Category: Reviews (Page 92 of 200)

INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP International Teachers Of Pop

14 March 2019 /

One may learn many things, but the Brexit-crazy country requires a breather.

So let’s all go back to school and study the one thing that can give us some respite: POP Music. And who is better at lecturing about the said POP, than INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP. The South Yorkshire city of Sheffield has been home to many a great music act over the years, such as THE HUMAN LEAGUE, ABC, HEAVEN 17, ARCTIC MONKEYS, CABARET VOLTAIRE, DEF LEPPARD or PULP, amongst many others and this winter, another one surfaces with their eponymous debut album, and they’re the ones to teach the public the qualities of pop music.

The first single from the self-titled album was ‘Age Of The Train’, where Adrian Flanagan and Dean Honer, accompanied by Leonore Wheatley on vocals deliver a rather captivating approach to modern synthpopia, a little bit like THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Credo’, which was co-produced by Honer himself. The train which is running late may be the subject of the song, but it’s the musical extravaganza of sound that draws one in.

With the qualities of DUBSTAR almost mixing with LADYTRON, ‘After Dark’ ushers analogue sounds alongside a bubbly beat, that’s guaranteed to make you put your dancing shoes on.

‘The Ballad Of Remedy Nilsson’ waltzes in utilising sci-fi gaming elements, arpeggiating away into a quasi-disco fashion, describing the theme of naughty cats. You say “what!?”, Wheatley says it is “a lament for the modern cat owner, destined to live a life of frustration and unrequited love. You invest all that time, energy and money into them, nurturing and building up what you think is a solid relationship, just for them to struggle out of your arms and rip you to shreds… little sh*ts!”

Enter Italo disco meet the clubs of Detroit in ‘On Repeat’, depicting the obscurity of everyday life of all work no play to “keep on working”. ‘Time For The Seasons’ was the first song the trio wrote together, calling to “burn your technology”, yet it’s the technology that brings this piece to life, before we play Tetris on ‘She Walks’. This summertime ballad turns trippy and quite peculiar over sequenced inserts of contemporary sound, plugging in vintage elements when necessary.

Channeling her inner Sarah Blackwood, Wheatley goes ‘Interstellar’ with a lyric nearly challenging the WTF feeling on THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Night People’ from aforementioned ‘Credo’: “here we go again – defying gravity, where stars are ignorant – a floating cup of tea!” Yep, this totally makes sense… NOT! But who cares, when the package is so good musically, plus Britain was built on cups of tea, right!?

Where practice makes perfect, no, wait… ‘Praxis Makes Prefect’, there’s no room for messing around, just dance, dance, dance! Clever hooks, grand arpeggios and a generous amount of weirdness come to package the ‘Love Girl’.

Meanwhile ‘Oh Yosemite’ takes a leaf out of the latest DUBSTAR album, introducing a rather melodious waltz. The lyrical content describes an inability to pronounce words properly as per the talk of the new generation. But this very generation joins Wheatley on vocals in the chorus, leading away into nothingness.

Certainly a capable offering, given that Wheatley did her homework with THE SOUNDCARRIERS, while Flanagan and Honer, previously of THE ECCENTRONIC RESEARCH COUNCIL and THE MOONLANDINGZ, are no strangers to decently produced tunes.

This isn’t a minimalistic record, like what you would normally expect of vintage analogues and skippy drum machines, and that’s what makes it special. The knowhow is there in plenty and if you want to dance, go ahead; just do what the teacher says.

‘International Teachers Of Pop’ is released by Desolate Spools

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Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photo by Duncan Stafford Photography
14th March 2019

KNIGHT$ Dollars & Cents

14 March 2019 /

Coming over like the love child of Richard Butler and Neil Tennant, James Knights has been making synthwaves with sparkly Britalo!

Slicker and less intense than his previous band SCARLET SOHO, shiny disco pop is what his KNIGHT$ alter-ego is all about.

Combining the melodic Italo Disco spirit of SAVAGE and RAF with British exponents of the form such as PET SHOP BOYS and NEW ORDER, ‘Dollars & Cents’ is a joyous ray of sunshine. It opens perfectly with the catchy KNIGHT$ calling card ‘What’s Your Poison?’ that was first issued in 2017. A dig at modern internet dating culture, he told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I guess I thought people would have a better idea of finding the perfect date by offering people drinks and judging them on their choice! Gotta be better than Tinder!”

KNIGHT$ has made a wise choice by including his first single, but it is the glorious ‘Gelato’ that affirms KNIGHT$’ Britalo aspirations with its unashamedly sun-kissed glitterball drive that gets all deliciously “Tutti Frutti”.

The soulful electro disco of ‘Julia’ comes complete with a Speak & Spell machine that counterpoints KNIGHT$’ sense of longing and there’s an unexpected key change too. Taking the pace down a bit for an artful street duet featuring Holger Wobker of BOYTRONIC, ‘Proving A Point’ comes over like spacey HEAVEN 17 as sheep bleat and synths bleep.

The ‘Dollars & Cents’ title track is a wonderfully charged HI-NRG romp with KNIGHT$ adopting a lower register Jimmy Somerville persona. Meanwhile continuing that theme, the equally energetic ‘Hijack My Heart’ apes BRONSKI BEAT, complete with a closing bursts of falsetto as the Winchester lad tightens his glitzy clubbing trousers to full effect and drops in a blistering synth solo to add to the fun.

The metallic Eurobeat of ‘Shadows’ offers no respite and keeps the feet shuffling on that dancefloor before the more steadfast ‘Running’; this one takes one more of an early MADONNA template but perhaps suffers next to the three songs preceding it, particularly as its rhythmic backbone is much more subdued in the mix. But it’s still a good song none the less.

Closing this primarily uptempo collection, the snappy electro-funk of ‘Alligator’ is an amusing observation on one-sided conversation with people who doesn’t listen which echoes LES RYTHMES DIGITALES but channelled in much more of a pop-oriented context.

The previously released B-sides ‘Playin’ It Cool’ and ‘What We Leave Behind’ come as welcome extras on the CD variant although the excellent ‘So Cold’ is missing; but almost everything you could want from a first full length body of work by KNIGHT$ is present and correct.

‘Dollars & Cents’ is a very immediate electronic pop record that is ideal for these turbulent and uncertain socio-political times. Whereas the coming years will decide whether it is a classic, for now it is simply perfect escapist pop music. So Britalo be thy name!

KNIGHT$ debut long player may be the antithesis of the intense and gloomy ‘Careful’ from BOY HARSHER, but sits alongside it as one of the first great albums of 2019.

‘Dollars & Cents’ is released by Specchio Uomo on 5th April 2019 in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats, available direct from https://knights101.bandcamp.com/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th March 2019

MICHAEL OAKLEY Introspect

8 March 2019 /

Toronto based Glaswegian MICHAEL OAKLEY rode the Synthwave with his debut solo EP ‘California’ in late 2016.

Admittedly more synthpop than Synthwave, Oakley’s songcraft was what set him apart from much of that Trans-Atlantic influenced movement, with an emotional centre capturing the youthful angst of Brat Pack rom-coms and the coming-of-age movies of John Hughes.

Following the positive reception for ‘California’, his debut full-length offering ‘Introspect’ sees MICHAEL OAKLEY re-exploring the music of his teenage years.

In particular, Oakley has studied that era’s now retrospectively unique sound design. The Scot told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I deliberately used Yamaha DX sounds and Fairlight sounds to capture more of that mid 1980s Trevor Horn sound and cut back using too many analogue sounds. Especially on bass.”

The opening instrumental title theme echoes David Foster’s soundtrack work on ‘St Elmo’s Fire’, but the album starts proper with the mighty Italo Disco statement of ‘Left Behind’. Complete with obligatory orchestra stabs and a rousing chorus, it gleefully fuses SAVAGE, RAF, PET SHOP BOYS and BEE GEES within a big Trevor Horn styled kitchen sink!

But despite the fun laden octave shift frenzy on ‘Left Behind’, the lyrics contain an early midlife reflection, something which Oakley confessed: “the song is about me feeling like everyone around me was getting settled in their career, getting married and taking out a mortgage. Yet I was still living in my parents’ house, chasing a dream of being a musician that wasn’t working out.”

Meanwhile, ‘Crystal Ships’ is not a cover of THE DOORS, but a delightful synth AOR number that apes John Waite, the one-time front man of THE BABYS who found Trans-Atlantic fame and fortune with ‘Missing You’.

Its biggest surprise is a synthetic panpipe sound which is cheesy as hell but works perfectly in the context of the track; guilty pleasure ahoy!

With some superb digital percussive manipulation akin to Trevor Horn’s work on the fifth variation of ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ from the album of the same name, ‘Control’ is Oakley at his most darkest and aggressive yet, gloomier but not so lovelorn. But to put that into perspective, despite the more serious overtones, this is not NIRVANA.

‘Rain’ takes a PET SHOP BOYS bassline lead and references Glasgow as Oakley dreams of escaping his hometown in another reflective midlife number that conceptually could be THE BLUE NILE gone disco.

With an opening Fender Rhodes, the ballad ‘Now I’m Alive’ with Synthwave Queen DANA JEAN PHOENIX and an air of the 1985 film drama ‘White Nights’ which Phil Collins and Lionel Ritchie contributed recordings for. However, once the heat rises between Phoenix and Oakley, it conjures images of Demi Moore and Rob Lowe in romantic fornication!

The rhythmic ‘Push It To The Limit’ is something of a maniac, complete with a blistering FM rock guitar solo; listeners will cry out “MONTAGE” but this is one to dust off the lycra leotards to and get physical!

While Oakley pushes the boundaries of AOR within his rock assisted popwave and enjoyably gets away with it for most of ‘Introspect’, the closing ‘American Dream’ takes it too far. A big but short piano ballad, it’s a bit over sentimental and wet, yet it potentially could end up as an audition staple on TV talent shows.

A worthy follow-up to his debut EP ‘California’, Oakley once again proves his songwriting talent but adds experience to his production knowhow. Now happily settled in Canada, he is comfortable in his own skin to mix influences that ultimately make for great pop music.

‘Introspect’ is released as a vinyl LP, cassette and download album by NewRetroWave direct from https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/introspect

MICHAEL OAKLEY plays Outland Toronto 2019 on Saturday 6th July at the Mod Club Theatre alongside DANA JEAN PHOENIX, PARALLELS, MECHA MAIKO, TIMECOP1983, FM ATTACK + KALAX – ticket available in advance from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/outland-toronto-2019-retrowave-festival-tickets-57180793292

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

https://www.facebook.com/MichaelOakleyOfficial

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th March 2019

OBLONG The Sea At Night

5 March 2019 /


Every now and then, the world needs a lively unpretentious synth instrumental album to provide a temporary route of escapism; OBLONG’s ‘The Sea At Night’ is that record.

OBLONG formed out of a friendship between Benge (synths + drum programming), Dave Nice (synths, bass + drums) and Sid Stronarch (piano, synths + guitars) which eventually resulted in an album ‘Indicator’ in 2006.

And now with their second album ‘The Sea At Night’, the trio deliver a rustic electro-acoustic record of organically farmed electronica!

The beautifully spacey opener ‘Planetesimal’ conjures up widescreen images of the countryside with a wonderful musicality, something that is very prevalent throughout ‘The Sea At Night’. Starting with acoustic and bass guitar, ‘Frost Pocket’ uses the electronics more sparingly while the six string rings in a Michael Rother fashion. Meanwhile cut from a not dissimilar cloth, ‘Cool Calm & Connected’ does what it says on the tin, gently swinging and making effective use of double bass.

‘The Sea At Night’ title track adopts a propulsive Motorik stance, string synths and percussive accents vying for the high ground in an enjoyable cosmic duel. With a glorious groove, ‘Robot Dan’ puts vocoder into the mix, this futuristic jazz funk being Huggy Bear’s theme for the 22nd Century.

The pretty ‘Siphonophore’ and the equally pleasing ‘Phosphorescence’ soothe while ‘Fast Radio Burst’ ups the tempo which sees some funk and electronic bass in unison with sweeps of synths, all counterpointed by ringing melodies and a whirring solo.

Keeping up the pace, ‘Echolocation’ is a classic synth instrumental with its crystalline textures and charming slightly offkey blips while with its brilliant title, ‘Romford Suzuki’ acts as a fun funky interlude recalling Richard O’Sullivan’s opening title tune to ‘Robin’s Nest’.

With the glorious overtones of CLUSTER, ‘Weird Sugar’ takes things onto a more gentler pace towards the home straight as ‘The Sea At Night’ concludes magnificently with ‘Number Nine’; here Stronarch lets rip with his strummed acoustic while Nice complements with his double bass alongside rich layers of synths from all persuasions.

Reflecting the remote moorland location in Cornwall where it was recorded, ‘The Sea At Night’ captures the atmosphere of the nearby coastal landscapes.

While primarily synthesizer driven, the use of traditional instruments like acoustic guitar and double bass alongside the electronics adds an unusual but accessible focal point, like a more animated development of the 1981 Virginia Astley record ‘From Gardens Where We Feel Secure’.

‘The Sea At Night’ is proof that instrumental albums can still be wonderfully charming and melodic, there’s no Eurorack tutorials like those fashioned by Martin Gore for his ‘MG’ solo folly or formless meandering synthwave present here.

‘The Sea At Night’ is released by Memetune Recordings on 22nd March 2019 in vinyl LP and digital formats, pre-order via https://oblong.tmstor.es/

OBLONG will be special guests of JOHN GRANT at the following 2019 shows in Ireland:

Limerick University Concert Hall (27th March), Cork Opera House (28th March), Galway Leisureland (30th March), Dublin Born Gals Energy Theatre (31st March)

https://twitter.com/oblongtheband

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https://open.spotify.com/album/5IWlf3H2kcwHjL3CjtJ1Cd

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th March 2019

FRAGRANCE. Now That I’m Real

28 February 2019 /


Little is known of Matthieu Roche aka FRAGRANCE. apart from the self-description as a “dreamy synthpop project from Paris”.

Working by himself, Roche has been releasing single tracks via Soundcloud since 2016. Two years ago saw the artist present his first EP entitled ‘Dust & Disorders’ and more recently he covered the GALA hit ‘Freed From Desire’. ‘Now That I’m Real’ is his first long player and, for an album debut, this stuff is rather good. Featuring Neil Tennant-like vocals and clear musical influences from PSB themselves, Roche is introducing the listener to his own sublime take on Parisian synth.

Starting with ‘Gone In A Wink’ with its tribal arpeggios alongside bubbly synth and scant elements of EBM made classy, the curiosity leads the way to something ‘So Typical’, except typical is what it is not. With the dreamy synthwave textures and a vocal that seems to sit comfortably on one level, hypnotic yet awakening, Roche is onto something special here. This is neither retro, nor is it future.

‘Endless Cold’ encapsulates club components along with a claustrophobic feel of a defined space, leading into the depths of ‘Gravity & Grace’. Here, the beat picks up onto a cacophony of dance and rhythm, while ‘Hazy Strobes’ meets vocalist Hante presenting more of a relaxed approach, with the qualities of a good electronic ballad.

‘Crawling To The Void’ moves the body with something of a classic PET SHOP BOYS again; Roche clearly feeling at his best while in this skin. The uneven steps of ‘Leaving The City’ represent a sweet return to the classic synthpop era, with a twist. It’s vintage but modern at the same time, soured with added depths and peppered with sublimal approach to electronic machinery. ‘Heatwave’ ushers the warmth and comfort of comprehensive musical rhetoric, painting a landscape of purity, almost ‘Crystalline’.

Maya Postepski joins FRAGRANCE. on ‘At Last’. The former drummer of AUSTRA and a TR/ST collaborator, Postepski has been making music for a long time, and enjoys remixing and production; here she brings the newest of visions musically, as well as lending her vocals en Français.

The opus ends on ‘The Missing Part’, which rushes through the paces, putting all the pieces together, while the “missing part” cannot be located. The track transcends colourful visions and fragments of reality as seen by Roche.

Maybe not a newcomer as such, FRAGRANCE. has created something of a conversation piece here. The obvious PET SHOP BOYS connotations cannot be ignored, but this is neither a copy nor a direct steal.

Roche has provided some great new elements into something that could be described as retro, and he does it with Parisian style classic simplicity.

Certainly one to look out for…

‘Now That I’m Real’ is released by Synth Religion in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats, available direct from https://fragrancemusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thisisfragrance/

https://twitter.com/Fragrance_Fra

https://www.instagram.com/fragrance.music/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
28th February 2019

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