Category: Reviews (Page 2 of 207)

PATRICIA WOLF Yarrow

4 June 2026 /

In the tradition of Mort Garson’s ‘Mother Earth’s Plantasia’ from 1976 and with not entirely dissimilar artwork, ‘Yarrow’ is the new album by Portland-based ambient artist Patricia Wolf.

The ninth edition of the Music To Watch Seeds Grow By cassette series, the label is “Dedicated to intertwining the serene beauty of music with the nurturing process of planting seeds when the first new signs of life emerge in the growing season.”

‘Yarrow’ is an aural bouquet inspired by the flowering plant which flourishes in North America and Eurasia. With guidance from a number of scientific academics, Patricia Wolf musically reflects on the life cycle of plants and their dynamic ecological relationships.

Created in response to her artist residency at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado as part of the Art-Science Exchange Project in summer 2024, each track looks at a different part of a plant’s life, touching on the conditions that plants need to grow, the quiet life of roots, how flowers attract pollinators and the strength of seeds.

‘Abiotic Factors’ opens with its expansive soundscape sweeping into oblivion and enabling life in all forms to be able to persevere unhindered. ‘Sessile Existence’ provides gentle pulses that soothe but ‘Inflorescence’ is more ominous by scale rather than threat. The scientific name for the floral display, the music slowly builds layers as subtle shifted vocal-derived textures provide the focus amongst the deeper range of cascading chimes.

The mindful floating moods of ‘Genus Bombus’ provide respite before ‘Seed Dispersal’ punctuates the mood, bringing in a drum machine and keyed melodics that make the overall effect almost like a conventional synthpop instrumental. As the title suggests, ‘Adapted for Extreme Conditions’ is more chilling as whispers glitch into the more eerie atmospherics. But to close, the BOARDS OF CANADA influenced ‘Ecosystem Meditation’ drips in fresh rainfall and birdsong across 22 minutes with a hushed spoken word accompaniment by Dr Paul CaraDonna 7 minutes in that invites listeners to tune into the sounds and activities of the ecosystem.

This is yet another fabulous nature-inspired work by Patricia Wolf who says of ‘Yarrow’: “With this music, I hope to inspire others to slow down, appreciate plants and admire their remarkable fortitude and resilience. With such appreciation, I hope this further inspires us to protect and conserve these photosynthesizing wonders and their ecosystems for as long as the earth will hold them.”

This combination of synthesizers with field recordings manages to highlight the importance of conservation in the overall airy qualities and continues the fine tradition of her previous albums ‘Hrafnamynd’, ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ and ‘See-Through’.

‘Yarrow’ is released as a cassette with a packet of Yarrow seeds and digitally by Music To Watch Seeds Grow By’, available from https://patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/album/music-to-watch-seeds-grow-by-009-patricia-wolf-yarrow

Patricia Wolf 2026 live dates include:

London Stoke Newington Old Church (6th June), Amsterdam Amstelkerk (11th June) Barcelona Casa Montjuïc (12 June), Hamburg Einraum (13th June) – tickets available via https://linktr.ee/patriciawolfmusic

https://www.facebook.com/patriciawolfmusic

https://www.instagram.com/patriciawolf_music/

https://linktr.ee/patriciawolfmusic

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th June 2025

DOUBLESPEAK Doublespeak

29 May 2026 /

First there was ELECTRONIC with the nucleus of Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr plus occasional guests Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe and Karl Bartos, but there is a new supergroup in town and they are called DOUBLESPEAK.

Their self-titled album began in 2017 as a collaboration with BLANCMANGE’s Neil Arthur and Vince Clarke of ERASURE; the pair had known each other for many years since the latter’s DEPECHE MODE days and it was while holidaying together in Tenerife that they each came up with the idea of covering ABBA while listening to a cassette of their compilation ‘The Singles: The First Ten Years’. There was also an aborted joint YAZOO and BLANCMANGE recording of ‘It Takes Two’, a song made famous by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, as well as a version of ‘Who Needs Love Like That’ intended for THE ASSEMBLY on which Arthur provided vocals.

So Arthur and Clarke joined forces to put a unique spin on songs from the past with the oldest coming from 1967. The third man brought in to get DOUBLESPEAK over the line is synth-auteur Ben ‘Benge’ Edwards who had worked with Arthur on BLANCMANGE and FADER albums as well as collaborating with John Foxx, John Grant and Stephen Mallinder of CABARET VOLTAIRE.

With songs from post-punk, country, easy listening, mainstream pop and DIY synth, DOUBLESPEAK reimagine the familiar and reinvigorate the little-known or forgotten for an electronic pop audience. It was Arthur who chose and dissected the majority of the songs but with those that were previously unknown to Clarke or Benge, the pair treated them as thought they were new compositions and avoided referring back to the originals.

Opener ‘Back To Nature’ is a fine tribute to Fad Gadget but with a tougher menace although the original was electronic, this is perhaps the least essential of the set. ‘Day Breaks, Night Heals’ by Thomas Leer and Robert Rental which was another cult favourite from that same trailblazing British DIY synth era of 1979 fairs better attached to a more futuristic dance beat. These are 2 songs which may not necessarily be known among BLANCMANGE and ERASURE fans, so if their inclusion on this DOUBLESPEAK album provokes curiosity and further investigation, that is a positive.

However ‘Rock On’ gets a fabulous new vision, the David Essex international smash has its original dub-ish bass recast as a bent icy squelch while Neil Arthur takes the vocal down to something more deadbeat sinister. From 1980, the rhythmic backdrop of THE SOUND’s ‘I Can’t Escape Myself’ goes metal on metal as the scratchy guitar-driven original now cuts synthetically while the angsty spirit gets a baritone twist… this is what doing electronic covers is all about!

ABBA’s stark take about political dissidents awaiting arrest ‘The Visitors’ was suggested by Clarke. In 1981 just across the Baltic sea from Sweden were Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which were then part of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc dissidents would plan their escape to the then-neutral country; DOUBLESPEAK do the song justice to the original by retaining the Cold War tension of its dark lyric whilst eschewing the original synth melody.

Having been demoed by BLANCMANGE and released as a bonus track for the 2018 boxed set ‘The Blanc Tapes’, Neil Arthur gets a proper go at ‘Gentle On My Mind’; a country song written by John Hartford and recorded by Dean Martin, Glen Campbell, Val Doonican and ‘Switched On Nashville’ exponent Gil Trythall, our hero gets into his crooner sweater and rocking chair. With Clarke providing a very simple and slower synth riff as its centre, as the cross melodies sweep in, the end result is otherworldly.

Fronted by Alison Statton, Welsh independent trio YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS were music press darlings back in the day with their only album ‘Colossal Youth’ released on Rough Trade; the originally plaintive ‘Brand New Life’ gets a gentle minimal rearrangement. Already quite electronic, THE MAGNETIC FIELDS ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ from 1995 actually sounded like BLANCMANGE in its original form but DOUBLESPEAK give it a bounce, a bleep and a buzz for something quite delightful in that classic Vince Clarke vein for the best track on the album.

A MOR standard that has also been covered by Midge Ure, THE CARPENTERS’ ‘Goodbye To Love’ is an interesting choice with the lush backdrop forsaken for an avant pop tapestry. Credit where credit is due for uncovering it to the extent that it becomes almost unrecognisable with Arthur’s electronically treated voice adding another twist.

From more comparatively recently, it’s not difficult to imagine experimental singer-songwriters Ed Dowie’s ‘Richard!’ being released on Factory Records back in the day. So with the early comparison often made with Neil Arthur’s vocals to Ian Curtis, this is apt and comes through the dark with a purposely off-key vocal that is saved by the bells and the crisp synth lines.

A fitting thematic closer, ‘End Credits’ by LAPTOP from 2001 is given a slightly pacier tempo; written by New York-based indie electronic composer Jesse Hartman, the lyrics refer to being dumped via an answerphone message so make perfect foil for Neil Arthur’s cynical delivery. Swathed in icy string machine, it suits him so much that it could easily be mistaken for a post-2011 BLANCMANGE song.

‘Doublespeak’ is a strangely connected record despite being largely made remotely over a long period of time by three people who were never in the same room with Clarke and Benge having never met in person. Most of the choices of song are interesting if nothing else and the end result is an enjoyable listen for anyone who likes synths and covers.

‘Doublespeak’ is released by London Records, available as a vinyl LP, CD and download

https://www.facebook.com/doublespeaktheband

https://www.instagram.com/doublespeak_uk/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
29th May 2026

HUE & CRY Everybody

26 May 2026 /

HUE & CRY have surprised all by expanding their sonic palette and going “electro” on their new album ‘Everybody’.

While best known for their sophistipop hits ‘Labour Of Love’ and ‘Looking For Linda’, Pat and Greg Kane have not stood still and embraced the sound of DeepMind arpeggiators, hydrasynths, wavetables and classic drum machines for a rawer aesthetic and an unexpected weirdness.

Much of the writing took place pre-Covid between 2018 and 2020, and with the emotional turbulence he was going through, Pat suggested making an electronic record to Greg, initially referencing David Bowie’s ‘Low’. As well as influences from the earlier phases of SIMPLE MINDS and THE HUMAN LEAGUE, the album also features excursions into Latin House and Future Disco.

Acting as the enticing first single and album opener, ‘Stronger’ is mighty with its message of resilience and hope, all swathed in complex bass sequences, atonal arpeggios and sweeping resonances to “let the softest kind of power make me stronger”. But there’s an even bigger surprise is the frantic Germanic 194 BPM thrust of ‘Everybody Deserves To Be Loved’, the result of experiments with Moogs of the DFAM and Subsequent 37 variety.

The housey ‘Make My Day’ and ‘And Then You Bloom’ both allow Pat to play with his more soulful sensibilities and Greg in his familiar jazzier place, but on the other side of the coin, the synth bassline of ‘In Our Ruins’ recalls DALEK I LOVE YOU’s ‘Two Chameleons’ which OMD used to cover live in their earlier days; it’s a nod to old synth TV theme tunes and the quirkiness exudes its own charm.

‘Force Majeure’ pushes a beat and a pulse with an uplifting musical backdrop despite having something darker going on lyrically while there’s a playful PET SHOP BOYS vibe to ‘Kinda Blue, Kinda Love’. Closing the album, ‘Broken Gods’ utilises more avant sonics in its cutting detuned synth to provide yet another surprise to those who have never listened to a HUE & CRY album before.

Like their contemporaries JOHNNY HATES JAZZ, BLACK and PREFAB SPROUT who applied modern music technology to each of their brands of sophistipop, HUE & CRY’s transition into “electro” is not perhaps not as surprising as first perceived. With its future-facing lyrical subjects that confront powerlessness, polarisation, climate change, authoritarianism and technological overreach, jagged synthesizers and drum machines are the ideal vehicle for these messages where in the world of HUE & CRY, ‘Everybody’ matters…

‘Everybody’ is released on 29th May 2026 as a limited-edition ultimate collector’s box set, CD, vinyl LP and digital download

HUE & CRY 2026 live dates include:
Manchester Bridgewater Hall (9th October)*, London, IndigO2 (10 October)*, Cambridge Corn Exchange (11th October)*, Birmingham Symphony Hall (16th October)*, Gateshead ICM Glasshouse Sage 1 (17th October) **, Inverness, Eden Court (22nd October)**, Aberdeen Music Hall (23 October)**, Edinburgh, Usher Hall (24 October)**, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (30th October)***, Perth Concert Hall (31 October)***

* Co-headline with ROACHFORD
** Special guest: ROACHFORD
*** Special guests: JOHNNY HATES JAZZ

https://hueandcry.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/hueandcry

https://www.instagram.com/hueandcryofficial

https://www.patreon.com/hueandcry

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th May 2026

MICHAEL OAKLEY Prologue

18 May 2026 /

Michael Oakley has declared his third album ‘Prologue’ as a new beginning.

The Toronto-based synthwave artist released his last album ‘Odyssey’ in 2021 and while there were those tropical backdrops on songs like ‘Babylon’ and ‘Real Life’ alongside the textural strummed acoustics of the Steve Winwood-influenced ‘Wake Up’, what appeared to be missing was the “synth” in his “wave”.

In an aid to remedy that, Michael Oakley has declared ‘Prologue’ as being his most ambitious album yet. The title is deliberate, it isn’t a sequel or a continuation — it’s a declaration that something new is starting.

Continuing to work throughout the record with regular writing collaborator Ollie Wride, despite a “Welcome to The Pleasure Dome”, ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland’ is not a FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD cover but wears its ‘Rebel Yell’ influences on its sleeve in a song that easily could have being playing with the boys in ‘Top Gun’.

Co-written and co-produced with James Meays of MISSING WORDS who also contributes guitar, the vibrant Trans-Atlantic pop of ‘Memory Of You’ is signature Michael Oakley, as is ‘Falling Skyward’ with both songs showcasing maximised production standards, something that not always the case with acts using today’s tech. And with the superb ‘School’, Oakley somehow manages to successfully cross Haddaway and Robbie Williams with NEW ORDER and PET SHOP BOYS! It’s as if Peter Hook wandered into the recording of ‘What Is Love?’ while there are also backing vocals from popwave starlet Dana Jean Phoenix.

‘The Glory Years’ is more balladic and wouldn’t sound out of place on a Brat Pack Movie soundtrack but ‘World Of Promises’ has a darker percussive bite with a Middle Eastern promise that is running up that hill and adds another string to Oakley’s sonic bow. Meanwhile ‘Shot To The Heart’ targets the Schaffel with a “bang-bang-bang” in obeying the “laws of attraction”.

Holly Dodson of PARALLELS guests with her best Belinda Carlisle impression on the lively ‘Hurts Like Heaven’ and here the rhythms rumble and the orchestras stab for some supreme Europop to joyously party like it is 1993. Nothing to do with GUNS ‘N’ ROSES, the ethereal closer ‘Use Your Illusion’ actually sounds more like COCTEAU TWINS although Oakley stops short of attempting Elizabeth Fraser’s abstract glossolalia.

Michael Oakley’s own summary for ‘Prologue’ is to “Imagine what DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Violator’ album would have sounded like if it was produced by Trevor Horn”; now while that is not quite how the album actually sounds, the sense of ambition and willingness to develop is here.

Applying the euphoric sounds of European dance music and mixing it with the cinematic Americanised architecture of synthwave and his own assured singer-songwriter sensibilities, ‘Prologue’ is undoubtedly the best Michael Oakley album to date.

Software used: Ableton Live 12, Propellerhead Reason 13

Synths used: Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3, Arturia V Collection, Reveal Sound Spire, Lennar Digital Sylenth1, Korg M1, X5DR, Nexus 5, VPS Avenger 2, Roland JD800, JV2080, JX08, UVI Emulation II+, Cherry Audio Mercury 8, Rob Papen Blue 3, Baby Audio BA-1, Tal-U-No-LX, Serum 2, Synapse Audio The Legend

Effects and processing used: Wave Alchemy Glow, Tapewave, Native Instruments Raum, Replika XT, Valhalla Vintage, Shimmer & Room, Aberrant Audio Sketch Cassette 2, Baby Audio Transit, Smooth Operator & Super VHS, Soundtoys 5, Vertigo VSM3, Fabfilter Pro Q4, Saturn 2, Tal Chorus, Nicky Romero Kickstart 2, Wavesfactory Cassette, Cytomic The Glue, Audiothing Speakers

‘Prologue’ is released by NewRetroWave on 29th May 2026 in a variety of vinyl LP, minidisc, cassette and CD formats as well as digital, available from https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/

Pre-save at https://michaeloakley.lnk.to/Prologue

https://www.michael-oakley.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MichaelOakleyOfficial

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

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

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Guthrie Melchaide
18th May 2026

MIDGE URE A Man Of Two Worlds

8 May 2026 /

Side by side, Midge Ure is like a man from two worlds…

His first album of new material in 12 years, Midge Ure presents ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ a double opus partly inspired by Ure’s own lockdown exploration of instrumental music when he was presenting ‘The Space’ on Scala Radio.

Over the decades, Ure has shown his prowess with instrumentals like ‘Astradyne’ and ‘Monument’ with ULTRAVOX, ‘The Dancer’ with VISAGE and solo with the B-sides ‘Mood Music’ and ‘Piano’, along with album tracks such as ‘Edo’, ‘Antilles’, ‘Monster’, ‘Wire & Wood’ and ‘Bridges’. One of his most widely heard instrumentals was ‘Rivets’, his collaboration with the late Chris Cross for a Levi’s TV and cinema commercial in 1983.

Ure’s first solo album ‘The Gift’ had actually originally been pitched as a split album of songs on one side and instrumentals on the other, like David Bowie’s ‘Low’. But the realisation turned out slightly differently. However, ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ sees that concept coming to fruition comprising of two distinct halves; ‘World One: Music’ features eight instrumentals while ‘World Two: Songs’ contains eight new vocal tracks.

Despite the acoustic six string intro on ‘A Different View’, melancholic piano-based instrumentals with virtual string and vibe embellishments are what form this eight track suite. Composed with the keys triggered by a guitar synth, an instrumental that Ure first experimented with in 1984, these are slow brooding pieces that are not quite fully ambient or classical.

Photo by Toddevision

Haunted by the spectre of lockdown, ‘World One: Music’ is an elegiac soundtrack of remembrance. From the chamber recital of ‘The Space In-Between’ featuring Joseph O’Keefe of INDIA ELECTRIC CO on violin to the threadbare sparseness of ‘Blues & Greys’, while these works might not possess the echoing pastoral resonance of the late Harold Budd, Ure understands his sense of space and does not overload the arrangements to achieve the desired effect.

Using the melody of a lullaby that Ure used to sing to his children, the gently swung closer of ‘The Pictures You Carry With You’ gets closest to being lively. But that is not the point to this beautiful music, as exemplified by the haunting tones of ‘The Dimming Light’. While ‘World One: Music’ will not instantly be appreciated by everyone, this wordless wonder is a worthy string to the bow to the veteran Glaswegian.

Working again with Ty Unwin who produced and mixed ‘Orchestrated’, ‘World Two: Songs’ does what it says on the tin with compositions that came to Ure as the world came out of lockdown. “Where does hope go when it’s gone?” asks Ure but with a rousing chorus reminiscent of ‘You Move Me’, ‘Just Words’ reflects on the hurt and fears caused by the misguided in the loose talk of so-called opinion under the umbrella of free speech; the end result is epic. Swathed in synths and distinctly electronic in its percussive backbeat, the weary ‘World Away’ emulates the drama of Ure’s ULTRAVOX days and will delight those who have followed his career since joined Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross.

Frustration over “stupid noise from smart devices” colours ‘Shouting To The Moon’ as it provides an electrifying highlight with sweeping synth solos and layers of guitars. But ‘Caught In The Middle’, Ure reflects on how he has become “split and divided” as “I’m only human after all” over cinematic orchestrations. The bursts of simulated fretless bass on ‘Ordinary Man (Previous Moments)’ could be seen as a musical eulogy to past collaborator Mick Karn of JAPAN, but proceedings are stripped right down to the ivories on ‘Somewhere Out There’ where Ure asks the listener to “imagine yourself in a world where they care”.

A call to action, ‘The Man Who Stole Your Soul’ is embroiled in despair despite its seemingly anthemic electronic rock backbone and crunchy guitars reminiscent of ULTRAVOX. In a time when divisive elements like to ‘Fan The Flame’, Ure takes aim at the “cruel selfish game” as he despairs at the Trumps, Farages and Putins with their axis of hate in a world that could do better and was once full of hope.

It’s been 41 years since Live Aid, 33 years since The Berlin Wall came down and 14 years since the London Olympics so Midge Ure could be forgiven for wondering “what the hell happened?” and it’s a question we could all ask ourselves. ‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ is a 72-year-old elder statesman calling for a return to a more compassionate era of decency… now THAT is the country you want back and THIS is the accompaniment for it!

‘A Man Of Two Worlds’ is released as a double vinyl LP and double CD by Chrysalis Records

Midge Ure 2026 UK tour dates include:

Bath Forum (8th May), Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (9th May), Leicester De Montfort Hall (11th May), Birmingham Symphony Hall (12th May), Oxford New Theatre (14th May), Plymouth Pavilions (15th May), Sheffield City Hall (18th May), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (19th May), Aberdeen Music Hall (20th May), Glasgow SEC Armadillo (22nd May), Edinburgh Usher Hall (24th May), London Barbican Hall (25th May), Reading Hexagon (26th May), Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre (27th May), Bradford Live (29th May), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (30th May), Cambridge Corn Exchange (31st May), Southend Cliffs Pavillion (2nd June), Portsmouth Guildhall (3rd June), Milton Keynes Theatre (4th June), Gateshead Glasshouse (5th June)

http://www.midgeure.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/midge.ure

https://www.instagram.com/midge_ure/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th May 2026

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