from https://shop.tapeterecords.com/records/bureau-b/

Download available from https://haraldgrosskopf.bandcamp.com/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Markus Luigs
5th June 2026

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