Category: Reviews (Page 92 of 206)

BOYTRONIC The Robot Treatment

2 September 2019 /

Holger Wobker, the man who many consider to be the original BOYTRONIC is back after 10 years with a new album ‘The Robot Treatment’.

Interestingly to assist his recorded return, Wobker has partnered up with BOYTRONIC’s former vocalist James Knights.

Never before in the history of pop music has a predecessor collaborated with their replacement to make a new album, try to imagine John Foxx and Midge Ure working on a new ULTRAVOX album together?

Vintage flavoured HI-NRG and Italo reigns supreme on ‘The Robot Treatment’. Best known for the German Top10 hit ‘You’ in 1983, Wobker’s aim was to return with a record that was as BOYTRONIC as possible and when he met Knights in 2018, they found a common bond both personally and musically.

‘Under The Red’ exudes Wobker’s enthusiasm, but the album really takes off with ‘All You Can Eat’, a spirited falsetto duet by Wobker and Knights that doesn’t sound unlike members of NEW ORDER jamming along to BRONSKI BEAT’s ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’!

Also particularly good is ‘You Can’t Get Fooled By Love’, a great tune with more than a nod to PET SHOP BOYS ‘West End Girls’, while the bubbling ‘She Gave Me Money’ is authentic Eurodisco for the cassette player of any Opel Manta owner; both are classic BOYTRONIC.

‘Smell Of Fire’ takes on a moodier Italo stance with a digital slap bass, but ‘No Sad Songs’ is singalong Europop, laced with synth brass stabs which could easily mutate into a KNIGHT$ solo tune. The spacier ‘Venus Covers Mars’ has a good verse although the chorus is not quite as appealing. Bright and breezy with simulated guitars, ‘Wayward Sister’ perhaps needs more of a bass drum kick but the synthetic choirs and bells are pretty.

Closing with ‘Can’t Wait A Second’, the track’s immediate bounce might have benefitted being placed earlier in the sequence.

But as with the arpeggio laden ‘Bark’, Wobker’s vocals are a bit raw and wayward at times, which might be off-putting for listeners not previously into the charms of BOYTRONIC.

However, the objective of making a BOYTRONIC album that sounds like BOYTRONIC has been achieved. And with live shows coming up, the big speaker environment of a club and the vibrant extrovert personality of a front man with something to prove may well see ‘The Robot Treatment’ really come into its own.

‘The Robot Treatment’ is released by Wuff Records on 6th September 2019 in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats, pre-ordered direct from https://boytronic01.bandcamp.com/album/the-robot-treatment-album

BOYTRONIC play Berlin ORWOhaus on Saturday 7th September 2019 with support from !DISTAIN

http://www.boytronic.eu

https://www.facebook.com/BoytronicOriginal/

https://twitter.com/boytronicorigi1

https://www.instagram.com/boytronicoriginal/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd September 2019

ELECTRIC YOUTH Memory Emotion

25 August 2019 /


ELECTRIC YOUTH are best known for ‘A Real Hero’, their 2011 collaboration with COLLEGE which was arguably the defining song on the soundtrack to Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Drive’.

The film helped give synthpop (and at the time a fledgling Synthwave scene) a well needed boost and helped propel it into the wider public eye.

Since then the duo comprising of producer Austin Garrick and vocalist Bronwyn Griffin, have kept active eventually releasing their debut album ‘Innerworld’ in 2014 featuring additional production from Vince Clarke and PNAU’s Peter Mayes.

2019’s ‘Memory Emotion’ is their third album after the release of ‘Breathing’ which was originally planned as the soundtrack to a film of the same name before artistic differences saw the original film producer Anthony Scott Burns bailing (and ELECTRIC YOUTH following suit).

Opening track ‘The Life’ will delight fans of PET SHOP BOYS, initially reminiscent of ‘Love Comes Quickly’ before a Linn Drum starts driving the piece and Griffin’s vocals enter. From a songwriting and musical perspective ‘The Life’ is easily the standout piece here.

Sonically things keep going in a similar vein with ‘ARAWA’ with big polysynth chords and more Linn Drum programming. ‘Breathless’ and ‘Real Ones’ see Griffin’s vocals become a bit too saccharine and floaty to the point where the listener could easily zone out and the songs become background fodder. The latter adds a descending Indie-style guitar part and a hypnotic drum pattern which draws the piece to its conclusion.

‘On My Own’ lowers the tempo and is driven by a Roland TR808 drum pattern and another textural guitar part; lyrically it comes across as more engaging than some of the other tracks here with Griffin’s vocal emotionally reaching out to her lover (“You weren’t here last night”).

‘Higher’ injects a welcome upward change of pace with a 4/4 kick drum and a syncopated phased polysynth part straight out of VISAGE’s ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’. Again the vocals are sat back in the mix and the “higher and higher” chorus hook doesn’t quite do Garrick’s musical backing justice.

‘Thirteen’ is a close cousin to ‘A Real Hero’ with its 8 beat synth bass but melodically doesn’t hit the heights of the track it recalls and the following three tracks ‘Evergreen 143’, ‘Now Now’ & ‘Through the Same Eyes’) all have an unfortunate tendency to merge or blur into one without a real standout between them.

The overall sound of ‘Memory Emotion’ will come as no surprise to listeners familiar with the duo’s previous work; there are no rough edges here as Griffin’s vocals float ethereally over a soundbed of analogue synths and the occasional guitar part.

In some ways ELECTRIC YOUTH are trapped in a musical straitjacket here; as a genre synthpop / Synthwave can easily become constricting with certain synth sounds being overused to the point where they become musical cliché. There is nothing technically wrong with ‘Memory Emotion’, it is beautifully mixed and produced but in too many places, it skirts close to aural wallpaper with songwriting which doesn’t quite cut the proverbial mustard.

If you favour synthpop that would work as late night listening or to accompany a chilled beach excursion, then ‘Memory Emotion’ achieves that function perfectly, but those looking for more depth and originality would be far better served seeking out acts such as fellow Canadian’s PURITY RING who push the envelope with the genre far further.

‘Memory Emotion’ is released by Last Gang Records available in clear vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, available from https://electricyouthshop.bigcartel.com/

http://electricyouthmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/electricyouthmusic/

https://twitter.com/_electricyouth

https://www.instagram.com/electricyouthofficial/

https://open.spotify.com/album/2mkkAsxvR3XMG9ReQKR3RE

Text by Paul Boddy
25th August 2019

ALICE HUBBLE Polarlichter

21 August 2019 /

ALICE HUBBLE is the new solo project of Alice Hubley, previously best known for fronting ARTHUR & MARTHA and COSINES.

Taking in the influence of Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram and Sally Oldfield, the avant pop heart of Hubley is now set free on her debut long player ‘Polarlichter’, literally translated in Deutsch as “polar lights” or auroras.

Recorded with analogue synths at home before being mixed at Big Jelly Studios under the co-production supervision of Mikey Collins who also contributed drums and guitar, ‘Polarlichter’ is undeniably escapist.

In keeping with the aura of varying colour and complexity projected by the album’s title, the opening instrumental ‘Ruby Falls’ offers mysterious octave shifts and pagan flutes while picturing North Sea islands painted by hand played keys.

Laced in Korg and Juno, her forlorn vocal presence makes its first appearance on the wonderful ‘Goddess’, a song about male obsession which has already been declared one of the singles of 2019 by BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq. With its moody vintage synths and primitive drum boxes, there are also hints of BOOK OF LOVE, THE CURE, SPARKS and OMD.

Channelling German trailblazers Manuel Göttsching and Harald Grosskopf, both in their solo guises and together as ASHRA, the pulsing cosmic overtones of ‘Atlantis Palm’ offer beautiful synthetic choirs and airy fluty textures for a superb seven minutes of melancholic ambience.

Hubley’s earthy demeanour returns on the sub-OMD of ‘We Are Still Alone’, where the lilting bass and elegiac transistorised melody are glorious.

But when the synth strings respond in that ASHRA style, it becomes perfect avant pop where Hubley sadly resigns to herself that she “couldn’t find the way to make me better”.

‘Kick The Habit’ takes a jump in tempo and schaffels with live percussion for a charmingly enjoyable slice of electro-glam. Meanwhile keeping things to waltz time, ‘Hunt For The Blood Red Moon’ is electronic folk, solemnly dancing around a maypole of Moog.

Filmic instrumental ‘The Golden Age’ has its synths set to toy town, but more haunting Mellotrons weave their way into the wicker lattice with brilliant vibrato swirls before progressing into mutant funk and a collage of album segments to create an uneasy schizophrenic feel.

The chimes of ‘Still Polarlichter’ sees Hubble still alone, again echoing OMD with the string machine playing a variation on the ‘We Are Still Alone’ theme, but with more of a psychedelic vibe. At over nearly seven minutes, the mighty bubbles of synth, drum breaks and Germanic demeanour concoct a recipe of feisty feminine prog.

With the language of melody in common, ‘Polarlichter’ makes a fine voice-assisted companion to OBLONG ‘The Sea At Night’, an instrumental album of rustic organically farmed electronica released earlier in this year.

Over four songs and four instrumentals, ALICE HUBBLE makes the perfect synth earth mother with her endearing array of vintage keyboards. This is an impressive solo debut that is a soundscape of pastoral solace.

‘Polarlichter’ is released as a vinyl LP, CD and download by Happy Robots Records on 27th September 2019, pre-order from https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/product-page/alice-hubble-polarlichter-new-12-lp-pre-order

ALICE HUBBLE 2019 live dates include:

Bristol Radio / ON (14th September), Manchester Salford Eagle Inn (3rd October), Glasgow Nice N Sleazy (4th October), Sheffield Hatch (5th October), London Servants Jazz Quarters (5th November)

https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/alice-hubble

https://www.facebook.com/alicehubblemusic/

https://twitter.com/alice_hubble

https://www.instagram.com/alice_hubble/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
21st August 2019

QUIETER THAN SPIDERS Signs Of Life

12 August 2019 /

After first breaking cover in 2013, Shanghai synthpop trio QUIETER THAN SPIDERS mysteriously disappeared despite having previewed numerous tracks on YouTube and Soundcloud.

But in 2018 there were ‘Signs Of Life’ as QUIETER THAN SPIDERS officially released their first track ‘Shanghai Metro’ on a compilation via Amour Records. And now, the anonymous family group of Leon, Yi Fan and Yao finally release their long awaited debut album on Anna Logue Records, promising “Electric sound-waves that pulse through our sleep… and our dreams”,

It is a body of work that has a timeless quality which manages to be simultaneously futuristic and classic, just like the electronic pop of yore. ‘Signs Of Life’ begins with the bubbling chiptune inspired ‘Arcade Eighty – Five’; both rigidly rhythmic and richly melodic, it is exactly what KRAFTWERK would be sounding like today if they could be bothered to make new records. With a harsher robotic tone, ‘No Illusion’ keeps up the standard with its sharp hooks and recalls the endearing homemade indie electro of WHITETOWN.

As well as ten actual compositions, ‘Signs of Life’ also features eight conceptual interludes, the first of which being the self-explanatory ‘Disorientation’ which in 2019 falls into that ‘Stranger Things’ territory. Also accidently falling into current music trends, ‘Night Drive’ would probably be considered Synthwave although the chipmunk voice samples and sectional structure keep it firmly within the classic synthpop template.

The very short ‘2139’ looks ahead courtesy of Jean-Michel Jarre derived arpeggios and string machines to act as a intro to the simply wonderful ‘The Land Of The Lost Content’. Inspired by an AE Housman poem, it glides with a glacial beauty that not only is appealing to the ear, but can be danced to as well.

The soothing piano on ‘Distant’ provides respite from all the beats before ‘Shanghai Metro’, a whirring tune that would be exactly what OMD would sound like if they formed in the 21st Century. But while the strong melodic elements recall Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey’s more recent work, particularly 2013’s ‘English Electric’, there is a fresh dynamic slant with the train station announcements and robot voices acting as catchy hooks.

The music box sequence of ‘Chang’e’ has a European arthouse air about it, which is appropriate as the following ‘Fessenden Grove’ is a solemn piano piece that incorporates ‘Scenes From Childhood’ by German composer Robert Schumann. But its eerie voice samples stating “this young man’s dead” prepare the listener for the loss and despair expressed in ‘Hibakusha’.

A beautifully haunting song about the aftermath of Hiroshima, it is a thoughtful merging of SOLVENT and Michael Rother which as far as subject matter and melody goes, is up there with ‘Enola Gay’. Fittingly in that unsettling ‘Stranger Things’ vein, the horror of ‘Silent Centre’ comes afterwards.

That fatalistic air continues with ‘Komarov’, an instrumental eulogy to the cosmonaut of Soyuz 1 who was the first man to die on a space mission; capturing the tragedy in music, it is a hairs on the back of the neck moment, swathed in chilling but melodic sadness; OMD would be rather proud if this was one of their own…

And as the album becomes much more downbeat, ‘Brave New World’ does as title suggests, dressed in dense Vangelis sweeps. More personal and introverted, ‘The Signs Of Life’ stares mortality in the face and reflects on the difficult emotions that come when the end is nearer than the beginning, “when the light begins to fade”.

The longest track on the record, the slow expansive drama of ‘The Statues’ could not be more different from ‘Shanghai Metro’, the mournful choir boy melancholy standing alone in the cinematic synthesized atmosphere. The funereal instrumental ‘Zara In The Stars’ closes ‘Signs Of Life’ with a glorious heavenly ambience perhaps not heard since Moby closed ‘Hotel’ with ‘Homeward Angel’.

In common with records such as ‘Low’, ‘Closer’ or ‘Play’, ‘Signs Of Life’ begins in an upbeat fashion but then gets increasingly slower, stranger and sadder. And with its conceptual interludes and emotive avant pop in various tempos, it is a direct descendent musically of OMD’s ‘Dazzle Ships’ and ‘English Electric’.

A document of melancholy and uncertainty through its difficult gestation over the last six years, ‘Signs Of Life’ is one of the best electronic pop albums of 2019. Its understated artistic perseverance has been well worth the wait.

‘Signs Of Life’ is released by Anna Logue Records on 4th October 2019 in double CD, double vinyl LP and download formats featuring a bonus album of 10 remixes by artists including Kevin Komoda from RATIONAL YOUTH, VILE ELECTRODES and THE SILICON SCIENTIST – available from https://annaloguerecords.bandcamp.com/album/signs-of-life-2cd-version-master

https://www.facebook.com/QTSpiders/

https://www.facebook.com/annaloguerecords/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th August 2019

FAKE TEAK Achmelvich 1 EP

8 August 2019 /


With diverse influences such as Krautrock, Afrobeat, funk, rock and electronica, FAKE TEAK released their self-titled debut album in 2018 with the quirky HOT CHIP influenced danecefloor friendly ‘No Shame’ being one of its highlights.

But for their latest release, the London-based quartet of Andrew Wyld, Alastair Nicholls Joanna Wyld and Andrea Adriano have taken a back-to-basics approach, journeying to a remote corner of the Scottish Highlands for inspiration in a road trip up past Inverness and north-west to a small settlement called Achmelvich.

FAKE TEAK have used the loch side location as a retreat free from the usual pressures of life to relax, write, rehearse and record. The fruits of these retreats form a series of EPs, the first of which is ‘Achmelvich 1’. With the practical and artistic restriction of just guitar, bass, drums and a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer as their only tools, in an interesting move, regular lead vocalist Andrew Wyld takes a back seat as his bandmates take to the mic. ‘Panel Beater’ sees Alastair Nicholls go first with a funk laden tune punctuated with burst of synth.

Although voiced by the choir girl soprano of Joanna Wyld, musically ‘Prufrock’ recalls the ballads of John Grant, an artist whose more recent output has partly been inspired by his relocation to Iceland. Lyrically, TS Eliot’s ’The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ is one of the sources of inspirations. There are hints too of earlier Jeff Lynne-led ELO like ‘One Summer Dream’, something that is also has a subtle omnipresence on ‘Carousel’; string synth driven but more gently lilting rhythmically, Andrea Adriano’s introspective lead voice is beautifully harmonised by Joanna Wyld.

The pared down nature of these very good songs however does leave the listener wanting more aesthetically; it’s not difficult to imagine them reworked with more synths and drum machines, and it’s interesting that drummer Andrea Adriano in his dual role producer utilises a Linn Drum snare type sound on ‘Panel Beater’.

With further EPs in the ‘Achmelvich’ series to come, this is certainly an adventurous experiment where the earthier honesty of the songs are the main focus rather than the instrumentation.

‘Achmelvich 1’ is available on the usual digital platforms including CD Baby at https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/FakeTeak

https://www.facebook.com/faketeak/

https://twitter.com/faketeak

https://www.instagram.com/faketeak/

https://soundcloud.com/faketeak

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th August 2019

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