‘Animal Magnetism’ is a great new album by the mysterious Rio based Irish musician Gary Collins.

The wonderful opening track ‘Heartbreaker’ with its vocodered layers and synthesized goodness captures the vein of ‘Nightcall’ by KAVINSKY from the acclaimed film ‘Drive’… perhaps not by coincidence, Collins has also remixed ‘Nightcall’ as if to confirm the link. From the first listen, aural curiosity gets the better… the remainder of the collection is a superb, primarily instrumental collection with the Moroder-esque disco vibes of ‘If Looks Could Kill’ and the David Lynch reimagined by ‘Black Celebration’ era DM cover of ‘Falling’ being particular highlights.

The synthetic drifts of the brief ‘We Were The Ones’ recall William Orbit’s ‘Strange Cargo’ project while the filmic ambience of ‘Walk With Me’ with its incongruous blues guitar soloing by Johnny Accioly is based around the classic pop tune ‘Stand By Me’ (…the soulful Ben E King hit, NOT the dreary Oasis whine!) and makes a fitting closer. But it’s not all sedate; ‘Coping Mechanism’ for example is positively Italo be thy name!

The pulsating ‘Serenade’ with its more contemporary digital sheen is sweetened by the serene whispers of Ana Gabriela Accioly and holds the listener into a dreamlike state. However, at the opposite end of the spectrum, ‘The Sacred’ is altogether more sinister and unsettling with its demon robot rambling. With influences ranging from DAFT PUNK to THE BEACH BOYS and using a combination of Moog hardware and virtual instruments in Ableton Live, this is perfect evening listening with chilled vibes healthily resident in the mix.

The Collins dictionary definition of Animal Magnetism is “the power to attract others through one’s physical presence”. Collins himself says: “As I sit here now, trying to recall the events from 30 years ago, in that spring of ’83, that led to my journey into the darkness of an unanswered love. A darkness so sweet and captivating, I wished never to return. The memories, though vague at best, are trapped, haunting the deep recesses of my mind. This is what they sound like…”

‘Animal Magnetism’ is released by Telefuture and available as a digital download from http://collinsmusic.bandcamp.com/

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https://open.spotify.com/album/3j6apimPtjZAke9JxGfipX

Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th January 2013