Category: Reviews (Page 62 of 200)

FROM BRUSSELS WITH LOVE

20 October 2020 /

Originally released on 20th November 1980, the deluxe cassette compilation ‘From Brussels With Love’ celebrates its 40th Anniversary.

Writing for NME, Paul Morley said at the time: “The arrival of this thin tape from Belgium provides a reminder – without really trying, without being obvious – that pop is the modern poetry, is the sharpest, shiniest collection of experiences, is always something new”.

It was the first proper music release on Les Disques du Crépuscule, a boutique Belgian label that emerged from Factory Benelux.

FBN was the European Low Countries wing of the iconic Manchester label that at the time was the home to JOY DIVISION, A CERTAIN RATIO, THE DURUTTI COLUMN and SECTION 25. It had primarily been set-up as an outlet for spare tracks by Factory Records acts and one of its later notable releases in Autumn 1981 was the 12 inch remix of NEW ORDER’s ‘Everything’s Gone Green’ which featured the non-album songs ‘Mesh’ and ‘Cries & Whispers’ on the B-side.

But from its inception with direction from head office, the Obscure Records influenced Les Disques du Crépuscule was to be a separate entity despite being run by the same Factory Benelux founding team of Michel Duval and Annik Honoré; the pair had established the Plan K venue in Brussels which hosted two JOY DIVISION concerts to establish the Manchester link.

‘From Brussels With Love’ was notable for featuring the first released recording by the three surviving members of JOY DIVISION following the sad passing of Ian Curtis before they adopted the name NEW ORDER; ‘Haystack’ was a collaboration with Leicester-born singer-songwriter Kevin Hewick. Conceived as a concert journal and curated by Duval, Honoré and radio show host / composer Wim Mertens, as well as a range of international avant-garde and new wave music,  it contained modern classical work from Gavin Bryars and a then-unknown Michael Nyman.

There were also spoken segments including a poetry reading from THE SKIDS’ Ricard Jobson plus interviews with Brian Eno and Jeanne Moreau; the latter featured a beautiful piano background by Claude Coppens to accompany the words of the notable French actress, thus producing an art piece in its own right.

‘From Brussels With Love’ was diverse, varying from exquisite ivory pieces like ‘Children On The Hill’ by Harold Budd to ‘The Music Room’, a Frippish guitar noise experiment from JOY DIVISION producer Martin Hannett accompanied by a drum machine.

But of interest to electronic music enthusiasts were three exclusive jingles by John Foxx and an early rhythm machine backed take on ‘Airwaves’ by Thomas Dolby. Meanwhile from Europe, there was the doomy synth laden post punk on ‘Cat’ by THE NAMES and the quirky electronic Neue Deutsche Welle of DER PLAN’s ‘Mein Freunde’.

To celebrate its 40th Anniversary, ‘From Brussels With Love’ has been reissued as a lavish 10” x 10” 60 page hardback earbook with rare images, posters, sleeve designs and memorabilia, plus a detailed history of the Crépuscule label between 1979 and 1984. The audio features not only the 21 tracks from on the original cassette in 1980 on one CD, but a bonus collection of 18 related tracks from the period on a second CD including those contributions unable to be included due to space considerations.

For John Foxx completists, this set will be essential as it includes two more jingles from the former ULTRAVOX front man, as well as his superb garage robo-funk instrumental ‘Mr No’.

Among the other musical highlights are Bill Nelson’s ‘Dada Guitare’, a Far Eastern flavoured instrumental of glorious E-bow and THE DURUTTI COLUMN’s beautiful ‘For Belgian Friends’, composed by Vini Reilly in honour of Michel Duval and Annik Honoré. Produced by Martin Hannett, his technologically processed techniques made Reilly’s dominant piano sound like textured synthetic strings, complimenting his sparing melodic guitar and the crisp percussion of Donald Johnson.

Also produced by Martin Hannett and another welcome inclusion in the ‘From Brussels With Love’ appendix is THE NAMES ‘Nightshift’ with its chilling synth embellishing the archetypical arty post-punk miserablism of the period. Another Belgian band POLYPHONIC SIZE make an appearance with ‘Nagasaki Mon Amour’, an intriguing minimal tribute to ULTRAVOX with its detached Gallic delivery over buzzing synths and icy string machines produced by Jean-Jacques Burnel of THE STRANGLERS.

Of interest to PROPAGANDA fans will be JOSEF K’s frenetically paced ‘Sorry For Laughing’ which was covered on ‘A Secret Wish’; their front man Paul Haig went on release a number of EPs and albums via Les Disques du Crépuscule including the acclaimed ‘Rhythm Of Life’ and ‘The Warp Of Pure Fun’.

Over four decades on, the catalogue of Les Disques du Crépuscule included artists like Anna Domino, Isabelle Antena, Alan Rankine, Winston Tong, Blaine L Reininger, John Cale, Helen Marnie and Zeus B Held as well as bands such as TUEXDOMOON, MARINE, CABARET VOLTAIRE, MIKADO, THE PALE FOUNTAINS, ULTRAMARINE, MARSHEAUX and LES PANTIES.

Sophisticated and exhibiting a tasteful visual aesthetic, Les Disques du Crépuscule established itself as a cosmopolitan and culturally significant artistic outlet with a distinct identity that outlasted its parent company Factory Records. ‘From Brussels With Love’ was the start of a story that continues today.

In memory of Annik Honoré 1957 – 2014

‘From Brussels With Love’ is released on 6th November 2020 by Les Disques du Crépuscule as a deluxe 40th Anniversary 10” x 10” 60 page hardback earbook with 2CDs, available direct from https://www.lesdisquesducrepuscule.com/from_brussels_with_love_twi007.html

It is also reissued as a limited edition facsimile cassette package in PVC wallet and gatefold double LP set featuring first disc in black vinyl and the second in white; both come with a download key

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
20th October 2020

CODE Ghost Ship

16 October 2020 /

Seen as something of a cult classic, ‘The Architect’ by Kent based electronic quartet CODE came out in 1995 on Third Mind just as the label folded.

Seen as contemporaries of ORBITAL, LEFTFIELD, UNDERWORLD and THE ORB, CODE made an impression with their first three EPs ‘505 345 675 Delta 9’, ‘Cities’ and ‘Criminals’. But little was heard from Andy Phillips, Graham Cupples, David Mitchell and Darren Till after they morphed into MORTAL but now 25 years later, a follow-up to ‘The Architect’ has appeared! ‘Ghost Ship’ effectively takes up where ‘The Architect’ left off but then there’s a reason. Recent requests to reissue ‘The Architect’ saw the quartet of revisiting material that had been shelved after its recording.

However, CODE said “the original sequencing and arrangement programmes are lost in time and the sampling hardware is no longer available either, so all these tracks are constructed from the stereo mixes. The melodic and textural content was already there, it was a question of remaining faithful to the original recordings, editing and layering and in some cases adding new parts.”

So whether this material can be classified new or not is down to the listener; but all the material is previously unreleased, save a 2020 rework of the superb 1991 single ‘Light Years’. Uptempo, club friendly and moved along nicely by a precise but also grooving rhythmic backbone, it is one of the highlights of ‘Ghost Ship’ and there’s a suspicion Richard Barbieri’s ‘Solar Storm’ from 2017 may have used it as inspiration.

With the title inspired by the MV Alta cargo ship that washed up intact on the coast of Ireland a year after disappearing en route to Haiti, ‘Ghost Ship’ contains other worthy tracks. Opener ‘Origin’ is an immediate slice of punchy electro Schaffel using the HAL 9000 speech from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ that also appeared on NEW ORDER’s ‘Murder’; “Well, I don’t think there is any question about it” states the conflicted sentient computer, “It can only be attributable to human error. This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error.”

Although ‘Ghost Ship’ is largely instrumental with spoken samples throughout, ‘The Building’ springs a surprise as a song with stark vocals and backing in a manner not far off FLUKE and its offshoot SYNTAX. This connects straight into another song cut from a not dissimilar cloth called ‘Midnight’ with sweeps and virtual orchestrations enhancing the driving nocturnal atmosphere.

There’s another diversion where jazz combines with breakbeat on ‘Bourbon Street’ but ‘Love Perfection’ squelches within a lush widescreen setting and ‘Breathe Slow’ hypnotises with its chilled beats and digital chorals. A funkier demeanour shapes ‘Listen To Me’ while vibes compete with a crunchier approach on ‘Hall Of Mirrors’. Coming as a fitting laid back closer, ‘Marin Headlands’ is augmented by shades of countrified guitar reminiscent of Daniel Lanois’ work on Brian Eno’s ‘Apollo’ soundtrack.

The crisp dynamic production of ‘Ghost Ship’ cannot be faulted and captures a presence that can often be missing from a lot of modern electronic music recorded on the latest affordable technology. Plus with the bulk of it constructed not long after ‘The Architect’, those waiting all these years for more CODE material will be more than satisfied. Without the distraction of trying to be too contemporary, ‘Ghost Ship’ may even encourage newer listeners to check out the CODE back catalogue.

‘Ghost Ship’ is released by Lo-Tek Audio Ltd in vinyl LP, CD and digital formats on 6th November 2020, available direct from https://code16.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-ship

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
16th October 2020

ALKA Regarding The Auguries

6 October 2020 /


‘Regarding The Auguries’ is the fourth album by ALKA, the electronic music vehicle of Philadelphian Bryan Michael.

It is also the second ALKA record to be released on Vince Clarke’s VeryRecords, following up ‘The Colour Of Terrible Crystal’ from 2017.

As the ‘Regarding The Auguries’ titles suggests, this long player is not a cheerful affair; “An augury is like fortune telling that comes from looking at the patterns of bird flight” said Michael, “Those patterns usually prophecy some sort of doom…”

‘Regarding The Auguries’ is therefore timely but it was recorded before lockdown. Expanding the ALKA line-up to a three way collaboration with vocals by Erika Tele and sonic interventions from Todd Steponick, the tracks developed in slow motion through file exchange with Michael beginning the creative process.

Despite the album being made under the spectre of existential dread looming, it starts in a comparatively lively fashion with the opener ‘Fractured Time’, catchy and immediate with its vocoder and synth hooks that will delight synthwave enthusiasts, although the bursts of sombre bass signal what is to come. ‘Widthchild’ is more metallic and even funky in the loosest sense of the world while using prominent beats and Japanese prose, ‘Faito’ is exotic and enigmatic.

But then the apocalypse looms in ‘Earth Crisis’ and is inevitably sombre in its apocalyptic ambience although at nine minutes, it rather overdoes it, but parts of it would probably fit in perfectly as part of a dystopian Sci-Fi soundtrack.

‘Scrapple’ is not much cheerer but exploits a harder rhythmic core augmented by a chant although ‘Sourcery’ lightens proceedings and ‘My Heart’ adds chimes over some spacey moods before electronic percussion, percolating hooks and sweet girly vocals provide a lift towards its conclusion. The robotic ‘Solfège’ buzzes and blips, albeit with a shadier tinge while with a subtle arpeggio, ‘Doubt’ doesn’t really go anywhere.

However, despite its title, ‘Dead Like Me’ is more accessible and prettier with fabulous synth tones complimenting Tele’s dreamy voice. The closer ‘King Card’ features Vince Clarke on synths and programming and provides some exquisite chattering texturing to the rainy droning backdrop as a guesting Elizabeth Joan Kelly provides the eerie foreboding vocals.

As per usual with VeryRecords releases, a set of remixes append the main act and the boss works his magic on ‘Faito’ in an accessible upbeat fashion verging on Jean-Michel Jarre territory, the Basildon boy obviously applying the knowledge acquired from his collaboration with the French maestro on ‘Automatic’.

Meanwhile, ‘Solfège’ is remixed by FUJIYA & MIYAGI and is inevitably a slice of pulsing electronic motorik merging into drum ‘n’ bass and DJ JEKYLL takes ‘Fractured Time’ into soulful electronic territory with a steadfast groove.

For those who like darker electronic textures from outside of the pop spectrum with contemplative aural concepts that capture the zeitgeist of uncertainty, ‘Regarding The Auguries’ will be worthy of investigation. But for everyone else, they might want to start with the remixes before attempting the album.

‘Regarding The Auguries’ is released by Very Records as a CD and download on 9th October 2020, available direct from https://veryrecords.com/shop/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
6th October 2020

NIGHT CLUB Die Die Lullaby

2 October 2020 /

From the ‘Scary World’ of 2018 to the ‘Die Die Lullaby’ of 2020, LA based duo NIGHT CLUB have put their enforced confinement in lockdown to good use and channelled their angst to produce a wonderful 35 minutes of existential dread.

Emily Kavanaugh and Mark Brooks opened their account in 2012 with a self-titled EP. The second EP ‘Love Casualty’ included their first universally great song in ‘Poisonous’. But it was their excellent third EP ‘Black Leather Heart’ in 2014 that managed to truly harness the potential of their Britney Spears meets NINE INCH NAILS template across five tracks.

Their debut full-length album ‘Requiem For Romance’ turned up their love of heavy rock to 11 but they cleverly achieved it without the use of guitars or live drums, confusion some but delighting others.

‘Scary World’ was an extension of that sound but while ‘Die Die Lullaby’ is undoubtedly a refinement of its predecessors, like with Gary Numan’s ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’, the more metal elements have been turned down and in its place is a more vulnerable demeanour that emotively is no-less weighty in its attacks and observations.

Sonically, the album contains a typically NIGHT CLUB twist. Co-mixing with Brooks is Dave Rave Ogilvie, a former member of SKINNY PUPPY known for his work with NINE INCH NAILS and Marilyn Manson. But crucially, he also mixed Carly Rae Jepsen’s 2011 worldwide smash hit ‘Call Me Maybe’ so for ‘Die Die Lullaby’, NIGHT CLUB have found their perfect co-conspirator .

As they begin to ‘Go to Sleep’, ‘Die In The Disco’ sets the album off proper with a slice of throbbing HI-NRG disco, donning its hat to Giorgio Moroder and Bobby Orlando with Kavanaugh asking to “take me to a place I can dance” before a haunting request for life termination. And when an unsettling ghostly pitch-shifted voice exclaims that ”This is my party and I will die if I want to”, that die is cast.

Following on, ‘Sad Boy’ is classic NIGHT CLUB, up there with their best but more old school Goth than metal with hooks galore. ‘My Valentine’ though is heavier and here, the Kavanaugh / Brooks / Ogilvie combination achieves a fine balance of edge and pop while throwing in a few exotic flavours too.

Trapped in her own personal hell and under the spectre of IAMX’s ‘Spit It Out’, ‘Miss Negativity’ sees Kavanaugh capturing the zeitgeist, singing that “No, I don’t want to go out cos I won’t have any fun, I am sick and infected with pure pessimism…”

On ‘Gossip’, Kavanaugh tells someone to shut their dirty mouth as a chilling horror movie Theremin announces its presence. ‘Misery Go Round’ though will surprise some with its sparse but effective verse structure that gets overturned with a chorus pitch shift and vocoder ending while our heroine tells everyone that “I don’t feel so good right now”.

The haunting music box on ‘The Creepshow’ will remind some of Numan’s ‘It Will End Here’ and that’s not a bad thing, while ‘California Killed Me’ captures Kavanaugh in a cage of anxiety because ”I feel like crying” as “I’ve nowhere to run”. However, mated to all of this intensity is a mighty chorus and synth solo.

Closing with ‘Civil War’, Kavanaugh channels her existential dread, unhappy that “I’ve become someone I hate” as she battles her demons because she “can’t escape the pain in the war inside my brain”. A slice of dark DEPECHE MODE tinged pop that says “it will be over soon”, the words are worrying but on point, echoing how many feel in this strange world that was already becoming irrational and self-destructive even before the Covid crisis.

‘Die Die Lullaby’ sees the NIGHT CLUB motto of “Keep your friends close and your enemies in your songs” being maintained, but pragmatically looks within the psyche too. Reflecting the times the world is living in, this is uncomfortable but enjoyably cathartic. When commentators and historians look back in a few years for an audio document that captures the introspection and paranoia of 2020, then they will need to look no further than ‘Die Die Lullaby’.

‘Die Die Lullaby’ is released by Gato Blanco on 9th October 2020 as a CD, purple vinyl LP and download, pre-order from http://nightclubband.com/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th October 2020

RENARD Waking Up In A Different World

28 September 2020 /

The tale of WOLFSHEIM will be known to any self-respecting lover of darker electronica, although relatively alien to English listeners, unless one had European connections or sought after more unusual sounds outside Britain in the last two decades of the 20th Century.

The Hamburg based duo with the superb voice of Peter Heppner and hit producing magician Markus Reinhardt released numerous gems such as ‘Once In A Lifetime’ or ‘The Sparrows & The Nightingales’, turning out superb albums, with ‘Spectators’ or ‘Casting Shadows’ to name just a couple. But the good streak wasn’t to last, with the group disbanding into a monumental hiatus, seeing Heppner going solo or helping on other artist’s releases, with that ever haunting voice of his; Reinhardt stayed somewhat behind, only to return for what he calls “his reinvention”.

“The end of WOLFSHEIM motivated me to reinvent myself. A process that was urgently needed. With RENARD, I’m more with myself. My album combines the sound and mood of the 80s with the stylistic devices of today.”

Any sound manipulator needs a vocalist to showcase the uniqueness of their work and RENARD doesn’t settle on one. Why stick to the same voice when you are in a position to pick who you’d like to really bring variety and much needed diversity to your output? ‘Waking Up In A Different World’ is a debut, but it’s unlike any other debut, as in this case the debutant is not an inexperienced musician, promoting unknown vocalists.

So for the first single, Reinhardt chooses ‘Travel In Time’ with Pascal Finkenauer to take the reins of the vocals. A fellow German songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, Finkenauer’s melancholic voice sounds mistakenly like Heppner’s, bringing somewhat confusing connotations. In previous outings, Finkenauer can sound more or less like the original WOLFSHEIM boy, but one has to question the sense in this particular choice, especially with Reinhardt’s pledge to be more like himself on this record.

Nevertheless, this is a magnificent song, with a great dose of sorrow and longing. One cannot reject the obvious WOLFSHEIM connotations in the arrangement; it’s like the band have been resurrected for one tune. Well, if he can’t use the WOLFSHEIM name, then…

Joseh features on ‘Junkyards’, where guitar leads the SUEDE-esque intro, blossoming into an easy listening piece where the voice doesn’t sound like Heppner’s, but more natural and free flowing.

Joseh also guests on ‘The Meissen Figurine’, which combines a coalescence of modern elements with vintage components over a moderately unobtrusive tune, while Marietta Fafouti finds herself ‘Restless’. A prolific Greek composer, songwriter, and a well-known figure in her native land, Fafouti sings her soul away over a simplistic melody.

DUBSTAR’s Sarah Blackwood wrote the melody and lyrics to ‘Heresy’, which is commensurate with her own band’s output, both currently and back in the day. The song was written ten years ago and by Blackwood’s own admission containing words very personal to her. As always, it is superbly simplistic, cleverly put together and sung with the heart; the heart which “will have a speaking part, the first time in ages”.

Marian Gold of ALPHAVILLE joins the party on ‘Hotel’. With its NEW ORDER-like guitar presence, the song actually brings back the good old days when the German collective ruled with ‘Big In Japan’. Gold returns on ‘Damn Happy’ where he’s clearly “happy to be unhappy”, sadly in a quite forgettable manner. Interestingly enough, the production nods towards SUEDE again it its execution, although the song itself is missing the vital ingredient to make it worth replaying.

Thankfully, Eliza Hiscox of ROYALCHORD leads with the magnificent ‘My Heart’s Still Shaking’ which is not just magic in its vocal delivery but also in the symbiosis of the instrumentation and her voice. The closing ‘Intelligent Design’ ushers in a heavy plucked bass synth, progressing gently over eight bars of pure joy with yodelled voices, sculpting the ending beautifully.

Although altogether the album is a rather mixed bag, RENARD really is ‘Waking Up In A Different World’, bringing this multi-faceted, emotion laden production into life in the current climate of uncertainty, fear and new reality. May he achieve similar success to Peter Heppner with his solo ventures.

‘Waking Up In A Different World’ is released by Metropolis Records in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats on 9th October 2020, pre-order from https://renard.bandcamp.com/album/waking-up-in-a-different-world

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Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
28th September 2020

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