Category: Reviews (Page 49 of 199)

INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP Drive All Night (We Love E.U.)

8 June 2021 /

With esteemed fans such as Phil Oakey and Richard Hawley among their ranks, INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP will use their summer holidays to embark on an extensive British club tour.

It is likely they will ‘Drive All Night’, so it is appropriate that their brand new single captures the anticipation of this forthcoming adventure before the quartet of Adrian Flanagan, Dean Honer, Leonore Wheatley and Katie Mason take a sabbatical from continuing the fine tradition of Northern English synth, many acts from which went on to be part of The Electronic Legacy of 1981.

Introducing scratchy funk guitar and deviant dancehall rhythms into the squelchy mix, Leonore Wheatley said “’Drive All Night (We Love E.U.)’ tries to encapsulate the glamour of going on tour and how you spend the days. Alot of the time you’re asleep, using up phone data you don’t have, needing a pee, walking aimlessly around a town you don’t know and buying souvenirs to add to that magnet collection you’ve tried to keep going” although amusingly, Adrian Flanagan added “For me, it’s like going back to NAM or somewhere – where simply getting home quickly is always determined by the strength of another person’s bladder!!’”

Sending up the era of Thatcherism as fellow Sheffield combo HEAVEN 17 did back in 1981, the video sees Flanagan, Wheatley, Mason and new live drummer Dimitri take to vintage brick sized mobile phones in an empty converted factory apartment, all while indulging in variations of skanking, vogueing and robot dancing. Meanwhile Honer remains in his studio to prepare the remix which is included in the download bundle.

“With the new promo photos and video for the single, we were giving a nod to HEAVEN 17’s ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ album – and all them bloody awful modern day Yuppies…” confirmed Flanagan, “But it’s all come true though hasn’t it? Everywhere you look now on the trains – in bars and restaurants, it’s people with these portable offices strapped to their noses and ears – 20something males checking their crypto currency graphs – or talking to 8 mini squares on Zoom to people who look like the bleedin’ Manson Family, all of whom have these IKEA bookcases behind them to convince you that they aren’t all serial killers but are in fact – highly qualified academics!!”

The B-side to ‘Drive All Night (We Love E.U.)’ is the delightful live favourite ‘Miss Lollipop’ which will appeal to anyone who has appreciated the danceable synthy togetherness of INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP as showcased on their self-titled debut album and its 2020 follow-up ‘Pop Gossip’ with songs like ‘The Age Of The Train’, ‘After Dark’ and ‘The Ballad Of Remedy Wilson’, ‘The Tower’, ‘Femenenergy’ and ‘Don’t Diss the Disco’.

With thanks to Adrian Flanagan

‘Drive All Night (We Love E.U.)’ is released by Desolate Spools as a download EP available exclusively via Bandcamp at https://eccentronicresearchcouncil.bandcamp.com/album/drive-all-night-ep

INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP’s 2022 UK live dates include:

Liverpool Arts Club (19th August), Leeds Headrow House (20th August), Sheffield Leadmill (21st August), Nottingham Rescue Rooms (24th August), Hebden Bridge Trades (25th August), Glasgow Broadcast (26th August), Manchester YES (28th August), Birmingham Hare & Hounds (31st August), London Moth Club (2nd September)

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th June 2021

PRIMO THE ALIEN Heart On The Run EP

7 June 2021 /


There was a time when an album showed two very different sides of an artist; David Bowie did it with ‘Low’ as did NEU! with ’75’ and to an extent, JOY DIVISION’s ‘Closer’ was similar in concept.

Vivacious extra-terrestrial PRIMO THE ALIEN releases a Siamese twinned double EP collection comprising of the synth flavoured ‘Heart On The Run’ which is seen as “Side A” available on all the usual streaming platforms, while the self-explanatory ‘Rock Professor’ is “Side B” which is exclusive to purchasers of the album-like vinyl edition. It’s an interesting strategy which has engagement opportunities with different levels of fans.

Blessed with a dynamic versatile voice, Laura Lee Bishop who is PRIMO THE ALIEN presents variations on her popwave aesthetic. Releasing her first album ‘To The Max!’ in 2017, PRIMO THE ALIEN achieved a wider recognition thanks to collaborations with noted synthwave exponents such as TIMECOP1983, BETAMAXX, SUNGLASSES KID and ICARUS.

Opening “Side A”, the emotive ‘Do It Again’ is soulful and sophisticated with the sort of exotic percussion rolls that were ubiquitous on Trans-Atlantic hits from Steve Winwood and Peter Gabriel that were the staple of MTV’s first 10 years. Providing commentary on the recent narcissistic insurrection that made America grate, ‘Bad Things’ is a definite highlight as a fabulously sprightly electronic disco tune that is up there with Dana Jean Phoenix and “feels good” while partying like it’s 1987!

With a solid rhythmic base and layers of synths, ‘Thunder’ captures a calm before the storm as our heroine marvellously lets rip for the song’s climax with some mighty lungsmith gynmnastics. With the air cleared, the ‘Heart On The Run’ title song is an optimistic fist pumping statement that is a classy AOR set-piece without the guitars but plenty of stabbing keys.

Of course, Laura Lee Bishop likes to rock too, and material of that bent comes with the appropriately titled ‘Rock Professor’ on “Side B”, complete with guitars by Bennett Jackson and additional backing vocals from Jessica Martin! But listeners will have to get physical to hear that!

For those of a more synthier disposition with a penchant for ‘Bad Animals’ era HEART, ANIMOTION or BERLIN, the ‘Heart On the Run’ EP is an enjoyable cohesive work with superlative vocal performances to reinforce why Billboard have listed PRIMO THE ALIEN as one of 2021’s Hot 100 independent artists to watch.

Watch out for her crossover potential as she enters the wider pop world; PRIMO THE ALIEN has landed…

‘Heart On The Run’ is available on the usual online platforms

The physical double EP edition of ‘Heart On The Run’ twinned with ‘Rock Professor’ is available exclusively from https://primothealien.bandcamp.com/album/heart-on-the-run-rock-professor

https://primothealien.com/

https://www.facebook.com/PrimoTheAlien

https://twitter.com/primothealien

https://www.instagram.com/primoalien/

https://open.spotify.com/album/6fwIJvVibtefMDtPI8tPzo

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Jackson Montgomery Schwartz
7th June 2021

UNIFY SEPARATE Embrace The Fear

5 June 2021 /


As many take their first steps into the outside world, with the prospect of interacting with others again, anxieties that have developed over the past 15 months will no doubt linger for a while…

But for Scottish Swedish duo UNIFY SEPARATE, formally known as US, it is time to ‘Embrace The Fear’.

Vocalist Andrew Montgomery said: “The basic idea for ‘Embrace the Fear’ actually dates to a little while before the pandemic, but I must have had my Mystic Meg hat on when I came up with the lyrics because it seems to resonate with what we have been through!”

While the theme is relatable to lockdown, ‘Embrace The Fear’ touches on the more general existential crises that afflict many as they navigate a life crossroads. “It’s about that general feeling of seeming to be a bit trapped by life / circumstances and wanting to break out of that – something that we have all been feeling for the past year and a bit, for sure”  continued Montgomery, “Musically, Leo is channelling a bit of NEW ORDER and DAFT PUNK here, especially with the very driving live bass. It suits the intensity of the song, I think.”

But despite the air of unease and the grittier disposition, as with most of UNIFY SEPARATE’s output, there is light at the end of the tunnel; “If it can provide a bit of hope and inspiration for people as we tread warily back into the normal world, then that’s humbling, and so much the better”.

Acting as the perfect symbolism for ‘Embrace The Fear’ is a fairground… after all, where else entertains and terrifies people in equal measures! “We really got lucky with the video!” remembered the one-time front man of indie band GENEVA, “The cinematographer, Tobias Andersson, is a great friend of ours and has collaborated on the video for ‘Dying on the Vine’. His fiancée works at the famous Gröna Lund funfair in Stockholm, and it just seemed like too good an opportunity not to ask politely, especially seeing as the park was not yet open and only actually opened up on June 1st.”

With the 140 year old theme park acting as the backdrop, the scene was set: “At the time of filming, it still had that eerie dystopian future emptiness that really suits the sentiments behind the track. Our mate Rasmus Lindgren was the perfect guy for the lead role, and we’re really happy with how it turned out.”

And as Lindgren embraces finds freedom in thrills and dance despite his nervousness, Andrew Montgomery and Leo Josefsson clear up after him while donned in their protective overalls. A soaring song that at times touches on MUSE’s ‘Uprising’ (or ‘White Wedding’ by Billy Idol depending on your age!) and makes the most out of Montgomery’s emotive falsetto, ‘Embrace The Fear’ offers cautious optimism within a wholly fitting audio visual statement.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to UNIFY SEPARATE

‘Embrace The Fear’ is released as a digital single, available direct from https://unifyseparate.bandcamp.com/

http//www.unifyseparate.com

https://www.facebook.com/usmusicspace

http://www.instagram.com/unify_separate

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0h9f9Dz3aVBP41aEF3GDON

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Hilding Bjersby
5th June 2021

DAS BEAT Identität EP

4 June 2021 /


A product of Berlin’s 2020 lockdown, DAS BEAT comprise of German theatre actress Eddie Rabenberger and Agor Kerby from the Canadian electronic act BLUE HAWAII.

Rabenberger’s résumé includes opera, acrobatics, ballet, fencing skills and stage combat among her skills and talents. Meanwhile Kerby moved from Montreal to Berlin in 2018, but despite this, BLUE HAWAII released their third album ‘Open Reduction Internal Fixation’ in 2019.

With songs sung in German and English, DAS BEAT are quirkily rhythmic with an eye on the unorthodox nature of performance art, propping up a mix of Neue Deutsche Welle, Italo disco and dreamy atmospherics as they seek “to blast both boredom and boundary”.

With Amanda Lear and Gina Kikoine as influences, the hypnotic electro-cabaret of ‘Bubble’ is incessant detached disco for the outsider, as Rabenberger expresses the emotions of dancing alone. Despite the intensity, like its two muses, the bilingual alto vocal and vocoder delivery is also strangely playful. Meanwhile the ‘Identität’ title song utilises a Moroder-esque throb with some unexpected flute flourishes and shouty Mädchen expression like MALARIA! doing ‘I Feel Love’!

Much more laid back and inspired by the Cretan princess in Greek mythology, ‘Ariadne’ uses a charming vintage drum box and minimal harmonic six string to apply a muzak vibe that allows Rabenberger’s strident vocals to shine with the message that following break-up can come strength.

The closing number ‘Jackie’ is the EP’s most conventional sounding offering, being more guitar focussed with a lively use of drums despite the overall tone of resignation that is reminiscent of Nico, although not so quite so Götterdämmerung. Despite the Austere Gothic, there is light creeping through from the synth and the flute.

Released on Arbutus Records, the Canadian independent that was the home to GRIMES before she hooked up with Elon Musk, ‘Identität’ is a fine debut EP from DAS BEAT. Based on this diverse showcase and when the world is allowed out to play again, if more music is forthcoming from Eddie Rabenberger and Agor Kerby, that would be most welcome.

The ‘Identität’ EP is released by Arbutus Records on 4th June 2021, available from https://dasbeatofficial.bandcamp.com/album/identita-t-ep

https://www.instagram.com/das.beat/

https://soundcloud.com/dasbeatofficial

https://arbutusrecords.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th June 2021

FM ATTACK The Never Ending

30 May 2021 /


Shawn Ward says ‘The Never Ending’ is his last FM ATTACK album, but it’s a good one to end the story. The Canadian’s 2009 debut album ‘Dreamatic’ got a profile boost in 2011 when Ryan Gosling declared himself a fan of the record during interviews promoting the now-influential cult movie ‘Drive’.

2013’s ‘Déjà Vu’ moved into more song-based territory, while the third FM ATTACK album ‘Stellar’ in 2017 gave a showcase to Ward’s love of new-wave and post-punk. 2019’s ‘New World’ featured MECHA MAIKO and VANDAL MOON on vocals alongside the more understated tones of Ward to forward the template further.

Of his production style, Shawn Ward said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I’m a vintage synth nerd, there is something very unique about programming your own sounds, the ones I use often are the Roland Jupiter 8, Jupiter 4 and the Emu Emax…”

‘The Never Ending’ sparkles with dream pop flourishes to add to the synthy experience while still being danceable, as epitomised by the sprightly opener ‘Days Like These’ which is swooped in aural optimism. Moderating to a more cruising pace, ‘Lonely Nights’ sees the first of Shawn Ward’s lead vocals, sweetened by Moroder-style vocoder phrasing. Meanwhile, following on with another vocalled track, ‘Footprints’ pulses and rings within a delightful percolating backdrop.

Taking centre-stage on the collection, ‘Hypnotize’ is a throbbing vocoder-laced highlight where the uptempo triplet groove is indeed hypnotizing. ‘So Blue’ features a sweet vocal refrain from his daughter Stella and utilises grainy synthetic strings and melodic six-string to head into what THE CURE might have sounded like had they been more electro.

‘Cinematic’ is possibly the most synthwave track on the album with its archetypical sombre bassline and full-on synthetic toms but the ringing chimes help it enter a different headspace, while the marvellously energetic ‘Starlight’ offers euphoric disco potential reminiscent of PET SHOP BOYS that more than reaches the hotspot.

Closing the album with the beautifully transient ‘Nova Child’, it outlines the gloriously understated craft that Shawn Ward puts into his music and perhaps signals a future direction as he retires FM ATTACK.

Longstanding fans will not be disappointed with ‘The Never Ending’, but for the curious who have not explored FM ATTACK before, this is an uplifting work which is just the tonic as the world comes out to play again. It may even lead to a journey to explore the catalogue of one of the North America’s leading synth exponents of the past 12 years.

‘The Never Ending’ is released by Starfield Music in vinyl LP, cassette and digital formats direct from
https://fmattack.bandcamp.com/album/the-never-ending

https://www.facebook.com/fmattackmusic/

https://twitter.com/fmattack

https://www.instagram.com/fmattack/

https://open.spotify.com/album/1E1hMtC817hSCTNbXWOelp

Text and Photo by Chi Ming Lai
30th May 2021

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