Category: Reviews (Page 90 of 199)

TR/ST The Destroyer – 1

13 April 2019 /


Since releasing ‘Joyland’, TR/ST’s second album in 2014, mainman Robert Alfons has relocated from Toronto to work in southern Ontario and Los Angeles.

An ambitious two volume work, ‘The Destroyer’ sees Alfons reunite with debut long player collaborator Maya Postepski, who co-wrote and co-produced six of this project’s songs. “My first two records were put out so close to one another that I think of them as one” said Alfons on the reasoning for the new two part work, “Sonically, it teeters between warmth, melody and exhilaration on one hand, and isolating, industrial hardness on the other.”

With rumbles of sub-bass and Alfon’s deep grouchy baritone, the metronomic ‘Colossal’ offers the mysterious TR/ST that people know and love, as does ‘Unbleached’ but with doses of cosmic arpeggiation. But in ‘Gone’, Alfons springs a surprise with possibly the most TR/ST accessible song yet. Neon-lit and extremely melodic, it could be mistaken for COLDPLAY going synthwave but don’t let that be a deterrent; ‘Gone’ is glorious.

With a slight touch of muscular aggression, ‘Bicep’ provides some dynamic weirdness with a few industrialised textures thrown in for good measure during which Alfons’ noted “Eeyore gone Goth” vocal style takes centre stage.

The dramatic ‘Grouch’ sends up Alfons’ public persona, the combination of spacey vibes, hypnotic percussive pulses and neo-Wagnerian overtones providing a wonderfully usual dancefloor template. It’s a wonderful slice of gothic disco that makes the most out of Alfons’ vocal stylings.

The stuttering rhythms of ‘Poorly Coward’ with its swirling dubstep dressing develop on the vibe while more steadfast and atmospheric, ‘Control Me’ exploits an emotive widescreen side to TR/ST not heard before.

Closing proceedings with a decisively moody tone, ‘Wake With’ is one of those rare things, a TR/ST love song and perhaps a signal to the more personal compositions slated for Part 2 of ‘The Destroyer’.

So with the second volume promising to reveal a more mellow intimate side of TR/ST, ‘The Destroyer-1’ presents an initial collection of enjoyable industrial pop alongside more dreamy backdrops and a sincere if weird emotional centre.

‘The Destroyer – 1’ is released on 19th April 2019 by Grouch / House Arrest in vinyl LP and digital formats

TR/ST 2019 Tour Dates:

Amsterdam Bitterzoet (15th April), Copenhagen Vega (17th April), Berlin Urban Spree (19th April), St Petersburg MOD (20th April), Moscow Pluton 21st April), Toronto Phoenix Concert Theatre (26th April), Montreal Corona Theatre (27th April), Boston Brighton Music Hall (1st May), Brooklyn Elsewhere (2nd – 3rd May), Philadelphia Underground Arts (4th May), Washington DC Street Music Hall (5th May), Detroit El Club (9th May), Chicago Lincoln Hall (10th May) , Minneapolis Fine Line Music Cafe (11th May), Portland Wonder Ballroom (14th May), Seattle Neumos (15th May), San Francisco Great American Music Hall (17th May), Los Angeles Fonda Theatre (18th May)

https://tr-st.xyz/

https://www.facebook.com/dressedforspace/

https://twitter.com/tr_st

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Eliot Hazel Lee
13th April 2019

ANDY BELL Torsten In Queereteria

9 April 2019 /

As described by Andy Bell himself, Torsten has been “the biggest challenge of (his) career so far”.

Having released solo projects before, 2014 saw the birth of an age-defying polysexual in a stage production that bent genres and shook values, shocking as well as eliciting love and empathy towards the wounded figure of a hedonistic individual who endlessly looks for love and acceptance.

The first in the series, ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’, was “sporadic, psychotic, quite confusing to people” according to Bell, describing the hero’s early days, his time as a schoolboy, the first jobs, the first loves of both sexes as well as Torsten’s fragile mental state.

‘Torsten The Beautiful Libertine’ painted a clearer picture of his character, delving deeper into the past and showing the cracks in his existence. It’s the tale of a man who “finds himself in extraordinary circumstances” and simply trying to continue his endless being.

Written as a collaboration between Andy Bell, poet playwright Barney Ashton-Bullock and the musical genius of Christopher Frost, the Torsten productions enjoyed viewings during The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a four week run at Above The Stag Theatre in London respectively. And now Torsten returns ‘In Queereteria’, which covers four acts depicting various aspects of the semi-immortal’s life story and his self-realisation.

Act one, entitled ‘Remembrance, Youth and Beauty’ ushers the sadness that defines Torsten’s existence, the eternal fight that goes on in his mind, the realisation that his “beautiful libertine” times will pass, and ‘A Hundred Years Plus Today’ he may or may not be here. While ‘You Stampede An Open Wound’ of a “broken man”, this bossa nova deepens the melancholy further, leading “so far from home” on ‘Lowland Lowriders’.

The nautical sounds of ‘I Am Of The Sea’ float ominously over the storms of life, fighting the tempest of survival over the “seven seas from home”.

The second act, ‘The Hedonism And The Hurting’ brings back the city lights in ‘Cabaret Awayday’; a highly melodic piece which crudely describes the random sexual encounters “in a toilet cubicle” under “flickering strip lights” performing the chosen “subtle perversion”. But it is the ‘Queereteria’ club with its “musical diarrhoea” where the debauchery reigns above all, even ‘If We Want To Drink A Little’, while duetting with Hazel O’Connor.

‘Bitter Regrets’ is Act Three, where ‘Thou Shalt Be My Vibe’ portrays an intoxicated Torsten, who’s realised he’s hit the bottomless hole. The rent boy status of ‘Money With Menaces’ doesn’t seem to suit him anymore, while he tries to deny the fact his drinking is beyond control in ‘Let’s Be Sober Another Time’, even inviting his remaining acquaintances to ‘Come And Taste My Breakdown’. Like in a dark circus of “insanity and breakdown”, Torsten seems to lose himself thoroughly.

Some balance is restored in Act Four ‘To Mourn And To Miss’, seeing an older Torsten who’s trying to distance himself from the years of partying and loose lifestyle. ‘To Know Good Men From Perverts’ is a lesson of being able to distinguish between those who wish one harm and those whose intentions are pure. The leading single from the album, ‘We Haven’t Slept For Twenty Years’, describes the crazy times of constant over indulging “cruising for kicks” and “not giving a toss years” with a romantic approach, as if watching one’s life like a series of slides. Incidentally, the song has also been separately remixed by the Welsh duo SHELTER, with frontman Mark Bebb providing additional backing vocals.

A tribute to an aged lover recently lost is presented in ‘Silence Is Golden’. The closing ‘Not Opting Out’ brings the realisation that Torsten’s life may be coming to an end, yet he’s still adapting to the changes it’s bringing, even if it’s becoming harder and harder to keep up.

‘Queereteria TV’ is scheduled to open to audiences at Above The Stag Theatre in London, where Torsten finds himself in post-apocalyptic Britain, wanting to reinstate live TV transmissions from ‘Queereteria’ cruising club. This time joined by Peter Straker of ‘Hair’ and ‘Doctor Who’ amongst others, alongside Barney Ashton-Bullock and Christopher Frost, Andy Bell is likely to bring Torsten to life again, signing his heart out, portraying the melancholy and sadness of Torsten’s long existence.

‘Torsten In Queereteria’ is released by Cherry Red as a CD and download on 12th April 2019; available from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/andy-bell-torsten-in-queereteria-cd/

Andy Bell stars in ‘Queereteria TV’ at Above The Stag Theatre from 10th April to 28th April 2019, this is a musical comedy set in a post apocalypse Britain where three egotistical misfits attempt to reinstate live TV transmissions from the infamous ‘Queereteria’ cruising club. It also stars Peter Straker alongside the other two members of ‘Andy Bell is Torsten’ collective, Barney Ashton-Bullock and Christopher Frost – tickets available from: http://www.abovethestag.com/vxl/whatson/torsten/

http://www.andybell.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialandybell

https://twitter.com/AndyBell_info

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
9th April 2016

SOFTWAVE Game On

4 April 2019 /


Since their debut EP ‘Together Alone’ in 2016, Danish duo SOFTWAVE have been gaining momentum with well-received live performances and endorsements from luminaries such as one-time member of THE HUMAN LEAGUE Jo Callis and former Numan sideman Chris Payne.

From their studio in Herlev, Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen have not stood still, learning from their first release and actually improving on it, particularly with Jerry’s Alternate Version of the catchy ‘On & On & On’ on the companion remix EP.

And now sees the release of the couple’s debut long player with a declaration that it’s all now ‘Game On’. Cross ERASURE with the influence of singers such as Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, and you get the picture that while female fronted synthpop is a plenty, SOFTWAVE offer something special in the vocal department for their first album.

It’s a journey that has excited Catrine Christensen who told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in Autumn 2017: “An album is like a story with smaller parts that connects and become that greater story. It’s small parts and emotions from your life that fits together, some being uptempo and energetic, some being slow and some sad etc.”

With a dramatic intro appropriately titled ‘Takeoff’, SOFTWAVE’s inaugural full length mission features a spoken commentary and countdown from Christensen to connect to the album’s futuristic gamer theme.

The album’s first single and calling card ‘Something Is Missing’ is buzzingly sub-ERASURE, an alluringly catchy and assured synthpop statement with melodies and counter-melodies galore.

In a tune partly inspired by her unique relationship with her dog Nero, as Christensen puts it: “life contains greater things than just temporary material things”.

More uptempo but punctuated by machines of ice, ‘No Need To Hide’ is undoubtedly Clarkean too, celebrating positivity in possibly SOFTWAVE’s finest moment yet with one of those rousing Scandipop choruses.

‘Reflected Memories’ sparkles but retains that touch of melancholy which Nordic acts are so good at. Here, Christensen is vocally rich and more confident while Olsen has upped the ante on production values since the debut, applying bravado and vibrato as appropriate.

Comparatively more sedate, ‘Guardian Angel’ plays with dripping arpeggios, airy soundscapes and the occasional Celine Dion hairbrush moment for something that Christensen declares is almost spiritual.

Rewarding their ‘Valor’, this enjoyable filmic instrumental sets the second for the second act; so with bursts of stabbing electronic energy, ‘I Need Love’ take a leaf from its Moroder-esque title, but with an effective offbeat on it rhythm construction for a love song for people who hate songs about love but who need it and feed on it.

‘Curiosity’ provides a breather and another ballad moment with Christensen displaying her range over Olsen’s sympathetic backdrop; it’s an inventive fictional story about a forgotten “one-hit-wonder” who is deep frozen in an underground laboratory, brought back to life by a fan and together they make another hit record… the concept is downright bizarre but brilliant, showing how much SOFTWAVE are thinking outside of the box.

The trancey ‘Human Beings’ is set at dancefloor pace, but Olsen’s production puts the song itself at centre stage rather than percussively overdriving it. With a commentary about how people use people and love things, rather than the other way round, the end result all the much better for it. Closing the album, the sweet ‘Galaxy Of Stars’ is classic ERASURE, pulsing and signalling gloriously as Christensen stares into the night sky reflecting on her day.

So with ‘Game On’ now “game over”, what is the verdict? SOFTWAVE have delivered a fine and enjoyable debut album with off-the-wall narratives contained within a classic melodic framework. So the natural reaction is to press “play” again.

Striving for continual artistic improvement and displaying a willingness to learn as they progress, there is no doubt that based on this documentary evidence, SOFTWAVE’s synthpop heart will go on…

‘Game On’ is released on 11th April 2019, available as a download album from https://softwave.bandcamp.com/album/game-on

http://www.softwavemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SoftWaveMusic/

https://twitter.com/SoftWaveMusic

https://www.instagram.com/softwave_music/

https://softwave.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wo2L2BtVUYsopJnWAo8Z6

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th April 2019

HOWARD JONES Hero In Your Eyes

3 April 2019 /


Celebrating the 35th anniversary of his debut album ‘Humans Lib’ and with a promise that he will be “bringing a lot of synths”, Howard Jones will be touring UK theatres this May.

The tour will also see the launch of his brand new album ‘Transform’, his first since 2015’s ‘Engage’ multi-media project. A practicing Buddhist for over 20 years, the album’s concept outlines “the idea that if we want to change the world for the benefit of everyone, first we have to start with ourselves.”

From it comes a sparklingly catchy new single ‘Hero In Your Eyes’ which reflects the long player’s distinctly classic feel with sequencers and feel good beats galore.

In some ways, ‘Hero In Your Eyes’ captures a similarly soulful style to the recent SOFT CELL comeback song ‘Northern Lights’. While there are aesthetic references to the past, ‘Tin Man’ is catchy synthpop for the 21st Century.

In the accompanying visual presentation, our hero is seen reminiscing on his career with archive footage projected over him; but the stars of the video undoubtedly are his Moog Prodigy, Roland TR808, Sequential Circuits Pro-One and Roland Jupiter 8, perhaps the four instruments most associated with his imperial years.

In a spirit of collaboration, ‘Transform’ includes three tracks featuring American producer and synth enthusiast BT, best known for his dance hit ‘Flaming June’ with Paul Van Dyk and producing NSYNC’s ‘Pop’. Of course, Howard Jones had his own flirtation with contemporary pop by co-writing and co-producing ‘Blue’ for SUGABABES in 2002.

The album also features the previously released 2016 Schaffel synth stomper ‘Eagle Will Fly Again’ from ‘Fly’, the various artists soundtrack souvenir of the ‘Eddie The Eagle’ biopic and the excellent taster single ‘Beating Mr Neg’, a rallying cry against negativity.

Despite being just a year short of receiving his bus pass, Howard Jones retains his positive zest for life to inspire creativity, something that has ensured him a loyal following for three and a half decades.

With grateful thanks to Asher Alexander at Republic Media

‘Transform’ is released on 10th May 2019 by Dtox Records as a deluxe 2CD with book, standard CD, vinyl LP and download, pre-order from https://www.musicglue.com/howard-jones/

Howard Jones 2019 35th Anniversary ‘Transform’ tour with special guests CHINA CRISIS includes:

Birmingham Symphony Hall (23rd May), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (24th May), London Palladium (25th May), Cardiff St David’s Hall (26th May), Leicester De Montfort Hall (29th May), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (30th May), Edinburgh Queens Hall (31st May), Gateshead Sage (1st June)

http://www.howardjones.com/

https://www.facebook.com/howardjones

https://twitter.com/howardjones

https://www.instagram.com/thehoward_jones/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Simon Fowler
3rd April 2019

FUTURECOP! Voltrana

25 March 2019 /

Mancunian producer Manzur Iqbal is the man behind FUTURECOP!

Since 2006, the project has grown in popularity, having gained audiences across the globe, sitting comfortably in the niche of synthwave and synth revival circles.

Iqbal, despite having had no previous musical experience, started experimenting with sound to bring back the charm of his youth and FUTURECOP! was born. Known for his collaborations, FUTURECOP! is back with his brand new album ‘Voltrana’, where more synthwave household names are present.

From ambient to spiritual, the album is full of surprises, all cinematically realigned to achieve a shiny retro gem which is bound to bring in the long awaited Spring.

Canada’s PARALLELS delight the album with Holly Dodson’s charming vocals and this opus welcomes back the synthwave princess copiously, starting with the sweet notions of ‘We Belong’. With a thoroughly modern approach interwoven with retro beats and scrumptious arpeggios, the track is a perfect intro to the colourful world of ‘Voltrana’.

Canada is followed the US with the clever changes of texture on ‘Star’, which welcomes COMPUTER MAGIC. New Yorker Danielle Johnson, the sole brains behind COMPUTER MAGIC has made it “big in Japan” thanks to her ethereal approach to vintage pop, often described as “cosmic”. And here, with FUTURECOP! she enters the realms of the otherworldly once again.

PARALLELS chase back again with the delicious ‘Leslie Cheung’, a tribute to the late much loved Cantopop star and actor. Dodson’s candied vocals bring an aura of childhood reminiscence over sugar coated melodies created as a fine example of modern dance music.

Going East, will Iqbal succeed in ‘Finding Shaolin’? Seemingly so, accompanied by heavier synth arpeggios and Moroder-esque templates, while ‘Breeze (Behind Waterfalls)’ eases the journey with the drum extravaganza leading the way further into the unknown.

PARALLELS return with the previously released single ‘Edge Of The Universe’.

“Inspired by a mix of 80s Japanese pop culture, eighties American Teen movies and Retro Space Adventure Japanese-Western cartoons” as described by Iqbal, the track is yet another easy listening beauty, inspiring peace and hope all the way “at the edge of the universe”.

Going back to the tender years of youth, ‘Forgotten Summer’ brings back the sounds and smells of the pivotal formative era, while Ayumi Sasaki joins FUTURECOP! on ‘Shinjinmei’; ‘信心銘’ is a sweet acoustic flavoured ballad, filled with nostalgic emotion that weaves in and out of J-Pop awareness.

Continuing the nod to eastern cultures ‘Zen 4040’, ‘Whispers of Tao’ and ‘Only From Mud (Can A Flower Bloom)’ enter the higher consciousness of pictorial qualities.

PARALLELS feature one more time on the delightful ‘This Moment Forever’, before the German princess of pop NINA finds herself as one of the family on ‘Fade Away’.

Grandiose arpeggios, “perfectly planned”, canvas the fresh sounding vocals from the alluring London-based songstress.

Comfortably at home alongside PARALLELS with whom she toured the US last year, NINA brings a calmer quality into the mix, not too dissimilar from the “mellow Magic” on Magic Radio.

The final collaboration comes from SIAMESE YOUTH, a synthwave duo from Berlin, also in form of a more demure offering, calming the senses and smoothing the rough with delicate melodies and soothing vocals.

The return of FUTURECOP! is a grand one. Twinning with the cream of synthwave artists from around the globe, this Eastern-inspired proposition helps to bring back the days of youth with charm, poise and melancholy.

Not all happy go lucky, yet uplifting and hopeful, ‘Voltrana’ is the perfect easy listening positive affirmation. Namaste.

‘Voltrana’ is released by New Retro Wave Records as a download album, available from https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/voltrana

https://www.futurecop.info/

https://facebook.com/futurecopofficial/

https://twitter.com/futurecopx

https://www.instagram.com/futurecopofficial/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
25th March 2019

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