Category: Reviews (Page 7 of 206)

CHARLY HAZE Poly Pop

26 September 2025 /

Following up her 2021 debut EP ‘Getaway Car’ which came as a kind of musical catharsis following a long recovery after a painful brain injury from a car crash, London-based Dutch electropop artist Charly Haze returns with her new collection ‘Poly Pop’.

Whereas ‘Getaway Car’ was not unexpectedly tinged with melancholy and featured a downbeat cover of ‘The Boys Of Summer’, as the title suggests, ‘Poly Pop’ is a much more confident if still introspective pop statement about navigating a new life abroad as a 30something, dealing with the trials and tribulations of poly dating.

Fully self-realised and self-produced, this is a 5 year adventure documented in 5 songs; opener ‘Half Wide Open’ makes a rousing popwave statement although the wall of sound does mean our heroine is almost swamped in the chorus. ‘Busy Minds’ is less frantic and more hazy in duet with a mystery man who may or may not be the one, while with six string strums sparring off pulsating electronic bass and chopped-up vocal samples, ‘Shake Off’ sparkles as a slice of shiny pop.

Very uptempo, ‘Wasted’ brings in syncopation and comes over like a nocturnal take on NEW ORDER meeting PURITY RING on a Los Angeles highway although the distorted Maisie Peters-inspired vocal spoils the ride slightly. An atmospheric take on the Gabrielle ballad ‘Out Of Reach’ closes ‘Poly Pop’ and the angelic vocal imagines what would have happened if Natalie Imbruglia had gone synthwave.

“Moving to a new country allowed me to reinvent myself in all possible ways, and to embrace the versatility of my identity” said Charly Haze, “I’ve never felt like I excelled at one thing – playing an instrument or being a vocalist. It’s the combination of writing lyrics, composing melodies, crafting soundscapes, and translating everything visually”

There is promise in this EP and as Charly Haze does some critical analysis and develops her craft further, things can only get even better.

‘Poly Pop’ is out now via Kartel Music Group on the usual digital platforms

https://www.facebook.com/charlyhazesongs

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Philine Van Den Hul
26th September 2025

PARADOX OBSCUR IKONA

10 September 2025 /

She is a classical music graduate of the Prague State Conservatory with no influences, just experiences while he is the synth and drum machine enthusiast who loves making electronic music the old-school way; together Kriistal Ann and Toxic Razor are PARADOX OBSCUR.

Combining minimal-electro, darkwave and post-punk with the ethos of recording their music in real-time, the Greek duo began releasing music in 2014 and now have 5 albums and numerous EPs to their name. ‘IKONA’ is their sixth album and their second on Metropolis Records, home to ASSEMBLAGE 23, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, DELERIUM and VNV NATION among others.

With an immersive energy, PARADOX OBSCUR have merged a variety of underground electronic styles with hazy references to both past and present. The opening salvo ‘Switch To Love’ is a catchy dance number that is characterised by solid electronic bass pulses and impassioned vocals.

‘Rodeo’ allows some space between the stabbing spacey actions on this electronically treated duet while taking things down to a steadier pace, ‘Impulse’ imagines if a Greek Eartha Kitt had made buzzy bleepy breakbeat. Meanwhile ‘Vulgar Sequence’ is sinister mutant disco that “f*cks your brains”, exploring emotional control and the phenomenon of gaslighting while fighting for freedom.

The short gritty deep shifted romp ‘Like A Freak’ does as it says on the tin as the strobe lit ‘Iconic B’ plays for the dark dancefloor while the rousing trance instrumental ‘Luminous’ in a reflection of its title wouldn’t have gone amiss with the glow stick waving crowds that gathered at Gatecrasher; speaking of which, ‘Lose This Feeling’ is an appealing Europop-oriented cover of the 2023 dance anthem by Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren who made several appearances at the height of the superclub brand’s heyday.

‘IKONA’ ends with stark darkwave cabaret of ‘Personal’ to conclude what may be PARADOX OBSCUR’s most expressionistic work to date in its subjective emotions and experiences while pushing a distinct clubby stance.

Authentic yet mysterious, a combination of affected Demotic articulation, driving machines rhythms and widescreen electronic atmospheres gives PARADOX OBSCUR their own sound while sharing aesthetics with dark disco exponents like DINA SUMMER and ULTRA SUNN. With its synth and dance blend of different varieties, there is a wide range of crossover potential with ‘IKONA’, regardless of genre preference.

‘IKONA’ is released by Metropolis Records on 12th September 2025, available in the usual formats from https://paradoxobscur.bandcamp.com/album/ikona

https://paradoxobscur.com/

https://www.facebook.com/paradoxobscur

https://www.instagram.com/paradox_obscur

Text by Chi Ming Lai
10th September 2025

LADYTRON I Believe In You

5 September 2025 /

Photo by Mark McNulty

Not a cover of the TALK TALK song, LADYTRON signal a new phase with ‘I Believe In You’.

Founded in Liverpool, LADYTRON were among the first acts at the start of the 21st Century to readopt what had become unfashionable but also cheap synthesizers into their own DIY indie punk style of electronic music. From their debut album ‘604’ in 2001 to their most recent long form release ‘Time’s Arrow’ in 2023, their sound has evolved and has led to their sound being variously described as synthpop, electroclash, electronic shoegaze and industrial goth over the years.

It is as if LADYTRON are still being discovered and their 2005 single ‘Destroy Everything You Touch’ from their third album ‘The Witching Hour’ was included on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of the 2023 cult black comedy thriller ‘Saltburn’ alongside hits from the likes of THE KILLERS, MGMT, BABYBIRD, GIRLS ALOUD and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Now slimmed down to a trio of Helen Marnie, Daniel Hunt and Mira Aroyo following the departure of co-founder member Reuben Wu, the great new first single from the reconfigured line-up has been described as “high-priestess disco”. ‘I Believe In You’ certainly possesses an infectious house groove previously not heard from LADYTRON while still recognisable as them.

Swathed in a sinister deep red, the video for ‘I Believe In You’ directed by Daniel Hunt sees a blindfolded religious cult in choreographed formation expressing the title’s conformist sentiment. They eventually ascend into ecstatic mania like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ meeting ‘Strictly Come Dancing’! There’s even a false ending as Helen Marnie moves from a kaleidoscopic vision to being one among them…

This refreshed LADYTRON activity is a taster for Spring 2026 where it is assumed that their as-yet-untitled eighth long player will be released to coincide with a short series of live dates in Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester.

‘I Believe In You’ is released by Nettwerk on the usual online platforms

LADYTRON 2026 live dates include: Liverpool Arts Club Theatre (19th March), Newcastle Digital (20th March), Manchester Gorilla (21st March)

http://www.ladytron.com

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

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

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

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th September 2025

JENNIFER TOUCH Aging at Airports

1 September 2025 /

Jennifer Touch’s new album ‘Aging at Airports’ was inspired by the time lost between shows hanging about in airports while touring…

“The slowly ticking time at the gate was in complete contrast to what I want to do as an artist: to be in flux, to create things that will last forever…” she said, “I have to accept that I am fading, that my creative power, my face, and my body are fading.”

Born in Dresden and the daughter of DDR flower-power children, the now Berlin-based Jennifer Touch released her first EP in 2014 although didn’t issue her autobiographical debut album ‘Behind The Wall’ until 2020. The Berlin-based artist’s 2023 album ‘Midnight Proposals’ presented a mysterious yet hopeful manifesto to the world although it suffered from being a bit too long.

Photo by Nea Gumprecht

Despite its title, ‘Aging at Airports’ does not attempt to be too serious or gloomy, but there is an immediate playfulness in Touch’s honest expressions and gritty production in amongst the gothic drama.

‘Behaviour’ sets the scene with its squelch and drone EBM while feeding off the same plate, ‘Walls of Patience’ also hints towards a Synth Siouxsie template. The deep and hypnotic ‘Dripping’ takes a leaf out of fellow darkwave exponents like DLINA VOLNY and BOY HARSHER in its intensity for the dancefloor where “You gonna live and live with this irony”.

The haunting ‘Anthem’ sees Jennifer Touch play with the higher end of her vocal range outside her usual contralto snarl in the drone dominant backdrop. But in a claustrophobic cocoon of arpeggios and drones, the ‘Ceiling’ of resignation is hit. Sans beats, ‘Wars & Blood Red Roses’ is less immediate but its keys are strident while as the closer to what is actually a mini-album, ‘Rumble’ does just that in its industrial pop overtones with a goth rock edge.

Bristling with realism in its lyrical gists, ‘Aging at Airports’ is an accessible concoction that while more drone dominant than ‘Midnight Proposals’, sees Jennifer Touch not veering too much away from her sound. So those who love her “Post-Wave-Cold-Pop-Acid-Romance” will be very happy with a work that doesn’t outstay its welcome.

‘Aging at Airports’ is released by Fabrika Records, available via https://jennifertouch.bandcamp.com/

https://jennifertouch.com/

https://www.facebook.com/touch.jennifer/

https://www.instagram.com/jennifertouch/

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

https://soundcloud.com/jennifertouch

Text by Chi Ming Lai
1st September 2025

DLINA VOLNY In Between

8 August 2025 /

DLINA VOLNY’s Eastern European roots and modern darkwave edge achieved a wider breakthrough on 2021’s ‘Dazed’, their first album entirely in English released through Italians Do It Better.

Speaking out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Belarusian trio of Masha Zinevitch (lead vocals), Vad Mikutski (bass + guitar) and Ales Shishlo (keyboards) went into exile. With the conflict seemingly not ending and the unbelievable scenario of a Republican US president visibly acting as the puppet of a former KGB officer, DLINA VOLNY go from red to grey as ‘In Between’ delves into the turmoil of transformation, the sting of disillusionment, and the pull between the familiar and the unknown.

“Do your thing, don’t be afraid” was the message from DLINA VOLNY on their Radio Plato documentary. Playing with the physics of sound while exploring a variety of introspective themes, DLINA VOLNY understandably now sound heavier than they ever have before, but have retained their all-important melodic contrasts to counter any possibilities of proceedings becoming too dirgey.

Celebrating the escapist joy of sound, ‘Bliss’ is a fabulous concoction where synth arpeggios brighten the sombre skyline for a surprisingly optimistic opener. With cascading electronic riffs and synthbrass stabs, ‘Now & Again’ also lets light and air in. But “Through the city in the night alone”, the more gothic ‘Never The Same’ twists with a deeper shifted vocal register, skeletal guitar and icy string machine; it somehow manages to be danceable despite exploring the themes of loneliness, isolation, and self-reflection.

“Take us deep into your crypt” gestures Masha moodily as ‘Follow Me’ recalls fellow exiles MOLCHAT DOMA with washes of six string and solid bass for a plunge into the abyss. Meanwhile with an industrialised backbone, ‘Dance Me Away’ seduces into its foreboding incompatible otherworld, highlighting that danger often comes hand-in-hand with desire.

With the unsettling air of BOY HARSHER looming and under the threat of industrial torture, ‘Flair’ is boosted with a Cold War resonance by Masha’s haunting vocals and the chilling atmospheres that are encompassed. But almost straight out of the ‘Disintegration’ songbook, the ‘In Between’ title song tells not of days but a black forest awakening of reverberant synthbass and echoing guitar while ‘Dopplegänger’ is also reminiscent musically of THE CURE.

The exuberant if still sombre ‘Chant’ imagines Siouxsie gone Motorik and the excellent ‘Midnight’ recalls NEW ORDER’s similarly nocturnal ‘This Time Of Night’ in its rhythmic centre before ‘Burning Slow’ provides a short filmic instrumental set piece to close.

With ‘In Between’, DLINA VOLNY’s dark contralto ’brut-pop’ has developed their commentary on the continuing tensions around the world into something even bleaker and downcast in places as their art reflects life everywhere, but there are still moments of relief from the greater gloom to give hope to all.

‘In Between’ is released by Italians Do It Better, available from https://dlinavolny.bandcamp.com/

DLINA VOLNY 2025 UK live dates include: London Black Heart (14th August), Preston Ferret (15th August), Liverpool FrogFest (16th August), Coventry The Tin (17th August), Bristol Moor Beer (19th August), Brighton Prince Albert (20th August)

https://dlinavolny.com/

https://www.facebook.com/dlinavolny

https://www.instagram.com/dlina_volny/

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

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th August 2025

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