So SHELTER “ascend” on the listener for the second time in their career.
Even before they “emerged” in 2014, the electropop duo did well with writing, producing and releasing the Andy Bell solo album ‘iPop’
With the flamboyant Mark R Bebb on vocals and Rob Bradley in charge of programming and musical direction, ERASURE chose the guys as support for ‘The Violet Flame’ tour. SHELTER have since gigged extensively, backed by enthusiasts of catchy synthpop tunes.
‘Ascend’
‘In The Dark’ is a pumped up, Hi-NRG number, well suited for a club environment. The enhanced vocals, while feeling forced, work adequately within the musical canvass, while ‘Do You Remember’, featuring PEOPLE THEATRE, spells a more atmospheric approach to synthpopia.
‘Lost In The 80s’ is fast, dancey and energetic enough to drag one into the dance floor. Meanwhile DURAN DURAN’s ‘Save The Prayer’ loop ominously opens ‘Home’; a slower paced track that is pleasant to the ear, it’s a perfect chill-out piece. But the voice seems to get lost in the melody at times; it works well nevertheless as a dreamy ERASURE-esque piece.
‘Figaro’ follows the ballad pattern, with added guitar a la ‘La Isla Bonita’, while the title track returns to the synth pattern of a gentler paced love song. ‘Ascend’ is the song to listen on this production. It’s varied, textured and mature.
The vocal, although not strong, fits within the mix, floating seamlessly onto ‘Icon’; this time SHELTER collaborate with BREATHE OF MY LEAVES and it’s a throbbing track for Europop advocates.
‘Wot U Said’ features JIPSTA, an ultra-club track which follows the recipe from the previous number, while the closing ‘This Must Be Love’ could be a Eurovision entry in a can. This first single from ‘Ascend’ is larger than life and grandiose in its execution, including ABBA-esque piano and catchy hooks.
SHELTER have stayed true to themselves, even if the songs on ‘Ascend’ are more grown up in their feel and execution than their previous work. Bebb’s vocal remains on the weak side, prompting the question as to whether production is what the band do most aptly? Perhaps this album is best served in a live environment, where the candied pop tunes can be enjoyed as prescribed.
While ERASURE type synthpop is probably done better by Johan Baeckström and retro-styled tunes sound more desirable when produced by KID KASIO, SHELTER definitely have a valid response to the needs of hungry synthpop fanatics who like a bit of fun.
‘Ascend’
SHELTER open for Andy Bell at Cambridge Corn Exchange on Saturday 3rd September 2016 as part of the Pink Festival
http://www.shelterofficial.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Shelterofficialmusic/
Text by Monika Izabela Goss
8th August 2016
was not included on the debut FAD GADGET long player ‘Fireside Favourites’ that came out a few months later, but it helped establish Mute Records’ credentials as an early champion of independent electronic music.
via Mute Records
was a worthy transitional recording although where Foxx headed next was the more romantic and band oriented textures of ‘The Garden’.
via Metamatic Records
was not a hit on its original release, but the world belatedly caught up when a remixed reissue reached No11 in 1982.
via Virgin Records
was the posthumous hit single that documented the relationship turmoil which JOY DIVISION’s lead singer Ian Curtis was facing prior to his suicide. The initial attempt at recording had been much faster and tighter, but producer Martin Hannett slowed the band down and suggested Curtis take on a more Sinatra based drawl. The looser end result added further poignancy.
via Rhino
via Beggars Banquet
was the first release from THE BLUE NILE and the esoteric template that later emerged on ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ was already omnipresent. Rawer and more aggressive than songs like ‘Stay’ and ‘Tinseltown In The Rain’, this was a fine opening gambit from the enigmatic Glaswegian trio who had met at university. Originally self-released, the single was picked up by RSO who promptly folded after its re-release.
via Virgin Records
co-produced by Mike Hedges was an interim 45 prior to the doomfest of ‘Pornography’. The band’s potential for success now looked like a real threat as The Raincoat Brigade seeked out a successor to JOY DIVISION. But in late 1982, THE CURE lightened up for the first of their fantasy singles, ‘Let’s Go to Bed’.
via Fiction Records
. The multi-lingual phrases highlighted an expanding world market while Glenn Gregory provided commentary on how personal relationships were like business transactions.
via Virgin Records
, a song that had not been originally included on their second album ‘The Friends Of Mr Cairo’. Jon Anderson’s lyrics were almost spiritual while the widescreen sonic backing from his Greek chum complimented the mood. Vangelis himself was about to enter his most high profile period with ‘Chariots Of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’.
via Polydor Records / Universal Music
via Music Club Deluxe
being appended to the album.
via EMI Music
effectively bookended Marc Almond and Dave Ball’s imperial pop period which had started with ‘Tainted Love’. Another song that came via the Northern Soul scene, it was originally recorded by Judy Street and had more than a passing resemblance to ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’. The recording was quickly disowned and was to be SOFT CELL’s last Top10 single before the duo entered much darker musical territory and on the path to ‘Mr Self Destruct’.
via Phonogram / Universal Music
allowed Clarke to put his new Fairlight CMI through its paces, while a gospel flavour came from SYLVIA & THE SAPPHIRES.
via Music Club Deluxe
was a cynical attempt to ensure DURAN DURAN got a UK No1. Nick Rhodes made it clear the song was not going to be on the next album while completely different versions featured on the 7 and 12 inch formats. This synth laden single featured that dreadfully unforgettable line “You’re about as easy as a nuclear war”!
via EMI Music
featured a charming four way call-and-response vocal while the huge use of portamento on the lead synth line fooled buyers into returning their singles to the shops thinking it was warped!
via Virgin Records
via EMI Music
was considerably less harsh than his band’s pioneering electronic body music. Although not featured on Görl’s first solo album ‘Night Full Of Tension’, ‘Mit Dir’ did much to help lighten his mood considerably that he was attempting synthpop with EURYTHMICS’ Annie Lennox on songs like ‘Darling Don’t Leave Me’.
via Mute Records
was a brilliantly glorious statement with Billy Currie’s OSCar interventions being its undoubted musical highlight.
via EMI Records
was the bridge between the industrial flavoured synthpop of ‘Some Great Reward’ and the darker aesthetics of ‘Black Celebration’. Much more accomplished than the more throwaway standalones like ‘It’s Called A Heart’ and ‘But Not Tonight’ which followed, ‘Shake The Disease’ continues to be performed live at DM shows in a less interesting stripped down form with Martin Gore on lead vocals.
via Mute Records
became an unexpected American No1 on the back of the movie’s success and took Jim Kerr and Co into the stadiums of the world.
via Virgin Records
, a one-off for London Records. Engineered by Dan Lacksman of TELEX, it featured a sonic passage that would have made Trevor Horn proud. Lines such as “I’ve been thinking we’ll get back together again someday – your hair will be some weird color by then…” reminded European audiences of how quirky SPARKS could be.
via Lil Beethoven Records
actually follows a chord progression very similar to ‘Enola Gay’. Interestingly, the song failed to enter the Top40 on its release in the UK.
via Virgin Records
is one of the Mancunian’s combo’s more underrated singles. With a synth riff borrowed from Shannon’s ‘Let The Music Play’, it successfully combined some gritty rock energy to a solid Italo disco backbone featuring a great sequenced bassline.
via Rhino
was a throbbing Moroder-inspired disco tune that borrowed counter-melodies from Donna Summer’s ‘Love’s Unkind’. Independent labels such as Mute and Factory were more likely to indulge in releases that weren’t specifically tied in to albums, and it proved to be a perfect move to maintain ERASURE’s profile while they were preparing their next plan of action.
via Mute Records
. It all seemed so camp and ridiculous in the video when Neil Tennant was singing it wearing a Stetson, but then in 1992, out popped Bono doing something similar on their ‘Zoo TV’ tour!
via EMI Music
; an analogue gem, which brought upon him comparisons to 
are both released by Progress Productions
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