Not content with their own solo adventures as 808 DOT POP and LECTREAU, those ever prolific passengers METROLAND are back with their new album ‘Forum’ just over a year after their last long playing opus ‘0’.

Embracing the slogan to “own nothing, be happy”, ‘Forum’ is conceptually connected to its predecessor and continues METROLAND’s exploration of the brave new future coined by Klaus Schwab in 2015 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

Starting with the profoundly titled ‘Co-operation In A Fragmented World’, the sparkle of KOMPUTER with a deep pumping rumble provides an appealing tension. The stark railway journey of ‘The Great Reset’ is catchy and melodic but prolonged. Ramping up the pace, ‘Activity As A Timetrigger’ pushes along with a barrage of percussive noise and hypnotic blips while ‘Happy Nothing’ backs a speech computer manifesto on a Utopian future and how to be happy.

‘Baukultur (The Davos Declaration)’ possesses a fabulous bounce and an array of enticing electronic sounds to savour before with a percolating sequence, ‘Infotainment’ comes over soothing with its accompanying computerised voice passages. Ominous and rhythmic, ‘Quantum’ states the case for a shift in mindset towards the possibilities of quantum computing while the futuristic ‘World Economic Forum’ would make a good TV drama theme.

To conclude ‘Forum’, there is a 6 part suite on the CD version which develops on the excellent ‘Industry 4.0’ from ‘0’; ‘Industry 5.0’ in particular comes over as a more layered radio edit variation of this slice of electro-motorik while ‘Industry 6.0’ takes the form of a short tone poem.

With concept, propaganda and honours, ‘Forum’ is more immediate and melodic than Passenger S and Passenger A’s past few albums and coming “recommended to all fans of the Düsseldorf synth stylz”, if there are to be no more KRAFTWERK or KOMPUTER records, then let them be like METROLAND ones.

‘Forum’ is released on 31 May 2024 by Alfa Matrix as a CD + download in a variety of bundles, pre-order from https://www.808dotpop.com/shop.html

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
18 May 2024