Anyone
who loved thoughtful 80s synth-pop knows that in the intervening 30
years, technology has come on leaps and bounds. Indeed it’s
possible these days to download a Fairlight
CMI as a
mobile app which brings us nicely to the subject of ‘Slowness’,
the sophomore release from this ultra-stylish Wirral quintet who’ve
mined that post-punk synth-pop sound from 3 decades or more ago and
bought it right up to date with not inconsiderable aplomb.
Ignoring
their city’s most famous predecessors completely, frontman Andrew
Hunt and his four cohorts’ local influences are nevertheless writ
large here, taking pinches of various home-grown musical forefathers
including OMD, China Crisis, Lotus Eaters and Icicle Works, creating
stark yet engaging nuggets of futuristic pop with liberal sprinklings
of electronica, whilst also staying true to the sheen laden
production values of that era. Naturally we’ve still to speak about
the compositions, the crucial ingredient which made the predecessors
stand out from the crowd and I’m happy to say the eleven songs on
‘Slowness’ stack up pretty well too, certainly a step up from the
still pretty handy debut ‘Performance’.
Opener
‘New Air' smacks of stylish urbane grown up pop from the very start
as the track builds slowly, reminding one perhaps of London Grammar
with a bit more oomph and certainly leaving you wanting more. The
album’s title track follows as taut bass and clipped guitar are
enveloped by lush piano leading us into the more up-tempo yet equally
arresting ‘Smart Thing’. ‘Boy’ brings more detached eeriness
together with some guitar wizardry, fading away with brass and piano,
almost segueing into the start of ‘Happy Birthday’ both pieces
combining to sound oddly reminiscent of Talk
Talk’s
‘Chameleon Day’.
Instrumental
track ‘Wind of Vertigo’ serves merely as the album’s interval
piece, the second half proper commencing with ‘Genderless’
complete with slowed down helicopter blade synth and machine gun
bass. ‘Framed’ ups the pace again at just the right time whilst
the charmingly lop-sided ‘On the Water, On the Way’ is packed
with disarming retro synth competing with space rock guitar.
Penultimate track ‘Cold Light Home’ returns us to sonic
austerity, giving the feel of aliens walking through a deserted
metropolis as we finish with the similarly elegiac ’Swam Out’ an
ever growing ball of energy from start to finish.
What’s
really good about ‘Slowness’ is whilst reminding the listener of
numerous bleak places in their record collection, it also sounds as
fresh as a daisy, particularly as music like this has sometimes
trodden a fine line between sleek and pretentious……we’re firmly
on the right side here.
Words - Mike Price
'Slowness' is out via Memphis Industries on June 15th 2015
Outfit Official