Harking back to the early 80s synth-pop and new wave era of the likes of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, the American trio return with their third album of smooth, wistful, simple three- and four-chord arpeggiated sounds and gliding, melancholy melodies and lyrics. While guitars and bass also play their part, it’s the simplicity that’s key - that classic one-finger playing of programmed sounds, joined by the distinctively soft, appealing sadness of frontman Ian Richard Devaney’s vocals, a sense of mourning and loss pervading the lyrical themes through the steady repetitive generation of notes and beats, epitomised by the single Now That You’re Gone which radiates and reverberates with a devastating wistfulness - and inspired by witnessing his godfather’s tragic death from ALS, and his parents’ role as caretakers for this ailing friend. The spongy guitar and bass-y I’m Not Ready for the Change references the psychic dyspepsia that repeatedly reincarnates in life. “I came across a photo from a party — it was filled with couples that were no longer together, friends who had gone their separate ways. It wasn’t from very long ago, but the sheer impossibility of such a gathering struck me in the heaviest way. Sometimes it feels like the pages of life’s book are turning faster than you can comprehend them,” says Devaney. Sadness then pervades, but so do gentle, catchy tunes, with highlights including those two numbers, In Another Life, the charming DIY video and number Inept Apollo, the simple splashing repetitions of Under The Water, and the pleasing old-school sound modifications of In Your Head. Out on Sub Pop.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Feel free to recommend more new songs and albums and comment below. You can also use the contact page, or find more on social media: Song Bar X, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: