Category: Reviews (Page 1 of 205)

RICHARD BARBIERI Hauntings

8 April 2026 /

Despite having debuted as a recording artist in 1978 with JAPAN, Richard Barbieri’s ‘Hauntings’ is only his fifth long playing solo release in a long career that has also included THE DOLPHIN BROTHERS, RAIN TREE CROW, JBK and PORCUPINE TREE as well as other collaborations with Alice, Tim Bowness and Steve Hogarth.

Following up 2021’s ‘Under A Spell’, ‘Hauntings’ continues with the supernatural theme of its predecessor. Of this new diverse set of compositions, Richard Barbieri told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I’ve called them ‘Hauntings’ but they are feelings of nostalgia, things from the past and things that didn’t happen. When you have very vivid dreams, you have recurring dreams, you go to places you’ve never really been to in real life and there’s people you’ve never really met but they’re very real to you in that moment.”

Supported by a renowned international cast of musicians including Morgan Ågren (drums and percussion), Percy Jones (bass guitar) and Luca Calabrese (trumpet), that trio bring some jazzy inflections to the opener ‘Snakes & Ladders’ to reflect the dramatic rise and fall using the classic board game as a visual metaphor. Meanwhile, the lively ‘Anemoia’ plays with drum ‘n’ bass rhythms and sees Morgan Ågren frantically syncopating off the programmed patterns and Barbieri’s spooky sonics.

With even more sound design than on previous Richard Barbieri albums, ‘Victorian Wraith’ explores the ghosts of his life while ‘1890’ is conceived around foggy recurring dreams of Victorian-era London; the tonal elements of both recall the eerie intros of JAPAN tracks like ‘Burning Bridges’ and ‘The Tennant’.

Strident and ominous, ‘Artificial Obsession’ adopts perturbed voice samples and stringy simulations to fully embrace the ‘Hauntings’ theme, as does ‘Paris Sketch’ which captures feelings of intrigue and mystery with a combination of ivories and expansive soundscaping. However, ‘Perfect Toys’ is aurally soothing and unexpectedly exudes sexual tension. Although ‘Traveler’ grooves with its combination of live and looped patterns, ‘Reveille’ acts as a marvellous interlude into the final straight with something that is very ‘Another Green World’ and made using the Elta Solar 42f Drone Ambient Machine.

As the title suggests, ‘Last Post’ is an ambient piece centred around some solemn trumpet before the watery blips and ringing signals of ‘A New Simulation’ are supplemented by some gentle flauty moods and the spectre of PINK FLOYD to close.

With the otherworldly sound designs and cerebral electronics of Richard Barbieri contrasting with a range of complimentary live instrumentation, ‘Hauntings’ is an anxious but accessible instrumental double album that stands out as a hazy shade of contemplation. This is a wonderfully considered sonic tapestry for the mind.

‘Hauntings’ is released on 10th April 2026 in CD, CD + Bluray, red or black double vinyl and digital formats by Kscope, available from https://richardbarbieri.lnk.to/Hauntings

http://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/richard-barbieri/

https://www.facebook.com/RichardBarbieriOfficial/

https://www.instagram.com/richardbarbieri_music/

https://www.youtube.com/@richardbarbieri8386

https://richardbarbieri.bandcamp.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th April 2026

MECHA MAIKO Nervous System

27 March 2026 /

Canada’s leading independent synthy songstress Hayley Stewart is back as MECHA MAIKO.

While her last album, 2022’s ‘NOT OK’, looked at various social-political flashpoints such as Black Lives Matter, misogyny, fake news, corruption and global warming, her ‘Nervous System’ is the theme this time round. It deals with more personal issues such as reclaiming anger, pleasure and all the mess in between. In short, as Stewart put it herself: “Boys are dumb. Let’s keep dancing”.

Appropriately opening with ‘Hello’, there are breakbeats galore and an eventual cacophony of a bleep ‘n’ squelch with appealing vocals in Stewart’s trademark kooky tradition. The less boisterous ‘Nervous System’ title song fittingly creates a more anxious melancholic backdrop over vintage drum machine for a wonderfully bittersweet slice of avant synthpop. ‘The Point’ follows a not dissimilar path, making use of some inventive rhythmic construction chained to a synthetic rumble and a vocal that exposes vulnerability.

There is an ominous punky stance to ‘Face to Face’ which is quite appropriate as it features Dan Werb of Canadian dance punk band WOODHANDS on lead synth. Meanwhile the feisty and rampant ‘Fool’ plays with the spectre of acid house, but in a style that is still very MECHA MAIKO with lots of bleeps and bop.

The chunky ‘Crawl’ is a fine slice of electro with whistling swoops enticing vocals and as our heroine declines a back-handed apology. Pushing the propulsive housey vibes with an oddly recurring ivory hit, ‘Don’t’ displays dismay with the assertive request to “DON’T F*CK WITH ME!”. ‘Tender’ goes thumping full-on techno to close another genre-fluid collection of delightfully odd electronic pop that is simultaneously naive, frivolous, tender, insightful and combative; so yes, like her 2018 debut, it is ‘Mad But Soft’!

After the world weary existential angst that characterised ‘NOT OK’, while ‘Nervous System’ displays mixed emotions, its 8 songs provide a motivating short and sharp statement that will connect with anyone looking find themselves again after a pattern of self-abandonment.

‘Nervous System’ is released by Right Click 2 Download, available as a kawaii pink vinyl LP, cassette and download from https://mechamaiko.bandcamp.com/

https://www.mechamaiko.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mechamaiko/

https://www.instagram.com/mechamaiko/

https://soundcloud.com/mecha-maiko

https://open.spotify.com/album/1TOLwyhZ0knH2xRQCifXuA

Text by Chi Ming Lai
27th March 2026

LADYTRON Paradises

17 March 2026 /

Just before the start of the 21st Century following the hangover of Britpop, LADYTRON formed in Liverpool and brought the-then unfashionable sound of synthesizers into their own DIY indie punk sound.

Since their debut long player ‘604’ in 2001 up to their most recent album ‘Time’s Arrow’ in 2023, their sound has evolved. LADYTRON have embraced synthpop, electroclash, electronic shoegaze and industrial goth. Now reconfigured as a trio, Helen Marnie, Daniel Hunt and Mira Arroyo explore more explicitly dance-based templates on their eighth album ‘Paradises’.

While LADYTRON were once labelled electroclash with ‘Seventeen’ being considered an anthem within that scene, they have never been club-oriented as such despite their origins in the DJ sphere. But Daniel Hunt has described ‘Paradises’ as “a ‘disco’ record” but this being LADYTRON, their take on ‘disco’ is wide ranging. About the making of the album, Hunt said “The key motivation was fun” while Mira Aroyo expressed a desire to “channel that fun feeling of first working together back in the late ’90s when we had nothing to lose.”

Photo by Mark McNulty

Realised over 5 months with work starting in late 2023 and again mixed by long-time collaborator Jim Abbiss, ‘Paradises’ is a fully international record that befits the multi-cultural foundations of LADYTRON, with recording taking place in Liverpool, São Paulo, Montrose and London.

The first hypnotic single ‘I Believe in You’ was a statement of intent. With the trio themselves describing it as “high-priestess disco” and shaped by an infectious house groove previously not heard from LADYTRON, it is still undoubtedly recognisable as them so makes a perfect opener to signal this dancier direction.

‘A Death In London’ strengthens this resolve and falls under the influence of A GUY CALLED GERALD but with the final outcome being more song-based; and if that wasn’t enough of a surprise, there are even oceanic sax breaks in a ‘Pacific’ fashion which provide an altered state of 808. While it appears seemingly escapist, the line “a place where dreams go to die…” provides that darker LADYTRON twist in its Balearic noir.

With an octave-drive, ‘I See Red’ clatters out of that Manchester clubbing-era with a hallucinatory mindset while ‘Caught In The Blink Of An Eye’ provides some subtle techpop with a not an entirely different aesthetic.

The red theme is reflected again on ‘In Blood’ to show that ‘Paradises’ is not just dance songs, with ‘Secret Dreams of Thieves’ sung by Mira Arroyo, the feminine PET SHOP BOYS of ‘Sing’ and the lush ‘Ordinary Love’ all exuding the more atmospheric approaches heard on 2011’s ‘Gravity The Seducer’.

Meanwhile, ‘Kingdom Undersea’ not only brings in a steady Balearic house piano riff and a ghostly Fairlight choir but the voice of Daniel Hunt alongside Helen Marnie in his first vocal turn since ‘Versus’ from 2008’s ‘Velocifero’. There’s a return to the influences of A GUY CALLED GERALD but in a more sedate manner on ‘Free, Free’ while the percussive ‘Metaphysica’ adds some subtle gothic drama. ‘We Wrote Our Names in the Dust’ utilises club rhythms but the sonic romance is almost ambient.

Into the home straight, ‘Solid Light’ moves away from clubland for a more straightforward slice of classic girl group pop with Mira Aroya returning to take lead and declaring “we will dance again”, while to close, ‘For A Life In London’ falls under the spell of THE BELOVED for LADYTRON’s own ‘Sweet Harmony’ complete with sax, albeit as a united spoken word declaration in the face of divisive far right politics.

Like the new MESH long player ‘The Truth Doesn’t Matter’, there is a lot of new LADYTRON to consume across the 16 tracks on ‘Paradises’. Yes it’s a less aggressive LADYTRON than in the past, but this is a new LADYTRON with a spellbinding dance-inflected direction that suits them who are also equally worthy of a listen.

‘Paradises’ is released by Nettwerk in the usual formats including CD and double vinyl LP on 20th March 2026

LADYTRON 2026 UK live dates include:
Liverpool Arts Club Theatre (19th March), Newcastle Digital (20th March), Manchester Gorilla (21st March), Halifax Piece Hall (31st July – with Gary Numan), London Crystal Palace (6th August – with Gary Numan + Marc Almond)

http://www.ladytron.com

https://www.facebook.com/ladytron/

https://www.instagram.com/ladytronmusic/

https://www.threads.com/@ladytron

https://bsky.app/profile/ladytrongroup.bsky.social

Text by Chi Ming Lai
17th March 2026

EVERY UK HIT SINGLE: 1980

7 March 2026 /

From Chart Toppers To Cult Classics When Music Ruled The Airwaves

In 1983, Stephen Morris from NEW ORDER said to Smash Hits: “If you believe in the charts, then you might as well believe in fairies” but occasionally, those fairies could sprinkle some magic dust.

‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ aims to tell “The story of 1980 – every hit, every memory, one unforgettable year in pop: 370 singles, 225 artists, 25 chart toppers!”. Putting things into wider perspective, those numbers are still small considering the amount of record releases in any given year during a time when there was no streaming, no downloading, no social media and even no CD!

Author Richard West has a lifelong fascination with popular music and realised his dream of chart entries as a member of progressive metal bands THRESHOLD and OBLIVION PROTOCOL with recognition across Europe and the UK’s specialist listings. He even published a memoir ‘Maybe A Writer: My Life in Threshold’ that traced his journey from his teenage years living by numbers following the charts to becoming a recording artist.

‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ is the first volume in a series documenting every Top 40 entry with the intention of covering 1981 and beyond. The format is chronological with two paragraphs on each single, one factual and one of trivia. What it does lack however is opinion, so this is more of a reference book.

Despite the popularity of Gary Numan in 1979, synth-based pop music was still fledgling as far as being a regular chart proposition was concerned. However, Japanese Technopop trio YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA would score a surprise No17 hit with their 1978 electronic cover of American composer Martin Denny’s 1959 exotica instrumental ‘Firecracker’, mistitled as ‘Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)’.

Although the original could be seen as an early form of cultural appropriation using every pentatonic cliché in the book, Haroumi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto took it back and gave the tune authenticity. Their treatment acted as a symbol of the Far East’s advancement in affordable technology which was crucial to the rise of the synth.

While 1980 would establish its own electronic legacy, the man born Gary Webb was already being seen as heading down the dumper with both ‘We Are Glass’ and ‘I Die: You Die’ failing to secure the top spot after ‘Are Friends Electric?’ and ‘Cars’ both hit No1 the year before.

Considered his nearest rival artistically at the time, Numan’s biggest influence John Foxx was fresh out of ULTRAVOX but the fact that his even more dystopian electro pieces like ‘Underpass’, ‘No-One Driving’ and ‘Burning Car’ were even entering the Top 40 was nothing short of amazing and indicative of the adventurous eclectic nature of 1980.

Meanwhile the newly regrouped ULTRAVOX now fronted by Midge Ure got the Top 40 entry that was not even close during their Foxx-era with ‘Sleepwalk’ but while it was a breakthrough, it wouldn’t be until the title track of the parent album ‘Vienna’ was a single in 1981 that they would become chart fixtures.

Despite the critical acclaim for the likes of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, JAPAN and SIMPLE MINDS, it was a young duo from Merseyside who would steal their thunder as far as the Top 40 was concerned; ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK were notable for being one of the rising wave of warmer synthesizer acts but while extremely melodic and rhythmic, their lyrics on ‘Messages’ and more significantly ‘Enola Gay’ had darker overtones. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys would end 1980 as the biggest selling artist in the Virgin Records group despite being signed to one of its subsidiaries Dindisc.

One often forgotten synth-driven band who actually managed three Top 40 single entries in 1980 was NEW MUSIK; led by Tony Mansfield, like a certain Trevor Horn with BUGGLES, he figured he would have more influence in the studio rather than being on ‘Top Of The Pops’. He would go on to produce a No 1 for Captain Sensible while also working with the likes of AZTEC CAMERA, NAKED EYES and A-HA. Meanwhile at the start of 1980, Vangelis debuted in the UK Top 40 with YES frontman Jon Anderson and the gorgeous ‘I Hear You Now’.

Sadly, Ian Curtis was never to have a Top 40 hit in his lifetime as ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ would posthumously get a No13 hit for JOY DIVISION. But surviving members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris with new member Gillian Gilbert would have that chart fairy dust sprinkled on them several times as NEW ORDER.

Although the New Romantics were being talked about as the rising youth movement, it would be the man who sold the world and seeded the whole party in the first place that would use it for an artistic renaissance; David Bowie was taken to The Blitz by club regular and RCA label assistant Jacqueline Bucknell to cast members of the clientele including its “face” Steve Strange for the video of his new single ‘Ashes To Ashes’.

While the song reached No1 and Bowie himself would move on, others from The Blitz knew their time had come. SPANDAU BALLET would release ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ towards the end of year to herald a fresh aspirational mindset in pop while issued a few weeks later, ‘Fade To Grey’ by the Steve Strange-fronted VISAGE wouldn’t hit big until the start of 1981 but would become the biggest selling single in West Germany of that year.

1980 though was not really about the emergence of warmer and dancier synthesizer sounds. The year was dominated by ska with the likes of THE SPECIALS, THE BEAT and MADNESS scoring at least 4 Top 40 hits each but perhaps unbelievably and reflective of every generation needing its dose of imagined nostalgia, rockabilly band MATCHBOX scored 5 Top 40 hits!

1980 is often best remembered for 3 No1s for BLONDIE, 2 No1s for THE JAM and 2 No1s for ABBA, with consistent charts runs for the likes of THE POLICE, QUEEN and ROXY MUSIC while disco provided chart toppers for Fern Kinney and Kelly Marie. Without even mentioning Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, mods, rockers or the new wave of British heavy metal, this was a year of musical diversity and ‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ documents that.

‘Every UK Hit Single: 1980’ is published by Eightspace in paperback

https://everyukhitsingle.com

https://www.facebook.com/everyukhitsingle

Text by Chi Ming Lai
7th March 2026

MESH The Truth Doesn’t Matter

2 March 2026 /

It’s been 10 years since the last MESH album ‘Looking Skyward’…

The duo of Mark Hockings and Richard Silverthorn continue to be a live draw in Europe while the former has been busy with his BLACKCARBURNING solo project. But the world has changed considerably since ‘Looking Skyward’ and now ‘The Truth Doesn’t Matter’ in this is the age of post-factual lies.

As if to make up for their recorded absence of nearly a decade, the new MESH album contains a whopping 16 tracks which capture the dark undertone of muddled political viewpoints that allow fascism to be normalised and empathy to be treated as the enemy.

Photo by Guido Braun

On the opening title song, “The truth doesn’t matter if no-one gets hurt” could be a catchphrase from that vile orange Mussolini and the song provides a stark statement on the present state of geopolitical affairs. Fast and frantic as the heavens open with heavy rainfall, ‘A Storm Is Coming’ needs no explanation in the fierce tension expressed lyrically and musically. Moving onto something moodier and more personal, ‘I Lost a Friend Today’ reflects on loss…

With a determined stance, ‘Trying to Save You’ is a MESH banger with futurepop inflections that will become a live favourite while featuring the delectable voice of Mari Kattman, ‘Bury Me Again’ is a steadfast epic which gets an eerie angelic ending. ‘I Bleed Through You’ provides more emotive propulsion in another classic MESH anthem, as does ‘Kill Us With Silence’ which does electro rock far better than DEPECHE MODE have done in the last 20 years… there, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has said it AGAIN!

With stabbing synths and a rumbling triplet, the cut and thrust metaphors of ‘Exile’ could be seen on personal or political levels, but if taken as the latter, there are questions on the rise of far right extremism as the turmoil is observed in isolation. Following that rousing highlight, there is another as MESH get into an 808 STATE on the rousing ‘Everything As It Should Be’ with a simple but effective synth solo to boot in “the path of least resistance”.

The more sparsely orchestrated ‘Hey Stranger’ is offset by wonderfully bubbling arpeggios for one of those sad MESH ballads while with an acoustic strum amongst the sequences and string machines, ‘Not Everyone Is Lonely’ heads towards the home straight with the message to “don’t get left behind”. The closing mandate is to ‘Be Kind’ and “enjoy their success when you are not at your best”; this is Hockings’ clarion call to his ‘Friends Like These’ to avoid “the judgement of crowds”.

Every type of MESH track is gathered on ‘The Truth Doesn’t Matter’; there’s the fast ones, the anthemic stompers, the emotive slowies and the instrumental interludes ranging from the dramatic cinematics of ‘Polygraph’, the rhythmic computer speech-laden ‘1031030’ and the brooding spy drama of ‘Cipher’ which could be mistaken for present-day Gary Numan. There is a lot of MESH to take in on this new body of work, but fans will be extremely happy with what is on offer with the double opus that is ‘The Truth Doesn’t Matter’.

‘The Truth Doesn’t Matter’ is released by Dependent Records on 27th March 2026, formats include limited edition boxset signed by MESH, hardcover 2CD artbook including exclusive 9 track bonus CD The Full Truth, gatefold black vinyl double LP and standard CD – pre-order from https://spkr.store/collections/mesh

MESH 2026 live dates include:

Oberhausen Kulttempel (2nd April), Berlin Huxleys (3rd April), Hamburg Docks (4th April), Leipzig Felsenkeller (5th April), Prague Lucerna Music Bar (6th April), Munich Backstage (7th April), Frankfurt Batschkapp (9th April), Cologne Carlswerk Victoria (10th April), Hannover Pavillon (11th April), Bristol Trinity (1st May), London 229 (2nd May), Sheffield Corporation (3rd May), Malmö Plan B (14th May), Gothenburg Musikens Hus (15th May), Copenhagen Viften (16th May), Taunton Electric Summer (30th August with Howard Jones), Liberec Dům Kultury (11th November)

https://www.mesh.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/meshtheband

https://www.instagram.com/mesh.co.uk/

https://www.threads.com/@mesh.co.uk

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd March 2026

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