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Frost* 13 Winters artbook / boxset Review

10 11 2020

Frost* are releasing 13 Winters, a Limited Edition Deluxe 8-disc Artbook that contains remastered (and for Experiments In Mass Appeal a remix/remaster) of their three studio albums, plus the previously digital only Others EP, two live albums, the instrumental version of Falling Satellites, a rarities disc along with an artbook.

Frost* were formed in 2004 by Jem Godfrey, who was known for creating chart-topping hits for acts including Atomic Kitten, Shayne Ward and Holly Valance. Godfrey teamed up with John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, Kino, Arena, It Bites…) and other musicians to explore his earlier roots in progressive rock. Whilst modern progressive rock is at the forefront of Frost*, the songs also expose Godfrey’s pop skills, with strong melodies and hooks.

The Milliontown remaster is a subtle upgrade, with better separation and clarity, making the quieter parts more powerful but the heavy patches hit you hard with their renewed energy. This presents the album in its best light, and it is a pleasure rediscovering the band’s debut album. From the slow-building progressive-pop of Hyperventilate, that sets an early blueprint for the breadth of Frost*’s vision, to one of my favourite songs, the warm and nostalgic Snowman.

Black Light Machine highlights the power of this new remaster, and the closing song, the epic Milliontown, sounds stunning.

Whilst not a favourite of Jem Godfrey, I love the band’s second album, 2008’s Experiments In Mass Appeal. It does have more of an alt-rock feel than its predecessor, and is certainly more guitar based, but the pop sensibility remains. The version of Experiments In Mass Appeal in this boxset is a 2020 remix as well as a remaster.

Along with the rock tracks, such as the title track and Pocket Sun, the album delivers some touching slower paced, more melancholic pieces. My favourite of these is Saline. At times reduced to just a solo piano line, this is one of the most stripped back but hard-hitting tracks the band have ever released. When the strings kick in towards the end, you realise that Saline is such a powerful and emotional statement.

“And I don’t know if I can survive the feeling
Losing all that’s mine”

Falling Down is another personal favourite, and has remained so since its release back in 2008. Andy Edwards contributes some great drum patterns on this intelligent arrangement, as it shifts from light to dark moods. Toys reminds me of mid-period Mansun, and is stuffed to the brim with hook after hook. The Secret Song (aka the hidden track on Wonderland) is a fine way to end the album.

“And I’ll be fine
Don’t worry
Remember me…”

2016’s Falling Satellites is available as the full album plus an instrumental version in the 13 Winters boxset. The album features the mighty Craig Blundell on drums, who leaves his mark early on with Numbers and a song that reminds me of The Police in the verses, Signs. There is a strong feeling of consistency throughout Falling Satellites, which comes across as a real band album, and benefits from a subtle and sympathetic remaster.

Towerblock is a song of change and rebuilding, and the loss of the physical places where some of our memories live. A glitchy, stuttering production full of found sounds makes this track unique in the bands catalogue.

“(They’re all gone gone gone gone gone gone)
The height lines on my bedroom door
(They’re all gone gone gone gone gone gone)
My soldiers hiding under the floor”

Lights Out is another quality mid-tempo pop piece, and freshens the palette mid-way through the album.

Closer To The Sun is a late-night chillout track, with mesmerising percussion work, that mutates mid-song, featuring a solo from Joe Satriani as the arrangement becomes more progressive. Mix those genres Frost*! Which is something they do to even more dramatic effect on The Raging Against The Dying Of The Light Blues in 7/8, which starts off like a modern take on the blues genre before shape-shifting into a completely different beast as the song twists and changes.

The album ends with the short and sparse Last Day.

“Handprints in old concrete
Ghosts we leave behind”

Falling Satellive is the Falling Satellites album (minus opening track First Day) in a live performance with the same line-up as the studio album. The live version of Numbers gives off strong Synchronicity 1 (The Police) vibes. The album is a recording of the band’s gig at Dingwalls, London, in November 2017.

Shorn of a lot of the studio production effects, the songs work well live, with a heightened sense of energy and purpose. Lights Out and especially Closer To The Sun work well in a live environment. Be prepared for an interloper at the end of the final track, by the way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The second live album, The Philadelphia Experiment, was recorded in 2009 and features a different line-up, including Dec Burke, Nick D’Virgilio and John Jowitt. It features one of the best humorous uses of intro music I have heard, and a solid set from the first two studio albums, including a live-looping Snowman and an electrifying Milliontown.

13 Winters features the first physical release for the Others EP from earlier in 2020. Featuring a stripped back line up of Jem Godfrey and drummers Craig Blundell / Andy Edwards, Clouda features wonderful harmonies and Exhibit A pushes the tempo to extremes.

Fathom is an orchestral piece, whilst Eat is a sample driven song, like Art of Noise on steroids. Drown pumps up the electronics and I look forward to hearing more songs that deviate from expectations from Frost* in the near future (a new album is being written and recorded at the moment).

The final disc is This And That – B-Sides And Rarities. Opening with one of the most ambitious Frost* songs, The Dividing Line is a 16 minute plus track that alternates between Goldfrapp-esque glamrock, quasi-classical / music-box breakdowns and some of the wildest riffage in the bands catalogue. The song is all over the place stylistically, it doesn’t follow the rules and shouldn’t really work, but the absolutely manic joy in the performance captures your attention and is a highlight of this set. The Dividing Line is certainly not for the faint-hearted!

British Wintertime is the strongest song on this disc and one of my favourite Frost* songs – a delicate, emotive goodbye. I never tire of this song, its one I often put on repeat. A beautiful, mesmerising piece of music.

There are four songs in demo form on this disc that offer a preview of how the finished studio tracks developed. The Towerblock demo is mostly found sounds, smashing and crashing over a skeletal arrangement. The demo of Closer To The Sun is interesting to hear, as it is even more electronic than the final version. A short demo take of Last Day is the final vocal track on the This And That – B-Sides And Rarities disc. The instrumental soundscapes of Hyperventilate Hypoventilate Paulstretch Test closes the collection, with its dreamlike waves of stretched sound.

Frost* 13 Winters is a quick and easy way to get hold of the band’s back catalogue, and the albums all sound better than they ever have (not that they originally sounded bad!). The set also includes an artbook containing images from the cover-art shots, an honest / self-critical interview with Jem Godfrey and album notes, including lyrics for the studio albums.

Buy Frost* 13 Winters on CD from Amazon

Buy from other retailers

As well as the limited physical release, the individual albums will be available digitally from the end of November 2020.

Disc 1 – Milliontown (2006) Remaster 2020

Hyperventilate (Remaster 2020) 7:30
No Me No You (Remaster 2020) 6:08
Snowman (Remaster 2020) 3:54
Black Light Machine (Remaster 2020) 10:08
The Other Me (Remaster 2020) 4:48
Milliontown (Remaster 2020) 26:09

Disc 2 – Experiments In Mass Appeal (2008) Remix/Remaster 2020

Experiments In Mass Appeal (Remix/Remaster 2020) 7:54
Welcome To Nowhere (Remix/Remaster 2020) 5:32
Pocket Sun (Remix/Remaster 2020) 4:29
Saline (Remix/Remaster 2020) 6:09
Dear Dead Days (Remix/Remaster 2020) 6:50
Falling Down (Remix/Remaster 2020) 5:50
You/I (Remix/Remaster 2020) 1:05
Toys (Remix/Remaster 2020) 3:05
Wonderland (Remix/Remaster 2020) 5:54
The Secret Song (Remix/Remaster 2020) 8:21

Disc 3 – Falling Satellites (2016) Remaster 2020

First Day (Remaster 2020) 1:39
Numbers (Remaster 2020) 4:21
Towerblock (Remaster 2020) 6:13
Signs (Remaster 2020) 6:35
Lights Out (Remaster 2020) 3:51
Heartstrings (Remaster 2020) 6:20
Closer To The Sun (Remaster 2020) 7:20
The Raging Against The Dying Of The Light Blues In 7/8 (Remaster 2020) 7:49
Nice Day For It (Remaster 2020) 6:37
Hypoventilate (Remaster 2020) 2:00
Last Day (Remaster 2020) 3:25

Disc 4 – Falling Satellites – Instrumentals (2016) Remaster 2020

First Day (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 1:39
Numbers (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 4:21
Towerblock (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 6:13
Signs (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 6:35
Lights Out (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 3:51
Heartstrings (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 6:21
Closer To The Sun (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 7:20
The Raging Against The Dying Of The Light Blues in 7/8 (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 7:49
Nice Day For It… (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 6:37
Hypoventilate (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 2:00
Last Day (Instrumental/Remaster 2020) 3:24

Disc 5 – Falling Satellive – Live 2017

Numbers (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 4:45
Towerblock (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 7:48
Signs (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 7:18
Lights Out (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 5:40
Heartstrings (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 6:02
Closer To The Sun (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 7:35
The Raging Against The Dying Of The Light Blues In 7/8 (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 7:49
Nice Day For It… (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 6:44
Hypoventilate (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 1:02
Last Day (Live at Dingwalls, London, 2017) 3:45

Disc 6 – Others – EP

Fathers 4:54
Clouda 6:54
Exhibit A 5:35
Fathom 3:58
Eat 4:39
Drown 5:59

Disc 7 – The Philadelphia Experiment – Live 2009

Intro (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 2:06
Hyperventilate (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 5:55
Wonderland (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 4:56
Black Light Machine (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 10:29
Snowman (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 6:18
Saline (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 6:16
Milliontown (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 25:58
The Other Me (Live at The Keswick Theatre, Glenside, 2nd May 2009) 7:19

Disc 8 – This And That – B-Sides And Rarities

The Dividing Line 16:50
Lantern 3:45
British Wintertime 6:29
The Forget You Song 2:24
Numbers (Day 1 Demo) 4:14
Towerblock (Day 1 Demo) 3:01
Heartstrings (Demo) 5:00
Closer To The Sun (Demo) 7:16
The Raging Against The Dying Of The Light In 7/8 (Day 1 Demo) 7:54
Last Day (Demo) 2:48
Hyperventilate Hypoventilate Paulstretch Test 8:53

Buy Frost* 13 Winters on CD from Amazon

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Tags: Progressive Rock, re-issue
Categories : Music Review

Lunatic Soul – “Through Shaded Woods” album review

16 10 2020

Lunatic Soul release their new album Through Shaded Woods on KScope on 13 November 2020, on single CD, limited double CD and vinyl.

Lunatic Soul is the solo studio project of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mariusz Duda (Riverside). Album number seven Through Shaded Woods explores the darkness of Slavic and Scandinavian folk.

Previous Lunatic Soul albums have been very electronic affairs. Through Shaded Woods is a virtually electronic free zone, with more acoustic and electric guitars than previous releases and for the first time, Duda plays all the instruments.

Through Shaded Woods opens with the hypnotising and trancelike Navvie, an upbeat and rousing call to arms that conjures up “the souls of the dead” and along with several tracks on the album, signals a feeling of rebirth and positivity. Not a bad feeling in these strange times we are currently living through.

The second longest track on the album, The Passage, is one of the most rewarding tracks as you journey Through Shaded Woods. This is the darkest Duda gets on the album, with a piece that starts off relatively bright and sparse, working towards the razor-sharp dark metal riffs that propel the powerful middle section.

“I’m thinking out loud
passing former gods
turned into trees
am I in the real life
or am I in the realm of make-believe”

The riffs fall away quickly but the tempo remains high on one of the strongest tracks on the album.

The title track twists and turns, with light percussion underneath the trademark Lunatic Soul harmonies and a feeling of paranoia, amplified by the heavily processed lead vocal. Lycanthropy lingers in the dark forests of Duda’s lyric.

“eyes on every corner
shining in the dark”

As we hit the half-way mark, the mood of Through Shaded Woods lifts. Oblivion has a wonderful drum and guitar interplay, as melodies sneak in and out of the intriguing rhythm arrangement. Where previously synths would have laid the textures, on this album the same effect is offered by vocal layers.

Summoning Dance is the longest track, and as throughout the whole album, it offers up its secrets over repeated plays. The guitars give the main rhythmic thrust, underpinned by a simple kick pulse. I dare you to keep still whilst listening to Summoning Dance. The music hints at a simpler, more pagan and earth-connected time, and works so much better if you give your full attention and immerse yourself in the performance.

“so why do I feel
like I already failed”

The Fountain features one of my favourite Mariusz Duda vocal performances. There is a real lightness of touch, and a lovely slightly rasping timbre that suits the aching melancholy of the song perfectly.

“stream of sounds
wash away the darkness from my soul”

Through Shaded Woods stands alone in the Lunatic Soul catalogue. It works so well as a complete body of work, as it flows with more consistency than previous albums. It has quickly seeped into my soul and is one of my favourite albums of 2020.

Navvie [04:03]
The Passage [08:57]
Through Shaded Woods [05:51]
Oblivion [05:03]
Summoning Dance [09:52]
The Fountain [06:04]

Bonus tracks contained on disc 2 of the Limited Edition CD:

Vyraj [05:32]
Hylophobia [03:20]
Transition II [27:45]

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Tags: Alternative, Progressive Rock, Vinyl
Categories : Music Review

1978 – The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo compilation review

24 08 2020

1978 – The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo is a new 3 CD set from Cherry Red, released on 28 August 2020.

The 79 tracks (from a marketing view-point, maybe there should have been 78 tracks!) cover the well-known punk and new wave hits from the year, along with lesser-known regional acts from Manchester, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The collection also includes an entertaining 48-page booklet that includes details on every track included in the compilation.

The first CD features some of the era’s big-hitters. Opening with Sham 69’s Borstal Breakout from January 1978, followed by one of the hardest-hitting singles by The Stranglers, 5 Minutes. The percussive Emergency by 999 is another highlight, as is the early Gary Numan release – Oh! Didn’t I Say by Tubeway Army.

Automatic Lover by The Vibrators fits in with the short-lived power pop movement of bands such as Tonight (Drummer Man) from the Spring of 1978. She’s So Modern by The Boomtown Rats reminds you what a powerful force the band were from 1978 to around 1981, with an amazing run of pop / new wave hit singles.

A pre-fame Japan offer Don’t Rain On My Parade and are a world away from the sound they settled on from Quiet Life in late 1979, that showcased their move from new wave guitars to something more sophisticated on the cusp of the 80s synth-pop explosion.

Concrete Jungle by The Coventry Automatics is an early track from the band that would soon become The Specials, with their mix of new wave and ska already starting to develop into the style they would use so successfully from 1979 onwards. The Only Ones Another Girl, Another Planet was unbelievably never a hit but is a classic single from this year, and sits well in this collection.

Magazine contribute the early single Touch And Go. Irish band Pretty Boy Floyd And The Gems Spread The Word Around is a song I missed at the time, but is worthy of inclusion here. The Steve Lillywhite produced When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again by The Automatics has a great guitar sound and Jilted John’s only hit single (produced by Martin Hannett!) is one of the biggest selling tracks on this album.

The second CD opens with the track that gave the compilation it’s name, X-Ray Spex with The Day The World Turned Day-Glo, a song that has aged well. What a guitar sound! Up Against The Wall by the Tom Robinson Band is driven by a powerful guitar riff from the late, great Danny Kustow.

Tyne and Wear band The Carpettes (who I saw at least once in my local venue, Woolwich Tramshed) supply 2ne1, whilst the Midge Ure fronted Rich Kids offer the title track from their only studio album, Ghosts Of Princes In Towers, an album I still love.

Another couple of favourites sit on CD 2 – the John Foxx fronted Ultravox with Slow Motion and the Status Quo pastiche / Mike Oldfield mentioning Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie by Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. I’ve still got a double 7″ vinyl of this single somewhere. I must dig it out.

The third and final disc opens with my favourite Public Image Ltd song, their debut single Public Image. Stiff Little Fingers 2nd single Alternative Ulster and Life’s A Gamble by Penetration are also highlights. Penetration’s Pauline Murray releases a new solo album in the Autumn.

Johnny Thunders full-length album version of You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory is included here, although I prefer the short, stripped back Pete Wylie (Wah!) version, as part of the Hope (I Wish You’d Believe Me) single in 1983. The Saints Are Coming by the Skids features some of Stuart Adamson’s earliest incendiary guitar lines. Again, the compilers choose a deeper cut from one of the era’s biggest bands with In The Crowd from The Jam’s All Mod Cons album.

The punk-pop of Destination Venus by The Rezillos is a forgotten tune from this era. Flashing In The Subway by pub-rockers Tyla Gang comes from the more blues / Dr Feelgood side of new wave rock. RIP Sean Tyla. 10:15 Saturday Night by The Cure is a less obvious choice for this compilation, and so stands out amongst some of the more standard new wave blueprint tracks.

If you are a fan of punk and new wave and want to delve deeper than the hit singles, this Cherry Red compilation offers good value for money and is an entertaining collection from a vintage year for music.

Buy 1978 – The Year The UK Turned Day-Glo on Amazon

Disc One

Borstal Breakout – Sham 69
5 Minutes – The Stranglers
Emergency – 999
Don’t Tango On My Heart – The Doll
Oh! Didn’t I Say – Tubeway Army
Automatic Lover – The Vibrators
I’m A Boy – Cyanide
Bad In Bed – The Electric Chairs
Lost Lenore – Attrix
Stuck With You – Zones
Party Clothes – Subs
You’re A Disease – The Outcasts
She’s So Modern – The Boomtown Rats
I’m Civilised – Menace
Moonmidsummer – The Freshies
The Kids Are Alright – The Pleasers
Don’t Rain On My Parade – Japan
Concrete Jungle – The Coventry Automatics
Another Girl, Another Planet – The Only Ones
Touch And Go – Magazine
Spread The Word Around – Pretty Boy Floyd And The Gems
When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again – The Automatics
Stella’s Got A Fella – Social Security
Chloroform – The Bleach Boys
Jilted John – Jilted John
Rat Up A Drainpipe – The Members
Glandular Angela – The Exits
Why Don’t You Do Me Right? – Alternative Tv

Disc Two

The Day The World Turned Day-Glo – X-Ray Spex
Up Against The Wall – Tom Robinson Band
Central Detention Centre – Gyro
Ain’t Got A Clue – The Lurkers
The Backstreet Boys – Patrik Fitzgerald
Nobody Loves You When You’re Old And Gay – Dead Fingers Talk
I Can’t Resist – The Reaction
I Can’t Wait – The Jolt
Kinnel Tommy – Ed Banger
Loving A Killer – The Stoat
A.C.A.B. – The Rowdies
Start All Over Again – No Sweat
I Believe – The V.I.P.S
2ne1 – The Carpettes
Ghosts Of Princes In Towers – Rich Kids
Kung Fu International – John Cooper Clarke
Ringing In The Streets – The Ripchords
Slow Motion – Ultravox
Love Is Blind – Nightshift
Rock’n’roll Ain’t Dead – The Questions
Cortina Cowboys – Blue Steam
Birmingham Reggie – The Others
Live In A Car – UK Subs
It’s Alright – The Turn
Teenage Vice – The Teardrops
Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie – Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias

Disc Three

Public Image – Public Image Ltd
Alternative Ulster – Stiff Little Fingers
Light At Your Window – The Detonators
Fibre – Spizzoil
Life’s A Gamble – Penetration
28/8/78 – Scritti Politti
Europeans – Europeans
Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.) – Wreckless Eric
You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory – Johnny Thunders
The Saints Are Coming – Skids
It’s The New Thing – The Fall
Alphaville – The Monochrome Set
In The Crowd – The Jam
Starry Eyes – The Records
Weekend Girl – The Bozos
Destination Venus – The Rezillos
Flashing In The Subway – Tyla Gang
10:15 Saturday Night – The Cure
Larger Than Life – The Parrots
Wrong Street – Nicky & The Dots
New Town – The Vitamins
Love Song – Passage
What She Wants, She Needs – Eater
Never Met Suzi – Time Machine
White Christmas – Slush

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Tags: 1978, 70s, Compilation, New Wave, The Stranglers
Categories : Music Review

Tim Bowness – Late Night Laments album review

7 07 2020

Tim Bowness releases his latest solo album, Late Night Laments, on Inside Out Music on August 28th 2020.

The album is available in a double-CD package version as well as on vinyl (including a limited edition blue vinyl from Burning Shed). Late Night Laments was co-produced by Bowness and Brian Hulse, mixed by Steven Wilson, with mastering by Calum Malcolm (The Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout). The album’s beautiful artwork is by Jarrod Gosling (I Monster/Regal Worm).

Late Night Laments is consistent in the mood and pace of the music, but is widely unpredictable lyrically – touching on generational divides, ideologically motivated violence, social exclusion, and a much-loved children’s author’s mental breakdown.

Opening with the most musically uplifting track, Northern Rain sets the scene for the rest of the album. Icy cold 80s synths and minimal percussion are the order of the day throughout. Northern Rain is a mix of The Blue Nile, topped up with the pop melancholy of Deacon Blue’s masterful Raintown (in part due to the backing vocals from Melanie Woods).

“the world we knew is dying,
and maybe that’s okay”

The temperature drops further for I’m Better Now, with dark lyrics and heavily processed Björk Vespertine era beats. A performance highlight on this track is the guitar work from Kavus Torabi, that sits atop the washes of chilling synths.

“two seconds of hate,
a lifetime of grieving –
I couldn’t wait to stick the knife in”

Darkline has a feel of no-man’s returning jesus, with the discordant angular arpeggios, and featuring some fine synth work from Richard Barbieri, who Tim worked with on the Flame album.

“I turn to rust as the planet burns”

We Caught The Light features Bowness on “several echoed ukuleles”, that underpin the song and add its initial rhythm. The double bass from Colin Edwin and drums from Evan Carson add a mid-70s feel, and the vocal arrangement is constantly evolving, especially on the end section, where Bowness is joined again by Kavus Torabi and Melanie Wood (Knifeworld).

The Hitman Who Missed contains one of the strongest arrangements on the album, from sparse bass and piano instrumentation to a more expansive middle section, that drops and re-builds at several points. Another song that harks back to earlier times, with some lovely vibraphone from Tom Atherton, who proves that there is room for the instrument beyond Left Bank Two (Take Hart).

Credit must go to Tim’s main musical foil on this album. Brian Hulse adds keyboards, occasional guitar and some fascinating drum programming throughout Late Night Laments.

One of the most emotional tracks is one of the sparsest, with Never A Place. Bowness often writes songs that are built on repeating, decaying and evolving riffs, and this is a perfect example. The melodies grow from inbetween the slabs of heavily processed sequenced keyboards and noise, and deliver something unique and unexpected. A definite album highlight for me, and a track I find myself returning to often. And the vibraphone is back for this song too, another plus point for me.

The Last Getaway arrangement reminds me somewhat of a gentler exploration (than no-man’s soft shoulders from flowermouth) of Suzanne Vega’s experimentation on her 99.9F° album. This is the heartbreaking song that Tim describes as being about a much-loved children’s author.

“I hated how I’d feel,
so I struck the only deal.”

Hidden Life would not have sounded out of place on the first Bowness / Chilvers album. A cheap drum machine and just Bowness / Hulse, no guest contributors here.

A combination of the musical nods to The Associates (Breakfast) and the instrumentation / arrangement gives a real late night 80s feel as the album heads to its conclusion.

One Last Call is a perfect end to the album, and my favourite lyric and vocal performance on the album. The song is heart-wrenching, and is up there with Post-its, truenorth, Dancing For You and Nowhere Good To Go in the sad songs say so much category.

The mood reminds me a little of the delicate If Leaving Me Is Easy from Face Value. In fact, Phil Collins would have killed for this song back in the early 80s. The good news is, Tim does not have a paint pot on his piano, so all appears good in the house of Bowness.

“I thought that I was empty
and empty I’d remain”

One Last Call evokes the weightless feel of the early hours, and before you know it, the album abruptly ends, leaving you wanting more, so back to the beginning you go.

Whilst this is musically a million miles away from Lost In The Ghost Light, Late Night Laments shares a musical cohesion that makes for a very rewarding and emotional listening experience, and the album holds a unique and satisfying position in the Bowness solo catalogue.

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM

Buy the album on CD and vinyl (including an exclusive blue vinyl) from Burning Shed

Buy the Late Night Laments CD from Amazon

Late Night Laments (38:50)

Northern Rain (4.49)
I’m Better Now (3.52)
Darkline (3.57)
We Caught The Light (3.56)
The Hitman Who Missed (3.21)
Never A Place (4.41)
The Last Getaway (4.55)
Hidden Life (5.05)
One Last Call (4.15)

Produced by Tim Bowness and Brian Hulse
Mixed by Steven Wilson
Mastered by Calum Malcolm

Northern Rain, Darkline, The Hitman Who Missed, Never A Place and The Last Getaway written by Tim Bowness and Brian Hulse

I’m Better Now, We Caught The Light and One Last Call, written by Tim Bowness

Hidden Life written by Tim Bowness, Brian Hulse and Pete Morgan

Tim Bowness – vocals / backing vocals / synths 2, 9 / samples 2, 9 / ukuleles 4 / fx 2, 6
Brian Hulse – synths / keyboards / guitars / programmed drums / backing vocals 4

with

Tom Atherton – vibraphone 1, 4, 5, 6, 9
Richard Barbieri – synths and synth solos 3, 7
Evan Carson – drums and percussion 1, 4
Colin Edwin – double bass 4, 5, 9
Alistair ‘The Curator’ Murphy – dianatron 5
Kavus Torabi – glissando guitar and guitar solo 2 / backing vocals 4
Melanie Woods – backing vocals 1, 2, 4

The bonus disc on the CD edition features five unreleased pieces, four from the Late Night Laments sessions and one – featuring Peter Hammill and Adam Holzman – a Flowers At The Scene outtake.

Cheerleaders For The Damned (extras)

The Other Side (4.11)
Beauty In Decay (3.43)
Beyond The Firing Line (4.19)
Cheerleader For The Damned (2.52)
War Games By The Sea (3.00)

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Tags: Steven Wilson, Tim Bowness, Vinyl
Categories : Music Review

Musik Music Musique 1980 – The Dawn Of Synth Pop album review

22 06 2020

Musik Music Musique is a 3 CD compilation from Cherry Red, chronicling the beginnings of the synth-pop music revolution that was to dominate the charts for years to come. Whilst containing well-known names from the era (Buggles, The Human League, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet) the tracks chosen from these artists are not the obvious big-hits.

The real discoveries and delights in this compendium are the more obscure tracks, from the likes of XYNN, Nick Nicely and other acts who often released just a handful of songs before disappearing forever.

The first of the 3 CDs contains one of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s finest earlier songs, the naggingly addictive Messages. The Human League are represented by their cover of Mick Ronson’s Only After Dark, taken from the final album produced by the line-up that featured Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who left the League to form Heaven 17 with Glenn Gregory later in 1980.

Victims of the Riddle was the debut single from Toyah (it was actually released in 1979, but we will let that slip!). A keyboard driven song, with minimal guitar, it sits well on this compilation. Waiting by Ultravox is a good choice, as is Hazel O’Connor’s Sons And Lovers, with tribal drums offsetting the sax and synth squelches.

My favourite track on Disc One is from one of the most under-rated albums of the 80s, Sympathy from the debut (and only) album from Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls. Pauline was the vocalist in new wave band Penetration, and this Martin Hannett produced album saw Murray move in a more electronic direction. If you haven’t heard this album, its definitely worth investigating.

The compilation’s title track is from Zeus aka producer Zeus B. Held (Fashion’s Fabrique, John Foxx’s The Golden Section, Pete Wylie Sinful) and is a charming vocoder delivered pop song. XYNN (German multimedia artist Michael Winter) delivers the sparse and haunting Computed Man.

Gina X Performance (another Zeus B. Held collaboration) is represented by Vendor’s Box, a fuller arrangement than a lot of the purely electronic tracks on this compilation.

Lawnchairs by US band Our Daughter’s Wedding uses a similar synth sequence to the OMD track that kicks off the first CD, and is a regular on alternative 80s compilations / 80s themed radio.

Two of my favourites (from the songs I was unaware of previously) sit on the first CD. Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne by Suicide was produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars, and DCT Dreams by Nick Nicely is a lo-fi masterpiece, overflowing with more than it’s fair share of pop hooks.

The second disc opens with a key early Spandau Ballet track Glow, and a hidden gem from Robin Scott’s M in Official Secrets (avoiding the obvious Pop Muzik, great song as it is).

Galactica from French space-rock band Rockets is well sequenced next to Kim Wilde’s album track Tuning In Tuning On and Landscape’s European Man, which pre-dated their most well-known song from 1981, Einstein a Go-Go. Admit it,that song is stuck in your head now, isn’t it?

Melbourne band The Metronomes provide a “Ray Bradbury inspired tale of star-crossed love between two computing devices” with their contribution A Circuit Like Me, that cosies up to one of John Foxx’s early, icy slice of the future singles No One Driving.

The most well-known track on this compilation is the Midge Ure assisted Philip Lynott (Thin Lizzy) single Yellow Pearl, a song that was used as the theme for Top Of The Pops during the first half of the decade.

Dalek I Love You (Destiny) by Liverpool’s Dalek I is a premium slice of electronic new wave influenced pop. French band Taxi Girl contribute an early single in Mannequin. Fans of The Stranglers will remember Taxi Girl from the 1981 La Folie tour and the JJ Burnel produced / Jet Black featuring Seppuku album in 1982.

This World Of Water, a no 31 with a bullet UK singles hit by New Musik, a band formed by producer Tony Mansfield, sits in the track list just before one of my favourite Japan songs, the Roxy Music Manifesto influenced Quiet Life.

The third and final disc opens with one of Buggles finest songs, Astroboy (And The Proles On Parade). Last year there were rumours of a new, third Buggles album. Here’s hoping….

The second song titled Mannequin is from Glasgow’s Berlin Blondes, with a great mixture of new wave basslines and electronic synth lead lines. Yello supply a scratchy, discordant Bimbo and the pure-pop quota is increased by The Lonely Spy from David Balfe and Bill Drummond’s Lori And The Chameleons project.

Blood Donor serve up a quirky Doctor Who homage and The Korgis Drawn And Quartered highlights a different side to the band who had a huge hit with the dreamy Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime.

The debut album from Visage was so influential, and single Mind Of A Toy features here. The handclaps and slap-bass mutant funk of Mataya Clifford and the track Living Wild adds a wild sense of fun to the final disc.

Karel Fialka’s The Eyes Have It was a near-hit in 1980, and received lots of radio play at the time. The Russians Are Coming by The Red Squares is a short track driven by cold war paranoia.

The compilation ends with La Düsseldorf and their boozy sounding Dampfriemen, drawing on early Kraftwerk and what sounds like too many visits to Bavarian Bierkeller’s. Dampfriemen is the only song on the album featuring a kazoo solo along side the electronic instruments, so a fitting end to this entertaining glimpse into the birth of 80s synthpop.

Disc one

Messages – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Musik, Music, Musique – Zeus
Coitus Interruptus – Fad Gadget
Computed Man – XYNN
Metal Love – Rod Vey
Vendor’s Box – Gina X Performance
Lawnchairs – Our Daughter’s Wedding
Tokyo – Science
Only After Dark – The Human League
Victims Of The Riddle – Toyah
DCT Dreams – Nick Nicely
Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne – Suicide
Waiting – Ultravox
Money – Moebius
Falling Years – The Fallout Club
Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel – Der Plan
No, Nothing, Never – Dark Day
Sons And Lovers – Hazel O’Connor
Sympathy – Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls

Disc two

Glow – Spandau Ballet
Official Secrets – M
Chip n Roll – Silicon Teens
Galactica – Rockets
Tuning In Tuning On – Kim Wilde
European Man – Landscape
Can’t You Take A Joke? Ha Ha Hi Hi! – Henriette Coulouvrat
A Circuit Like Me – The Metronomes
No One Driving – John Foxx
Kebabträume – D.A.F.
Harmonitalk – Gary Sloan And Clone
Yellow Pearl – Philip Lynott
Dalek I Love You (Destiny) – dalek I
Mannequin – Taxi Girl
This World Of Water – New Musik
Quiet Life – Japan
Chase The Dragon – Kevin Harrison
Diskomo – The Residents

Disc three

Astroboy (And The Proles On Parade) – Buggles
Mannequin – Berlin Blondes
A Certain Way To Go – The Passage
Between – Sic
Bimbo – Yello
Images Of Delusion – Genocide
The Lonely Spy – Lori And The Chameleons
Lucy – Craze
I’m A Computer – The Goo-Q
Doctor …? – Blood Donor
Brushing Your Hair – Alex Fergusson
Drawn And Quartered – The Korgis
Mind Of A Toy – Visage
D’ya Think I’m Sexy – British Standard Unit
Living Wild – Mataya Clifford
Private Lives – Systems
The Eyes Have It – Karel Fialka
Suis-je Normale – Nini Raviolette
China Blue Vision – Eyeless In Gaza
The Russians Are Coming – The Red Squares
Dampfriemen – La Dusseldorf

Released on 31 July 2020.

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Tags: 1980, 80s, Compilation, Synth-pop
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Andrew Gold: Lonely Boy – The Asylum Years Anthology review

15 06 2020

Lonely Boy – The Asylum Years Anthology is a 6 CD / 1 DVD collection from Andrew Gold, released by Esoteric Recordings via Cherry Red on 24 July 2020. The collection features all of the solo albums released by the singer – songwriter on the Asylum label between 1975 and 1980.

Prior to his solo career, Andrew Gold worked with Linda Ronstadt, as multi-instrumentalist and arranger for her 1974 Heart Like a Wheel album.

The Lonely Boy anthology contains the studio albums Andrew Gold (1975), What’s Wrong With This Picture (1976), All This And Heaven Too (1978) and Whirlwind (1980). The studio albums are all newly re-mastered from the original Asylum Records master tapes, and have never sounded better.

Disc 5 is titled Out-Takes And Unreleased Recordings, with disc 6 consisting of Live Recordings – Released 1976 / 1977 whilst the final disc is a DVD of promotional videos and live recordings / interviews (including quite a few from the legendary Old Grey Whistle Test TV show).

The debut album perfectly captures the mood and the sound of 1975, with a mixture of early 70s Laurel Canyon and late 60s Beatles inspired harmonies, particularly on Heartaches in Heartaches and Hang My Picture Straight.

The most familiar song on Gold’s debut is Endless Flight, that was famously covered by Leo Sayer on his best-selling 1976 album of the same name.

What’s Wrong With This Picture? contains Gold’s most famous song, Lonely Boy but is a solid mid-70s rock/pop album in its own right. Highlights include the bittersweet ballad Passing Thing, the mostly acoustic and country tinged Firefly plus a playful cover of Maurice Williams’s Stay (that was also recorded a year later by Jackson Browne, in slightly rewritten form, on Browne’s Running On Empty album).

All This and Heaven Too is the most rewarding of Gold’s solo albums from the Asylum years period. How Can This Be Love has hints of 10cc (Gold would later record with 10cc and form Wax with Graham Gouldman).

The charming space-themed Oh Urania (Take Me Away), the sparse but haunting beauty of Looking for My Love and the masterpiece that is Genevieve are career-highlights. This is the beauty of box-sets such as this, discovering songs that never made it onto mainstream radio at the time, and certainly do not feature on 70s or 80s themed radio stations now but are lost classics, crafted with love and deserving of our attention.

Most people will know the two big hits from this album, Thank You for Being a Friend (the theme to NBC sitcom The Golden Girls) and Gold’s biggest hit in my neck of the woods, Never Let Her Slip Away, which features background vocals from J. D. Souther, Timothy B. Schmit (Poco / Eagles) and rumour has it, an uncredited Freddie Mercury. Never Let Her Slip Away is one of my favourite singles from the seventies, and a perfect pop song.

The Asylum years ended with the Whirlwind album, released as the new decade began. More guitar-heavy than previous Gold albums and more in-step with current trends such the new-wave infused pop of The Police and Joe Jackson, highlights include the nods to his earlier work with Sooner or Later and the slide-guitar driven Make Up Your Mind.

The live recordings disc, with performances from 1976 and 1977 is overflowing with memorable performances, and the quality is pretty good, considering the age of the recordings.

The out-takes and unreleased recordings disc is a fascinating dip below the artist’s engine, with excellent alt-takes such as a must-hear version of Lonely Boy and a sublime bossa-nova instrumental version of Genevieve.

The sleeve-notes, lyrics and an informative essay on Gold’s work from Don Breithaupt add to the value of this essential collection for lovers of 70s music.

Lonely Boy – The Asylum Years Anthology is an excellent collection, that provides the best of the 70s work of Andrew Gold, and also serves as a charming snapshot of this period in rock and pop music.

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Tags: 70s, Classic Rock, re-issue
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John Foxx and The Maths – Howl album review

1 06 2020

Howl is the latest studio album from John Foxx and The Maths, and is released on Metamatic Records on July 24 2020.

Joining John Foxx, Benge and Hannah Peel on this album is former Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon, who first worked with Foxx on Systems of Romance in 1978.

My Ghost sets the scene – guitars and synth’s duelling for attention, and an uptempo glam-rock meets early Prince beat. Intriguing lyrics and heavily processed vocals add a layer of mystery to this addictive opening track, that has hints of post-punk in the end section, referencing Foxx’s Ultravox work as well as some of the his work on The Garden (my favourite John Foxx album).

“my ghost comes running at me,
like living smoke from a burning tree”

Howl was the first single from the album, initially available on Foxx’s bandcamp page and it was clear that this new material would appeal to fans of his earlier albums. Howl is so satisfying, perfectly titled (the guitars do ‘howl’) and a joy to listen to, with the mix of electronica and chopped up and wild lead / rhythm guitar work referencing late seventies Bowie.

There is no time to pause, as the psychedelia of Everything Is Happening At The Same Time may slow down the BPM’s slightly, but the thick wall of sound is still a powerful statement. Benge and Hannah Peel excel on this beautifully produced and arranged piece.

Tarzan And Jane Regained is a more lo-fi production, and a simpler arrangement initially, as the buzzsaw guitar layers build incrementally as it becomes one of the albums most memorable tracks. Each playback reveals further details within the production, as previously hidden synth and guitar lines rise to the surface.

The sound changes with the widescreen clarity of The Dance, a song that showcases some of the most inventive synth lines on Howl. The guitars are used more as washes rather than lead or rhythm, and sit further down in the mix, rising to the forefront during the chorus, which is pure Siouxsie & The Banshees from the Ju Ju era.

The dark, wild and seedy streets and characters of 1970s New York are celebrated in New York Times, a song screaming out to be released as a single. New York Times contains one of Foxx’s most memorable choruses, topped off by a great vocal performance making this track so vital.

“What would it take, to remove all the hate”

The darkest track on Howl is Last Time I Saw You, which drips with disdain and despair, and references Soho’s Berwick Street in London.

“The first time I saw you, I had to look away”

Even though this is probably Foxx at his most musically obtuse, I find myself returning to this song more than any on Howl. It is the most interesting lyric on the album, and I have no idea to the meaning behind Last Time I Saw You, which makes it all the more intriguing.

Howl is an intense listening experience, made sweeter by the delicate grace of its final song, Strange Beauty. Reminding me of the fragility of The Cocteau Twins at times, with chorus driven guitars and some shiver-inducing original 80s electronica, all four band members shine on this career highlight. Foxx also delivers a lyric and vocal full of elegance and longing.

“And when it fades way, leaving me with just a trace of of strange beauty,
of strange beauty, stranger than anything I’ve ever known”

Strange Beauty is timeless, and as the synth solo’s make way to a slow fade, you wish it could go on for longer, which is the sign of a great song.

Howl is a rare beast – an album that works as a perfect headphone experience, as well as blasting loud from your speakers. The production does a superb job in enabling this rewarding listening experience.

This is the album I have wanted to hear from John Foxx for a long-time – taking his guitar-led past into the same room as the stark electronica he is renowned for.

This incarnation of John Foxx And The Maths seem to have hit a peak, with a formula that will hopefully lead to more new music in the future. I cannot wait to hear what Foxx / early Ultravox fans think of this album, as there is so much here to enjoy and excite.

John Foxx (vocals/guitars)
Benge (keyboards/percussion)
Robin Simon (guitars)
Hannah Peel (violin)

My Ghost
Howl
Everything Is happening At The Same Time
Tarzan And Jane Regained
The Dance
New York Times
Last Time I Saw You
Strange Beauty

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Tags: Electronic, Synth-pop
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Blancmange – Mindset album review

22 05 2020

Mindset is the third album to be written and co-produced by Neil Arthur with Benge (Wrangler/John Foxx And The Maths), and follows last years excellent Wanderlust album.

The title track is a strong opener, with familiar drum patterns and an addictive guitar and synth interplay that sticks in your head for days.

The synth lines on Warm Reception and This Is Bliss will surely warm the hearts of fans of early 80s electronic music.

“Drinking to forget, or was it to remember”

Arthur spits out his distaste at the unaccountable keyboard warriors hiding behind their screens and spewing bile in Antisocial Media. Initially sounding genuinely pissed off, but with his tongue firmly in cheek, Arthur’s Antisocial Media feels truthful, but also makes me smile. Anonymous truckers indeed!

“Two faced anonymous truckers… Correct me if I’m wrong”

Clean Your House is the most commercial track on Mindset – bright sparkling synths and clap-happy drum patterns sit at odds with the lyrical tale of a messy relationship coming to it’s bitter end.

Despite it’s darker lyrical subject matter, Insomniacs Tonight is an optimistic and warmly uplifting track. The music really fits the lyric and at times displays a nostalgic feel of earlier Blancmange, but this is definitely more a tale of restlessly lying wide awake staring at the ceiling, rather than living on it.

“No light”

Sleep With Mannequin has more than it’s fair share of sonic twists and turns, though the tempo remains constant throughout, at a metronomic pace. Benge’s work on this track reminds me a little of Richard Burgess’ Landscape.

The album’s longest track is the six and a half minute trip that is Diagram. A sparse but slowly building arrangement topped with a spoken tale of searching for transparency and truth, Diagram does not overstay its welcome.

“I want to hear, hear silence”

Not Really (Virtual Reality) is an oddity on the album. An almost glam-rock stomper, heavy on guitar and stuttering sequences, before dropping off to usher in the final, atmospheric piece in When, with the beats slowed down to a heartbeat pace topped off with dark electronic pulses as Arthur contemplates “When is anything about what it’s about”.

Mindset is much less oblique proposition than its predecessor Wanderlust, and it works well as a complete album, with a wider sonic spectrum than it’s predecessors.

Lyrically the album is strong – Neil Arthur looks at the consequences of our living in an increasingly digital world and the way we communicate and how some people use words to harm others and distribute fear and untruths.

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Tags: Alternative, Electronic, Synth-pop
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Airbag – A Day at the Beach album review

9 05 2020

A Day at the Beach is the 5th album from Norwegian band Airbag, and is their first studio album in 4 years.

A Day at the Beach features six new songs inspired by the resurgence of 1980s electronica, new wave and movie scores, whilst still retaining the band’s progressive rock leanings.

The album was produced by Asle Tostrup and Bjørn Riis, and befitting the musical content, is lovingly mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow / The Opium Cartel).

Machines And Men acts as a bridge between the progressive rock sound of Identity and Disconnected and a more electronic 2020 direction for Airbag. Guitars give way to Tangerine Dream / New Order referencing synths, but don’t worry, Bjørn Riis is still a strong presence throughout the album. As with all Airbag releases, there is a heavy use of textures, and peaks and flows to keep your attention and hit you emotionally. I particularly love the drum treatments on Machines And Men.

A Day at the Beach (Part 1) is an absolute joy. Decaying guitars and deep bass underpin piano and mid-period Porcupine Tree like synth swirls to deliver one of the most atmospheric pieces on the album.

Into The Unknown continues in a similar, albeit longer vein. The synth riff driving the intro has an 80s Drive soundtrack feel, and the neon pulse and achingly personal lyrics make the track an album highlight. The guitars from Bjørn Riis are restrained but all the more powerful as the track builds, and the drums kick in with a second half that will appeal to Pink Floyd and Prog fans.

Sunsets is one of the biggest surprises on the album,. Opening with an off-kilter drum pattern, and then heading in an almost post-punk direction, with a John McGeoch (Siouxsie & The Banshees / Magazine) guitar sound, before switching to a more traditional Airbag chorus.

The insistent bassline on Sunsets works well with the heavily processed guitar on the verses, and we are treated to a quality Bjørn Riis guitar solo at the half-way mark. Again, the use of textures and ever-mutating arrangements keep your interest piqued throughout.

Listen to an edit of Sunsets below.

A Day At The Beach (Part 2) dials the electronica back into sharper focus, with an pulse-led instrumental conclusion to the song that premiered earlier on in the album sequence.

A Day at the Beach is such a good headphones album, and I cannot wait to hear it played loud through speakers when I receive my vinyl copy in June.

The album closes with Megalomaniac, a slow-building guitar piece that suddenly falls away and then rises powerfully to see the album to it’s conclusion.

“You always get what you want…”

I am a huge fan of electronic music, as well as a lot of progressive rock, and I love it when the two genres intertwine as they do on this album. A Day at the Beach has been a long time coming, but is one of the highlights in Airbag’s catalogue of fine studio albums. The band may have lost two members but they have opened up the possibilities of what they can achieve and how they can tell their stories.

Machines And Men
A Day at the Beach (Part 1)
Into The Unknown
Sunsets
A Day At The Beach (Part 2)
Megalomaniac

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Tags: Progressive Rock
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The Opium Cartel – Valor album review

2 05 2020

The Opium Cartel is songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jacob Holm-Lupo’s vehicle for songs that exist somewhere between pop, art-rock and synth pop, and away from his more progressive work with White Willow.

Valor is the third Opium Cartel album, and is set to be released on June 5 2020 on Apollon Records.

In the Streets sets the scene for an album that will appeal to those who love pop and progressive music from the 80s (The Blue Nile, Roxy Music, early Talk Talk, Bill Nelson, Alan Parsons Project) as well as current bands such as neon-pop heavy-hitters The Midnight. An optimistic and innocent track, the album opener is stacked to the brim with analogue synths (not a VST in sight, baby) and is wonderfully serenaded out by an uplifting sax refrain from Ilia Skibinsky.

Slow Run sounds like a hazy summer evening, and a hint of regret is starting to seep into the lyrics.

“This is not the same town, that we left behind”

The first of two instrumental pieces, A Question of Re-entry, features the moving guitar of Airbag’s Bjørn Riis, and is driven by the analogue synth pads and pulsating solos of Holm-Lupo.

Nightwings features the studio debut of Jacob’s daughter, Ina A, who effortlessly slips in to the albums sonic palette, delivering an assured modern pop vocal performance. Nightwings has a slight hint of mid-80s The Cure in its arrangement, and will surely appeal to lovers of the Stranger Things and San Junipero soundtracks.

Fairground Sunday is my favourite track on the album, and one of the few times I am reminded of Holm-Lupo’s White Willow catalogue. The music evokes the beauty of wide open spaces, with crystal clean fresh air and sharp starry skies, but is also under-pinned with a darker sub-current that reveals itself on subsequent plays.

Under Thunder has a wonderful Alan Murphy / Experiment IV (Kate Bush) referencing guitar riff and some of the most inventive rhythm arrangements on the album.

The Curfew Bell is one of the album’s darker, more gothic pieces. Heavily reverb-infused drums and rich strings, plus Gaelic sounding multi-tracked vocals from Leah Marcu (Tillian) lead into another instrumental piece featuring Bjørn Riis, A Maelstrom of Stars, that ups the Pink Floyd / prog ante a few notches. Some fine mellotron lines, plus one of the deepest bass synth sounds ever committed to tape, push to the fore on the tracks outro.

The CD ends with a bonus track, a cover of Ratt’s 1988 song What’s It Gonna Be, with Alexander Stenerud on vocals. With the hair-metal of the original track shorn, The Opium Cartel’s take is more akin to A-ha than Europe. I swear I can heard the sound of Fairlight stabs buried deep in the mix, or maybe that was just wishful thinking. And is that a nod to Don’t Fear The Reaper at the end?

Valor sounds like a love-song to the 80s, which of course means the album sounds very current and feels extremely accessible. The down-side is that straight after playing the album, you will find yourself desperately searching for your dusty old VHS copies of The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and The Lost Boys. I hope you enjoy the album.

In the Streets
Slow Run
A Question of Re-entry
Nightwings
Fairground Sunday
Under Thunder
The Curfew Bell
A Maelstrom of Stars
What’s It Gonna Be

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