Category: Reviews (Page 5 of 192)

OMD Bauhaus Staircase

28 October 2023 /

‘Bauhaus Staircase’ is the fourth album of original material from OMD since the original nucleus of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys reunited in 2007. It is also being mooted as possibly their final album.

Driven by “the creative power of total bloody boredom”, like many albums out at the moment, ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ was a consequence of the worldwide pandemic and lockdown. Pieced together remotely, Andy McCluskey worked from his home studio in Wirral while Paul Humphreys was in France also juggling becoming a father again. A thematic concept is the key to any good OMD LP and for ‘Bauhaus Staircase’, it is the fight against the rise of extreme right wing politics and the self-destructive age of Brexit.

However, when the first three tracks from ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ emerged, things did not look promising; the title track sounded mighty but was not much of a song with the topline seemingly inspired by ‘So You Wanna Be A Boxer’ from the film ‘Bugsy Malone’. Then kissing the strict machine, ‘Slow Train’ opted for a puzzling GOLDFRAPP pastiche that went on for far too long. However ‘Veruschka’, inspired by the German supermodel whose father Count Henrich von Lehndorff-Steinort attempted to assassinate Hitler, was a melancholic ballad that recalled PET SHOP BOYS indicating that all was not lost.

But appearing in the first half of ‘Bauhaus Staircase’, ‘Anthropocene’ and ‘Look At You Now’ are much more in keeping in what one would expect quality wise from OMD, the former being what KRAFTWERK would sound like if they did spacey trance while the latter is bursting with hooks and perhaps only missing a Paul Humphreys lead vocal. Released as a single in 2019 for the ‘Souvenir’ compilation and given a very subtle remix, ‘Don’t Go’ is a magnificent stand out with beautiful melodies telling the listener terrible things in that classic OMD vein.

‘GEM’ offers a Germanic rhythmic lollop while ‘Kleptocracy’ goes for the Motorik jugular with live bass guitar in an attack on destructive capitalism and fascist narcissists like Trump, Johnson, Farage and Bolsonaro, the message being that the citizens are innocent, other than voting for these obviously despicable characters in the first place… meanwhile there appears to be a recurring shouting sample from DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Boys Say Go!’

Photo by Ed Miles

As well as new compositions from the past few years, ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ has also given OMD an opportunity to finish off various works in the vaults and one of those is ‘Aphrodite’s Favourite Child’; from a 2011 demo provided by Greek duo FOTONOVELA who had been behind ‘Helen Of Troy’ on ‘English Electric’, McCluskey plays again with ancient Hellenic imagery for a song about personal relationships while Humphreys provides a great whirring solo. On the closing run, ‘Evolution Of Species’ is computer voice generated piece that wouldn’t have gone amiss on a Jean-Michel Jarre album and questions whether humankind has actually intellectually progressed.

‘Bauhaus Staircase’ is on a par with its predecessor ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’ but does not hit the consistent highs of ‘English Electric’, OMD’s best long player since the reunion and up there with the classic first four albums. With this album, OMD will play London’s O2 Arena for the very first time in March 2024 and it will be a prestigious moment for a band who have contributed some of the best music of Synth Britannia, yet have been largely overlooked in music history when compared to their contemporaries DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL and THE HUMAN LEAGUE.

‘Bauhaus Staircase’ is released by 100% Records in the multiple formats

OMD play London O2 Arena on Sunday 24 March 2024 with special guest Howard Jones, for other worldwide tour dates, visit http://www.omd.uk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/omdofficial/

https://twitter.com/OfficialOMD

https://www.instagram.com/omdhq/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
28 October 2023

HINAKO OMORI stillness, softness…

24 October 2023 /

Born in Yokohama, Japanese artist Hinako Omori has lived in London since she was 3 years old. Having started learning piano as a child, she later became entranced by electronic music via the sounds of THE KNIFE.

Having played keyboards and synths on records by Georgia, KT Tunstall, Kae Tempest and Graham Coxon, Hinako Omori released her first EP ‘Auraelia’ in 2019. Bringing in the Japanese concept of “shinrin-yoku” by blending woodland environmental sounds into her music, she came to the attention of Fabric-based independent label Houndstooth who released her acclaimed debut long player ‘A journey…’ in 2022.

Although gifted with an alluring falsetto, ‘A journey…’ was primarily instrumental with its concept aiming to provide healing qualities within its soothing analogue synthesizer textures. On Omori’s new self-produced album ‘stillness, softness…’, her vocals are central with some of them recorded at her grandmother’s house in Yokohama. As a consequence, many were whispered so as not to wake anyone up. A much more vulnerable work compared to its predecessor, among the lyrical themes covered dreams versus reality, solitude, self-reconnection and finding inner strength to take on the world.

As with ‘A journey…’, Omori’s Prophet ’08, Moog Voyager and UDO Audio Super 6 create the exquisitely sculpted backdrop to ‘stillness, softness…’ and it begins with musical conundrum of ‘both directions?’ where the scene is set with melodic synth phrases alternating with more ominous atmospheres. Segueing straight into ‘ember’, this pretty set piece is laced with virtuoso arpeggios and brilliantly airy vocals.

The sequence-laden ‘stalactites’ acts as a shiny ringing interlude into ‘cyanotype memories’ which is very much its polar opposite, providing a much more reflective mood in duet with her pitch shifted masculine alter ego. Creating an otherworldly palette of cyclic pulses, ‘in limbo’ hypnotises and then goes all cerebral, capturing the emotional rollercoaster into the ‘epigraph…’ where deep voices scarily enter the psyche.

Bringing in minimal beats alongside the drones, ‘foundation’ is more resigned in its delivery while the angelic ‘in full bloom’ could be part of a film soundtrack, as a reminder to love and heal. But the spoken word art piece of ‘a structure’ alters the mood again; our heroine declares “you’re safe now” as arpeggios penetrate the cortex.

A blippy instrumental, ‘astral’ effectively acts as a prelude to ‘an ode to your heart’ where the pace drifts into ambient mode although the electric piano motifs providing instant access. Sweeping into the eerie ‘epilogue…’, Omori sings from the heart with some lovely highs and as it seamlessly drifts into ‘stillness, softness’ almost as one, this is close to acapella over a gentle orchestrated synth backdrop to close. In a state of peace, the serene voice quietly disappears into a surreal cocoon.

With lush synths and beautiful vocals, this is an elegant yet immediate body of music sitting in electronic, ambient and classical genres. ‘stillness, softness…’ does what it says on the tin and does it rather well.

‘stillness, softness…’ is released by Houndstooth on 27 October 2023 as a clear or black vinyl LP, CD and download, pre-order from https://hth.lnk.to/stillness-softness

The Bandcamp listening party for ‘stillness, softness…’ takes place on Wednesday 25 October 2023 at 1900UK time via https://hinakoomori.bandcamp.com/merch/stillness-softness-listening-party

Hinako Omori plays London’s ICA on 2 December 2023

http://www.hinakoomori.com

https://www.facebook.com/hinakoomori

https://twitter.com/hinakoomori

https://www.instagram.com/hinakoomori

https://soundcloud.com/hinakoomori

https://hinakoomori.bandcamp.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Luca Bailey
24 October 2023

SOFTWAVE things we’ve done

10 October 2023 /

Since the release of their debut album ‘Game On’ in 2019, a lot has happened to the Danish synthpop couple SOFTWAVE.

Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen opened for OMD on their 2020 Scandinavian dates while they have crafted remixes for Andy Bell of ERASURE and one-time PET SHOP BOYS protégé David Cicero.

Following the release of the ‘Aspire’ EP in 2022, its 5 tracks are carried over to ‘things we’ve done’, the follow-up long player to ‘Game On’. In amongst the positive pop sound are lyrics highlighting the challenges of living in a modern world full of dualities. A number of these songs document the couple’s own existential crisis during the worldwide lockdown while seeking to motivate others to achieve new goals.

Recalling a phrase that the Northern English philosopher Rick Astley once sang, ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’ is a song of friendship and solidarity that makes optimistic opener as “that’s what friends are for”. But ‘Taking Life For Granted’ goes all ABBA-esque with someone “lacking gratitude” under attack, although the rousing chorus and a particularly joyous instrumental break provides the infinite hope.

More rugged, ‘Supernova’ is in the classic SOFTWAVE vein, with uplifting verses and choruses over a backing track rich in counter melodies akin to ‘Something Is Missing’ from ‘Game On’; dedicated to Andy Bell himself as a one of a kind worth looking up to, ‘Supernova’ ably captures the bubbly poise of ERASURE. There’s a change of pace with the more sedate ballad ‘I’ll Be Your Safe’ but ‘Wake Up’ plays with rhythm variation to reinforce its tension and hits highs, poignantly declaring “we’ve run out of fuel”.

The bouncy ‘Thank You For Breaking My Heart’ reflects on the positives coming at the end of a toxic relationship, with Christensen declaring “Without you there’s no dark” as light shines again with relief through Olsen’s Vince Clarke-inspired interventions. ‘Through Open Eyes’ takes a darker route for SOFTWAVE, but is still rich in brighter synth motifs.

Fighting back, ‘Don’t Bully Me Again’ gets its message across in a midtempo number seeking détente while the lively yet atmospheric ‘The Deepest Love’ provides a yearning ERASURE-ish anthem with lovely shades of Clarke and Bell’s ‘I Bet You’re Mad at Me’. Ending with maturer austere than previous SOFTWAVE songs, ‘This World’ provides depth in a call to action to encourage people not be afraid of the dark and to stick together in the face of adversity.

For SOFTWAVE, these are the “things we’ve done”, their positive demeanour and pursuit of setting examples as good human beings won’t be for everybody. But with their synthpoptastic drive, there is optimism and a “feel good” factor in their female-fronted ERASURE template as escape from a dour world full of warmongers, conspiracy theorists, narcissists and heartless decision makers.

‘Things We’ve Done’ is released to digital platforms on 13 October 2023, pre-save at https://softwave.lnk.to/softwave

The CD is released on 20 October 2023 with the vinyl LP sometime in 2024, available from https://softwave.bandcamp.com/

SOFTWAVE play the *Depeche Mode & More* Party at the Last Orders Pub in Neubrandenburg, Germany on 21 October 2023

The duo also host their own Halloween Party at Operaen Christiania in København, Denmark with special guests OHNOTHING on 28 October 2023 – tickets available from https://billetto.dk/e/softwave-live-pa-christiania-halloween-party-billetter-865714

SOFTWAVE will perform at ElectriXmas 2023 in Malmö at Inkonst, Sweden on 9 December 2023 alongside SIERRA – tickets available from https://electrixmas.org/tickets/

http://www.softwavemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SoftWaveMusic/

https://twitter.com/SoftWaveMusic

https://www.instagram.com/softwave_music/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Krestine Havemann
10 October 2023

HOWARD JONES Celebrate It Together

3 October 2023 /

Celebrating the 40 years since ‘New Song’ was released as his debut single, High Wycombe’s most famous son releases a career spanning boxed set ‘Celebrate It Together’ to gather “The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023”.

Released on Cherry Red Records, ‘Celebrate It Together’ has been personally curated by Howard Jones into four categories: “Popular Hits”, “Electro”, “Chill” and “Curiosities”; it’s a mix and match of hits, remixes, album tracks, live versions and alternative recordings but with running order very much in mind. The set also comes with a fully illustrated booklet featuring a new interview with Howard Jones reflecting on his four decade career.

The “Popular Hits” are all present and correct, with reminders that catchy numbers such as ‘New Song’, ‘What Is Love?’, ‘Pearl In The Shell’, ‘Like To Get To Know You Well’ and ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ were many a young music fans entry point into the world of synthpop.

While ‘Look Mama’ is an example that not everything he did was of an equal standard, ‘Always Asking Questions’ which was initially the new track inclusion on ‘The 12” Album’ EP in late 1984 is an enjoyable curio from the ‘Human’s Lib’ era. Meanwhile from 1989’s ‘Cross That Line’, the reggae-inflected ‘Everlasting Love’ deserved a higher UK chart placing than No62.

From his most recent long player ‘Dialogue’, ‘Celebrate It Together’ is bouncy and immediate but 2005’s ‘Just Look At You Now’ with its ‘New Song’ lyrical references is superb and shows that Howard Jones’ songwriting abilities did not diminish over the years.

‘No One Is To Blame’ and ‘Hide & Seek’ are naturally popped onto the “Chill” volume and are among Howard Jones’ best ballads, but 2022’s ‘Formed By The Stars’ gives them a run for their money with its absorbing cacophony of electronics. The reflective ‘Will You Still Be There?’ from 1986’s Arif Mardin produced ‘One To One’ album is a welcome addition as an often overlooked item in the HoJo canon while ‘Sleep My Angel’ and ‘Someone You Need’ represent the sensitive piano side.

The “Electro” collection provides an opportunity for those who loved ‘Human’s Lib’ and ‘Dream Into Action’ but perhaps left the fan fold when Howard Jones began tailoring his sound for Trans-Atlantic audiences, to catch up with his recent electronic work such as ‘The One To Love You’, one of three collaborations from 2019’s ‘Transform’ with noted veteran dance producer BT.

The superb 2005 club-flavoured ‘Revolution Of The Heart’ from the album of the same name is undoubtedly a highlight while another is ‘Eagle Will Fly Again’ from ‘Transform’. ‘The Human Touch’ from 2015’s tech-themed ‘Engage’ captures a stomping synthetic spike that perhaps wasn’t so apparent in Howard Jones’ imperial phase while 2022’s ‘Who You Really Want To Be’ is similarly energetic.

Among the “Curiosities”, many will delight in the previously unreleased medley collage ‘Overture 2’, the self-explanatory ‘Havana Version’ of ‘Collective Heartbeat’ and the stark piano cover of David Bowie’s haunting epitaph ‘Lazarus’ recorded live at Siyan. Meanwhile 1997’s ‘Angels & Lovers’ from the Japanese only release of the same name is a good song that is deservedly rescued and if there is the desire to hear Howard Jones pay homage to STEELY DAN, that comes with a fairly identikit but enjoyable cover of Donald Fagen’s ‘IGY (International Geophysical Year)’.

With his continued optimistic worldview, Howard Jones remains a distinctive and recognisable artist with a wide range of styles and these are all represented on ‘Celebrate It Together’. If you have enjoyed any of his work over the past 40 years, there is something for you here. And even if you don’t like everything compiled in this set, what cannot be denied is the quality of this anthology.

In the booklet message to his fans, Howard Jones says: “I hope you enjoy this journey through the different phases of my career. Thanks for sticking with me throughout them and for being so open-minded and enthusiastic. There’s much more to come. I’m nowhere close to being done yet!”

‘Celebrate It Together’ is released as 4CD boxed set by Cherry Red Record on 6 October 2023, abridged double vinyl LP and double CD variants are also available, pre-order via https://www.cherryred.co.uk/artist/howard-jones/

Howard Jones 40th Anniversary 2023 UK tour with special guests BLANCMANGE includes:

Leicester De Montfort Hall (6 October), Birmingham Symphony Hall (7 October), Cambridge Corn Exchange (9 October), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (10 October), York Barbican Centre (11 October), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (13 October), Newcastle City Hall (14 October), Cardiff St David’s Hall (16 October), London Palladium (17 October), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (18 October)

http://www.howardjones.com/

https://www.facebook.com/howardjones

https://twitter.com/howardjones

https://www.instagram.com/thehoward_jones/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3 October 2023

DUCKS! Yes You Can’t

29 September 2023 /

CONFIDENCE MAN have led the way with portable Australian party duos but following close behind as Berlin-based DUCKS!

With three albums ‘Ding Ding Ding’, ‘Nak Nak’ and ‘Things That Were Lost’ to their name, Lani Bagley and Craig Schuftan develop their “Music for dreaming and dancing” ethos further on ‘Yes You Can’t’. Produced from 4 years of late-night jams and studio explorations, the sound is swathed in the hedonistic freedom of the one-time Mauerstadt’s diverse art and club scene. The duo themselves describe the album as about “who we are and who we aren’t”.

With glitches, mantric phrases and self-samples, ‘A Proposition’ makes an elegant opener while the reggae flavour of ‘Shiver’ provides an interesting twist to the sax and synth backdrop. Featuring the Gallic allure of Canadian DJ Christa Belle, ‘Blame’ is shaped by a stuttering tribal snap and segues straight into the dreamglitch of ‘Mesmerised’.

Photo by Harriet Richardson

Things then take a dancey turn with ‘Swept Away’, a sunny club tune with playful pitch-shifted voices to compliment the main vocal that runs seamlessly into ‘The Dance Mania’ (again with Christa Belle) to continue the fun before segueing into the instrumental interlude ‘Tricky’. While still danceable, the artier ‘Hey You’ provides a slight breakbeat variation but ‘Unlonely’ gets deeper, as does the moody ‘Step Aside’.

‘What What’ featuring Linda Colour J will polarise in its garage template and vocal manipulations but to close, ‘Simply Indestructible’ springs a surprise with a drum machine driven indie guitar romp about an “apocalyptic masochist” with brass dressing thrown in.

Despite the album’s wider reaching topics covering self-image, playacting, denial, social anxiety, DUCKS! take the listener on an escapist neo-psychedelic journey out of the house and onto the dancefloor with a playful cerebral artiness. While not to everyone’s taste ‘Yes You Can’t’ is a fun avant dance collection that will be savoured by those who get it.

‘Yes You Can’t’ is released by Tiny Lights, available on the usual online platforms including
https://ducksmakemusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ducksmakingmusic/

https://twitter.com/Ducksmakemusic

https://www.instagram.com/ducksmakemusic/

https://soundcloud.com/ducksmakemusic

https://linktr.ee/ducksmakemusic

Text by Chi Ming Lai
29 September 2023

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