It’s no secret that I sometimes wish that I was born at a much later time. Being a young person during the 70s and 80s when rock music was considered ‘yellow culture’ by the Singapore Government (and heavily suppressed) meant that I missed watching my favourite bands coming down to Singapore to play. Of course, the Singapore of 2012 is totally different from the Singapore of 1982, where rock concerts of contemporary popular bands happen almost every week.

Thus far, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to catch a few musical heroes from this era viz. The Police, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Echo & the Bunnymen, Lloyd Cole and even Bob Dylan. Come 10 March 2012, I can add Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark (OMD) to this rather short list as the band play the Esplanade Theatre.

OMD was instrumental in getting me to jump on the post-punk bandwagon back in 1980. I was struck by the band’s performance of Enola Gay in the post-punk/new wave film Urgh! A Music War and the rest, as they say, is history. OMD quickly became one of my favourite bands and I consider the first three albums – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Organisation & Architecture and Morality – to be essential listening for any scholar of the synth-pop epoch.

Back when OMD released its strong comeback album – History of Modern – I was fortunate to be able to interview Andy McCluskey (whom together with Paul Humphries form the core of OMD) via email but now am looking forward to actually speaking to the duo by phone very soon (for TODAY) ahead of their performance during Mosaic Music Festival (MMF) 2012. I can only hope now that I will get a chance to meet my heroes sometime in March. What say you, MMF organizers???

Tickets now available at SISTIC.

Originally posted on 1 Feb 2012

At the recent Singapore Music Forum I met a unassuming young man who introduced himself as Sean. Then he mentioned that he had a band/music project called I Hate This Place. Instantly I loved the name and then finally got a link. Whoa! IHTP basically comes from a similar place as Owl City except that IHTP does not suck! Am not being facetious here! As regular visitors would know, I love my synth pop nice and sweet (but not saccharine!)  and Future Girl, Retro Style fits the bill perfectly – you will be singing that chorus by the end of the track, believe me! Check it out below and make sure you come back for more electronic goodness from I Hate This Place.

Official Site

LOLA DUTRONIC – KIDS JUST WANNA DANCE

The new sexay single from the New York Stories EP, out now on Red Star Digital Music. Download it at iTunes. Enjoy the cool 80s electro-pop vibe.

Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks (Chrome Canyon REMIX)

Chrome Canyon (aka Morgan Z, Apes & Androids former keyboardist) has remixed LA electro-pop group Foster the People’s track Pumped Up Kicks, available for download at RCRD LBL. Very chilled and light, the hipster set will dig it, most certainly.

Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks (Chrome Canyon REMIX) by Chrome Canyon

FUTURE ISLANDS – BEFORE THE BRIDGE

For some reason, this song reminds me very much of the Canadian 80s new wave band, Men Without Hats. I suppose it has something to do with the very idea of North Americans singing with a baritone Anglophile accent. Whatever the form, this Baltimore-based band have enough synth-pop savvy to make good use of the now-popular style. In any case this new single Before the Bridge will be the A-side from the 7″ of the same title, out July 19 on Thrill Jockey. Check it out and make your way to Future Islands…

Future Islands – Before the Bridge by thrilljockey

Official Site

More 80s synth-pop channeling in the shape and form of British duo Summer Camp, who have a debut album due. 80s fans will no doubt hear references to Roxy Music and The Police in this lead single from the upcoming album.

I Want You by Summer Camp

Myspace

DEATH KIT Devadesi 7 inch single (Fort Lowell)

Devadesi is Death Kit’s debut physical release following the digital release of their first single, I Can Make You Love Me, in 2010. Said to have been formed in response to “a Los Angeles indie rock scene too witheringly lazy to pursue the potential and precision of electronica”, the band clearly has a lot of confidence in what they have to offer to the scene.

The title track, Devadesi, is easily the most ear-catching track of the four tracks available on this 7inch, being very enjoyable, and somewhat reminiscent of Eurythmics yet also having the very recognisable soundscapes that characterize instrumental songs. This track would appeal to the casual electronica fan, as well as the hardcore indie fan, and could possibly be the breakout hit that this fresh band needs.

Tracy Shedd’s cover of I Can Make You Love Me, together with the original song by Death Kit, can both be found on this release, and the contrast could not be any more drastic, with Tracy Shedd’s version sounding more like a folk song, which is rather interesting considering that she is covering an electronica song. Death Kit’s cover of Tracy Shedd’s song, Tear It Up, is rather unnoticeable on this release compared to the other tracks due to the lack of vocals, and seemingly out of place.

Myspace

(Melissa Ng)

DESTROYER Kaputt (Merge)

On previous releases, Dan Bejar (aka Destroyer) pretty much channeled his 60s/70s obsessions through like-minded musical heroes like Syd Barrett, David Bowie and Marc Bolan. On Kaputt (his 9th album), Bejar has moved forward a decade to land perfectly on the 80s! The influences of the aforementioned “three Bs” still linger on but this time via the post-punk movement. Thus, astute listeners will no doubt pick out references to New Order, Japan/Rain Tree Crow, the Blue Nile, Talk Talk, Ultravox & Ryuichi Sakamoto/Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Which basically means that electronics, suave grooves, faux-symphonic progressive vibes and sultry sax flows right through Kaputt like some 80s party mix or an elaborate tribute to Bryan Ferry’s second incarnation of Roxy Music. All of which sounds perfectly fine with me as Kaputt puts me squarely into a special period of my life, in my 20s and enjoying the finest music in the world.

One of the albums you must really need to listen to from start to finish, Kaputt might be Dan Bejar/Destroyer’s crowning achievement. Essential for all serious music lovers.

Official Site

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Thirty years ago, the 80s began (we thought we’d got John Lennon back but he was all too quickly taken away from us. Damn). I had just been conscripted and had begun to take pop and rock music appreciation seriously. Through the next ten years, I would discover amazing music and bands which to this day continue to thrill and touch me. During the 80s, I got out of army, did four years at Law School, got my degree, got a job, got married and became a father. Music was the soundtrack to it all. People often ask me about the best music of the 80s, so in the spirit of answering that question, here is part one of my top 25 essential LPs of the 80s (in alphabetical order, not by merit).

Architecture & Morality – OMD (1981)

At once experimental and mellifluous, synth-pop pioneers OMD combined its Kraftwerk obsessions with its love for pop melody with devastating effect. Still resonates to this day in the form of numerous synth-pop imitators. Contains the hits Souvenir, Joan Of Arc and Maid of Orleans (see video below).

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Avalon – Roxy Music (1982)

After a short hiatus, Roxy Music returned with the core nucleus of Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay and a new sound. Eschewing the art-rock of its former incarnation, this lineup focused on slick, cool funk/R&B/dance music and launched the new romantic movement. Avalon was the crowning achievement. Contains the hits Avalon, More Than This and Take A Chance on Me.

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Doolittle – Pixies (1989)

At the tail end of the 80s, Pixies sounded like they came from another dimension altogether. Arguable, Doolittle was their finest moment and its influence would be heard all over the world two years later when Nirvana broke. No hits to report, but from this legendary album came incendiary majesties like Monkey Gone To Heaven, Wave of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man and one of my favourite songs of all time, Debaser.

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Freedom – Neil Young (1989)

Neil spent the 80s screwing around with diverse genres (synth-pop, country, rockabilly) so much that his label, Geffen, sued him for “unrepresentative music”. Of course, the moment he re-signed with former label, Reprise, he delivered an album that turned out to be the comeback of 1989 – Freedom – a superb return to form! Contains his anthem Keep On Rocking in the Free World (see below) and other instant classics like Eldorado, Wrecking Ball and Don’t Cry.

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Full Moon Fever – Tom Petty (1989)

Petty’s first album sans the Heartbreakers (although most guested and Mike Campbell was heavily involved) turned out to be one of his biggest albums ever. Funny to think that the label could not hear any hits (!) and in fact hated megahit Free Fallin’. Which goes to show that the suits know sweet FA about music! Full Moon Fever was co-produced with ELO’s Jeff Lynne and is one of those albums you can listen to from start to finish. Includes Runnin’ Down A Dream, I Won’t Back Down, Love is a Long Road and of course, Free Fallin’. All together now “Now ah’m free…”

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…still there’s more…

Press release

3 acts which showcase live electronic music will take centre-stage at HOME Club on Friday 17 December 2010. Synth-pop quartet Elektone, electro-hip hop act The Lard Brothers and live drum’n'bass crew Breakbeat Theory will share the same stage.

Electronic music with the dynamics of live musicians will be performed as a seamless showcase, akin to a DJ set. The electronically programmed beat sets the pulse for the show while musicians augment the tunes by layering additional pulsating rhythms and carefully crafted melodies.

It would be the first time in Singapore which 3 such acts with different electronic genre leanings have come together to work as a community, presenting their craft as a whole unit.

Details:

Date: Friday 17 December 2010

Time: 2000hr

Venue: HOME Club (22 Upper Circular Road, The Riverwalk)

Ticket charge: S$12 (including 1 drink).

The first 50 guests get an additional glass of Heavy Water vodka.

More info – www.agingyouth.com

BRANDON FLOWERS Flamingo (Island/Universal)

I must confess that I’ve never been much of a Killers fan. This has more to do with the fact that I am a first generation post-punk lover than anything else and just could not get into the warmed up post-punk leftovers that the Killers were getting rich and famous on. But totally from an objective perspective, I can understand where they’re coming from and would still prefer kids to go mad over the Killers music over something vacuous like Justin Bieber, anytime.

Brandon Flowers’ debut solo album is in all respects a Killers record except in name. The penchant to combine Flowers’ love for 80s North American anthemic rock (viz. Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellancamp, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi) with 80s synth pop (Pet Shop Boys, Ultravox, Depeche Mode) into modern rock ditties is be admired, I suppose, rather than disdained.

Flowers has astutely brought in two producers who know a thing or two about 80s music – Daniel Lanois (who has worked with U2) and Stuart Price (who has worked with Madonna, Pet Shop Boys and New Order) – to deliver a record that balances the two above-mentioned musical poles into a digestible mix.

The album opens with the almost Dylanesque epic Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas (by way of Springsteen of course), which sets the tone for the rest of Flamingo – sprawling arena pop-rockers, heavy on the twang with the slight synth pop inflections to keep things intriguing. Song-wise, the melodies are not immediate but give them enough time and they might ring your bell.

By the time, you get to the slinky blues of Playing With Fire, the bouncy pop throb of Was It Something I Said? and the breezy ABBA-esque splendor of Magdalena, Flowers has done enough to make Flamingo better than your average Billboard Album Chart entry. The closing Swallow It is an impassioned electronic plea for normalcy and a comfortable exit stage left.

However, this Deluxe Edition contains four more tracks which rather undoes the carefully worked atmosphere of Flamingo with self-contained songs like the country-folky The Clock Was Tickin’, the synth-poppy Jacksonville, the corny limp I Came Here To Get Over You and the post-punk revivalist Right Behind You. All forgettable, sad to report.

For fans of The Killers, obtaining Flamingo is a no-brainer. But you already knew that…

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A distinct honor for Power of Pop as the legendary OMD (via Andy McCluskey) talks to us about the new album, History of Modern.

Why did you decide to record and release a new OMD album now, after an absence of over a decade?

We never really wanted to stop, but in the mid 90s it seemed that synthesizer music was out of fashion at the height of Britpop. Now the musical landscape has changed and ‘electro’ is ‘cool’, OMD are constantly being cited as an important and even iconic band in this genre.. we are allowed to make a record without swimming against the tide.

Most importantly, though.. we had ideas and songs that were worth doing.. we did not want to release a poor album.

How does it feel to be touring as OMD again after all these years?

We always loved touring.. we were never a ‘studio’ band. It took a little time to shake the rust off but the recent gigs have been fantastic for us, the audiences and even the critics are saying great things about our live shows.

What was the songwriting process like for History of Modern as most of the songs are credited to OMD?

The initial idea was to utilize modern technology. Paul lives in London and I live near Liverpool.. However, send files via internet was very slow and lacked the opportunity for personal chemistry and energy. Toward the end of the album we found it much better for Paul to come to my studio and we wrote together. This allowed us to bounce ideas off each other in a more immediate way and felt much better.

The songs on History of Modern appear to evoke the first three OMD albums in terms of sound and composition – do you agree and if so, what was the reason for this?

OMD always tried to change the sound from record to record.. but perhaps in hindsight our best records were the very first 4. So yes we consciously tried to use the musical pallette that we created in the early days. We have had created a unique sound and style that we now realize that perhaps we should have adhered to. However, it was important that the production style and technique sounded 2010. (Which it certainly does – a grand achievement! – KM)

New Babies: New Toys seems unusually acerbic and edgy for OMD – is it a comment on the youth of today, and if so why the need to express these feelings?

This song lyric is a comment on the people who create and want be involved in the manufacture of pop. Especially the recent reality TV competition style of creating bands and singers.. it is successful TV but generally make for terrible music. We began making music because we wished to express ourselves in a unique style.. not because we wanted to be ‘stars’  … Music can be wonderful when it is done for the right reasons….. but when its just a marketing gimmick made for money it is usually hollow and depressing. This is not the first time that we have created aggressive music.. listen to 88 seconds in Greensboro or New Stone Age.

You’ve never hidden your admiration for Kraftwerk so what did you hope to achieve with the RFWK tribute? Do you know if Kraftwerk has heard the song?

It was time to say thank you in a song.. they changed our lives.. Karl and Wolfgang have heard the song.. I hope Ralf and Florian will too.

We understand that Sister Mary Says was originally written in 1981 and recorded for Universal? Why hasn’t it been featured on an album until now?

Sister Marie Says has a melody from 1981 and a lyric from 1994, but it was never put together in a satisfactory way. It was never going to get onto the Universal album. This mix is the best version.. even though we admit that it is the nearest that this album gets to pastiching ourselves.

How did the Save Me mashup come about? Why was it left off the album and only a bonus track in US?

Some years ago we had the crazy idea of trying to mash up some of our songs with some of our favourite oldies. The politics were usually a nightmare. The artist would say yes.. but the label or publishers would be obstructive. This is one the we got cleared and it works so well that we thought that it would be fun for people to hear it, even though it doesn’t really say too much about OMD or the History of Modern album as a whole.

What do you think is OMD’s legacy in modern rock circa 2010? Are there any new bands that have impressed you?

It is not really for us to predict this! We are aware that recently there has been a re-evaluation of our type of music and people now understand that it was possibly the last progressive musical wave before pop really did start eating itself. As new new bands that we like.. Hot Chip, Hurts, Mirrors, Villa Nah and Robyn are all great!

Is it easier or harder for a new band to make an impact in the current UK music scene compared to the early 80s when OMD first emerged?

It is much harder.. major labels are in financial difficulty and have less money to put into developing new bands. You can get yourself recorded OK in a bedroom and release a homemade video on the internet but unless its a viral smash.. you still need a marketing budget to promote it.

Are there any plans for OMD to tour in Asia, like in Singapore?

We will tour Europe this autumn.. USA next spring and then it would be lovely to get back to Asia….. it has been too long.

History of Modern will be released on 28th September.

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OMD History of Modern (Bright Antenna/ILG)

Probably one of the my most significant musical epiphanies happened when I saw a live clip of Liverpool synth-pop band Orchestral Manoeurves in the Dark (OMD) on the epoch-making Urgh! A Music War (1981) film. The band performed Enola Gay and I was well and truly hooked – not only on OMD but on post-punk & synth-pop!! Exciting days!!!

Suffice to say that I was intrigued when I received an email that OMD had reunited and were releasing a brand new album. Of course, reunions are a dime a dozen in the music biz but I’m happy to announce that the new OMD album – History of Modern – is the comeback album of the year! Astonishingly enough, it sounds as if Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys have simply picked up where they left off from 1981′s Architecture & Morality (and almost as if those inferior follow up LPs never happened!)

Which for me makes History of Modern an essential album for OMD fans and lovers of that special post-punk/synth-pop era. After putting up with the many second rate bands ripping off that wonderful 80s era, one of its former masters returns to demonstrate how it’s done! Yeah, I do know I’m rambling on a little, but I love this album so much that I’m actually becoming incoherent.

*Whew*

Is it merely nostalgia? Well, you might argue that certainly. Especially when the bonus track – Save Me – is a gorgeous mash-up of the OMD hit Messages and Aretha Franklin’s song of the same name. Wow! But let’s be fair, whilst there are definitely echoes of past glories, there is no doubting the vibrance and even relevance of tracks like the dynamic opener New Babies: New Toys (which takes aim at modern consumerism), the fragile ballad Sometimes (featuring Jennifer John), the robotic RFWK (a loving homage to the band’s biggest influence Kraftwerk), the operatic techno hybrid Sister Mary Says and the elegant bleeper The Right Side.

History of Modern is a dream come true – after waiting for almost thirty years, an OMD masterpiece once more! A BIG thank you to Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys for believing that they still have one more classic album in them. Indispensable!

History of Modern will be released on 28th September.

Official Site | Myspace

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WILLIAM ORBIT Pieces In A Modern Style 2 (Decca)

Nothing new about pop-classical hybrids is there? Deep Purple’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969), Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s adaptation of Pictures in a Exhibition (1971) and the ascent of progressive rock witness classical element in rock music.

William Orbit is perhaps best known as a producer of such pop acts as Madonna and Blur but is also a musician in his own right. Ten years ago, Orbit released Pieces In A Modern Style, his own electronica versions of noted classical pieces like Adagio For Strings and Beethoven’s Opus 132. Well, this album is the sequel to that experiment.

Yes, I am aware of classical music and though not a huge fan, as a musician I do appreciate its value and impact. I am of course, an admirer of 80s synth-pop. Orbit’s attempts at bridging the gap between the two (whilst reminiscent of Wendy Carlos’ similar exercises in the 70s) is rather unique and establishes in his own voice these vaunted classics.

Most familiar, I’d wager is Greig’s Peer Gynt, the melody line of which is consistent used for luxury watch ads. I also liked his version of Bach’s Arioso (it’s Bach, c’mon!) which Orbits delivers in straightforward fashion. Another Bach composition – Clavier – is given the atmospheric treatment (sounding very much like a Vangelis soundtrack – Blade Runner perhaps?). Equally impressive are the clever interpretations of Vaughn Williams’ Lark Descending and Tchaikovsky’s legendary Swan Lake.

Excellent music to study or work to, I must confess. Good lessons in arrangements as well for the musicians out there. Recommended.

Official Site | Buy

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Just a quick note to say that I received exciting news this morning about a new OMD album! Read on -

OMD To Release First New Album In 14 Years * History Of Modern Out 9/28/10 On Bright Antenna/ILG

Spin.com Premieres “New Babies: New Toys” * Daily Motion Debuts Video For “If You Want It”

Pre-Order Bundles Available At OMD’s Own Webstore

WWW.OMD.HASAWEBSTORE.COM

OMD (aka Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) return with their first new album in 14 years. History of Modern will be released September 28^th in the US via Bright Antenna Records through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group. The US version of History of Modern contains the US only exclusive track, “Save Me,” which features Aretha Franklin and is the album’s first single. Spin.com has an exclusive interview with OMD’s Andy McCluskey along with the premiere of the new song “New Babies: New Toys.” Check it out HERE. Daily Motion just premiered the video for the first UK single, “If You Want It,” which can be seen HERE.

Fans have the opportunity to pre-order History of Modern at OMD’s own webstore – WWW.OMD.HASAWEBSTORE.COM. They can choose between a limited edition box set and bundles including autographed vinyl, CD’s and exclusive t-shirt designs. All pre-orders come with an instant digital download of the single, “Save Me.”

One of the reasons OMD have called their brand new album – their eleventh – History of Modern is because they are acutely aware of what it is they’re doing with this release. On paper, this is the UK synth-pop pioneers’ first new material since 1996, but in spirit, History of Modern has more in common with the group’s early ’80s heyday, when Enola Gay and Souvenir, penned by two teenage Krautrock fans from the Wirral, lit up the charts and set the agenda for a bold new movement in British electronic music.

In tandem with the Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys, OMD’s tuneful blend of cutting-edge synthwork, cool minimalism and soulful pop – honed to perfection on the albums Architecture & Morality, Dazzle Ships and Organisation– defined the decade, sold millions of records, and turned childhood pals Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys into stars.

“We were trying to be modern,” says Andy, pointing out that, in 1980, OMD were one of the first acts to use a sampler. “After architecture, art and design, popular music was the last of the great modernist movements, and we were genuinely trying to do something new. Quite how we thoughtwe were going to change the world with three-and-a-half-minute pop songs, I don’t know, but we thought we could.”

Fast forward 30 years to the reunited OMD of 2010 and it’s clear that that sense of mischief and youthful idealism still fuels the group. “I suppose the nice thing is that, just like in the early days, we made this record simply because we fancied making a record,” says Andy. “There was no pressure to make a record in order to sell records and sustain a career. It was like making a first album again.”

In these electro-friendly times, OMD’s influence has become ubiquitous. The XX, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy have cited OMD as an inspiration, while the likes of La Roux, Cold Cave and The Horrors show traces of OMD’s DNA. Andy notes that today OMD is perceived to have its place in the “pantheon of relevant popular music history”, something which seemed unthinkable during the Britpop era, when ’60s revivalism finished off the last incarnation of OMD, a solo venture by Andy (Paul had left in 1989).

Fortunately, by anyone’s standards, History of Modern is an excellent album, one that fizzes with energy and captures the group’s newfound enthusiasm. Then again, between them, Andy and Paul have some 60 years of songwriting and music-making experience, so they do know their way around a hit. Propelled by synth riffs, ‘New Babies: New Toys’ and the two ‘History of Modern’ tracks are very much a return to form, while ‘RFWK’ doffs its cap to Kraftwerk, and ‘The Future, the Past, and Forever After’ has shades of OMD’s northwest contemporaries, New Order. Elsewhere, ‘Sister Marie Says’ echoes ‘Joan of Arc’ and ‘Maid of Orleans’.

Upbeat and bristling with ideas, ‘History of Modern’ was mixed by Arctic Monkeys/Foals engineer Mike Crossey, and offers a slightly rawer kind of pleasure to the serene melancholy of OMD’s early-’80s moments. In a nice touch, the record’s sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, who was responsible for the iconic artwork of those first OMD albums. Saville was the in-house designer at Factory Records, the label that released OMD’s debut single, ‘Electricity’, in 1979. For many, ‘History of Modern’ will be their first experience of OMD, and one hopes their curiosity will lead them, via YouTube and Spotify, to ‘Organisation’, ‘Architecture and Morality’ and ‘Dazzle Ships’ – key works in the Synth Britannia canon.

The music industry OMD have returned to in 2010 is in a very different state to the one that helped them sell millions of records 20-odd years ago. But their attitude hasn’t changed. “Back then, we weren’t following anybody’s rules but our own,” Andy says. “Today, if you’re considered credible and you still have a relevance, then you’re allowed back on your pedestal. That’s what we’ve discovered to our great delight.

“And this record,” he adds, “is just another part of the jigsaw of us reclaiming our place in the broader picture.”

US Tracklisting:

1 New Babies: New Toys
2 If You Want It

3 History of Modern (Part I)

4 History of Modern (Part II)

5 Sometimes

6 RFWK

7 New Holy Ground

8 The Future, The Past, And Forever After

9 Sister Marie Says

10 Pulse

11 Green

12 Bondage of Fate

13 The Right Side

14 Save Me (featuring Aretha Franklin)

Pre-Order: http://omd.hasawebstore.com/

***************

Even as I write this, I am listening to History of Modern and indeed, it’s everything it’s hyped up to be! Synth-pop fans (old and new) will not be disappointed – it’s the comeback of the year! Review to come…

Buy OMD

SECRET CIRCUITS This Town EP (Artificial Bliss)

This Leeds quartet reckon that they’re not a electro band. Well… they do play and record with an organic rhythm section with two keyboards on top. Rather like OMD, actually. Certainly on this EP, there’s little doubt that Secret Circuits derive their inspirations from 80s synth-pop and is in line with current trends, it has to be said. Also, judging from the album cover, they’re not averse to presenting themselves with a little new romantic glamour as well (shares of Visage, perhaps).

But what about the songs, you say? I quite like the four tracks on this EP actually. The melodies are catchy and the dance rhythms are well, easily danceable to. What more do you want? Opening title track has enough hooks to consign you to minutes of humming after the song ends. Job done, I’d say. Third track The Battle is rather intriguing as well, especially the gnarly bass line, although based on the vocal delivery, I’d never think that the band was English, reminding me of a European electro pop band, like Alphaville or Modern Talking – maybe that’s the idea? I hope not…

But on the final track, In Ending (Parts 1 and 2), a six minute magnum opus, is where Secret Circuits truly impress me. Starting out as a tense faux-classical piano ballad (reminiscent of Keane, Coldplay et al), the tempo builds up gradually till it climaxes into an orgy of epic rock anthem proportions! Only thing missing is the obligatory guitar solo wank. I’m glad to report that there’s more to Secret Circuits than meets the eye.

Myspace

THE GOLDEN FILTER Voluspa (Self-released)

New York based synth-pop duo, The Golden Filter, actually consists of lead singer Penelope Trappes, who grew up in Lismore, near Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, and disco and analogue synth programmer Stephen Hindman is originally from Ohio, United States.

Critically speaking, there is not much that distinguishes The Golden Filter from the slew of girl-boy electronica duos trawling the modern rock landscape for your attention and patronage. Sure, Trappes and Hindman are adept at channeling the sounds and styles of 80s synth-pop, for which yours truly is a sucker. However,  there is nothing distinctive enough about The Golden Filter (unlike, say Crystal Castles) that would entice me to listen to Voluspa more than once.

For diehard electr0-pop buffs only.

You can find out more about The Golden Filter at http://www.thegoldenfilter.com or at their Myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/thegoldenfilter.

Buy Voluspa at Amazon

CRYSTAL CASTLES “Crystal Castles” (Polydor)

It’s so easy to look at albums like this with a pontificating glare. Synth-pop second time around can seem like a lost cause. But why should that be? After all, I have no problem with bands in 2010 sounding like bands from the 70s. Is it because that synth-pop is so associated with the 80s that it sounds out of context in 2010?

Perhaps then, it’s appropriate that the cover of this Ontario duo’s second eponymous album is (what looks like) a picture of a zombie girl rising from her grave. Really puts you in the right frame of mind for the horrors contained within. Don’t get me wrong, I mean that in the best possible way. The music on “Crystal Castles” is not quite the sweet, popular synth pop that the early 80s pioneers like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Heaven 17 and Human League proposed but more industrial and confrontational like “underground” electronic heroes like Throbbing Gristle and Caberet Voltaire.

Despite hailing from Canada, the duo’s exercises on discordant electro-clash sounds like it originated somewhere in icy Scandinavia. Whilst Ethan Kath programmes mildly pleasing/disturbing concoctions, vocalist Alice Glass sings like she’s from another planet or dimension – like a banshee or a wraith trapped on some otherworldly plane – and in a indecipherable language, recalling both Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) and Jonsi (Sigur Ros) in execution.

With intriguing titles (Fainting Spells, Suffocation, Violent Dreams, Pap Smear) to match the sound collages that pass for songs, Crystal Castles is an “indie” rock fans’ wet dream and the fact that its released by a Universal Music company is doing my head in somewhat. I guess all that’s left to say is that this is highly recommended, bloody essential head music. Really.

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LCD SOUNDSYSTEM This Is Happening (DFA)

Purported LCD Soundsystem’s final album, This Is Happening, is quite possibly one of the albums of 2010, as James Murphy (who is essentially LCD Soundsystem) continues to mash up post-punk electronic and old school punk aesthetics into a highly pleasing new entity.

Songs like first single Drunk Girls, One Touch and All I Want are instant pop classics for the ages, mixing up classic melodicism (Beach Boys, the Kinks, the Beatles) with edgy 80s post-punk sensibilities (Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, New Order, Human League). Which is a perfect combination of pop savvy and technical brilliance, in my book.

Tracks like I Can Change, You Wanted A Hit and Somebody’s Calling Me gloriously evoke the special synth pop period from 1979 to 1984, pop songs built out of a inventive use of electronics. Uncanny how Murphy is above to re-create this wonderful epoch but at the same time keeping it fresh and making it his own – a great achievement!

Official Video for Drunk Girls, directed by Spike Jones.

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LAZER CRYSTAL MCMLXXX (Thrill Jockey)

Old school electronica rocks! Lazer Crystal is a synth pop duo hailing from Chicago and yet another group of young musicians to be deeply influenced by the works of 80s electronic pop pioneers. I get a little mixed about groups like Lazer Crystal. Whilst I am happy that new bands are building their music around 80s synth pop, I just wish that it didn’t sound so derivative and therefore not bringing the genre forward in any way. Kinda like Oasis and the Beatles, I guess.

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I really only started buying albums with a passion in the very late 70s. Back in the day of course, we didn’t have internet so we had to rely very much on magazines to discover new music. Remember that in the 70s and 80s, the Singapore government was very anti-pop culture and we were constantly bombarded with the message that Western culture was decadent. And so, you had to be rather dedicated to the cause if you wanted to get your hands on great new music.

Around that time, I discovered post-punk with the movie Urgh! A Music War – a film that changed my life forever. One of the artists that really got my attention was Gary Numan (see the clip below). He performed Down in the Park live and it was mind blowing. Not only was the music something I’d never really heard before – genuinely – but he sang sitting down in a motorized chair – awesome!

Numan made synth-pop a mainstream phenomenon in the UK as his singles and albums became best-sellers and deeply influenced much of British music for the better part of the 80s. Well, it certainly made me passionate about synth-pop and led to many acquisitions of albums by fellow practitioners like OMD, Human League, Depeche Mode, Yazoo and the like.

Gary Numan was very much at the forefront of the movement and personified this futurist attitude. However, Numan was often maligned by the British rock press and his popularity waned in the late 80s, a period where synth-pop – once so edgy was hijacked by the mainstream and turned into soul-less muzak. Isn’t always the case?

So it often amuses me when I hear synth-pop fascimiles coming out from modern US rock scene in 2010 –  it all began in the 80s, kids. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

THE RADIO DEPT. Clinging to a Scheme (Labrador)

For fans of classic post-punk and beyond, Swedish band The Radio Dept. is an absolute treat. Combining indie twee pop with electronic sensibilities, The Radio Dept. has produced delightfully melodic pop slabs of mood and atmosphere – a potent mix!

On this, the band’s third album, the hybrid process has been honed to a fine art. The pulsating synths and chiming guitars manage to strike a fine balance to create something unique. The beats are never too intrusive and exist to serve the tunes and yet they are an entity unto themselves nonetheless.

For most of Clinging to a Scheme, The Radio Dept. can do no wrong, pulling out miraculous melodies and irresistible rhythms on mesmerizing tracks like the gleaming Domestic Scene, the slinky Heaven’s On Fire, the dynamic New Order-channeling This Time Around, the throbbing Never Follow Suit, the dreamy Token of Gratitude, the incisive The Video Dept., the thoughtful Memory Loss, the noisy OMD-referencing Four Months in the Shade and the plaintively atmospheric You Stopped Making Sense.

Yes, I realize that I’ve listed practically the entire album but that’s a simple measure of how great Clinging to a Scheme is. A delight in every sense of the word. Only thing left for me to say is that it will definitely be one of the finest albums you will listen to this year. Essential!

Oh, and of course, The Radio Dept. will be playing in Singapore on 7th April. Details TBA.

Official Site

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ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK Architecture & Morality (Dindisc, 1981)

My first encounter with OMD (like many other post-punk bands) was  the documentary Urgh! A Music War and the wonderful Enola Gay. I believe I purchased a US printed LP that compiled tracks from the 1st two OMD albums (purely for Enola Gay, of course) and then not long after that, Architecture & Morality, which was released at the tail end of 1981.

It is probably one of my favourite albums of the synth-pop era and to this day is an LP I can easily (and comfortably) listen to from start to finish – a rarity.

The album opens with mechanical noises, jangly guitars and jarring mellotrons before Andy McCluskey weighs in with his trademark awkward vocals. Like most early OMD, it is a unique combination of the bitter and the sweet. The quaint She’s Leaving follows, as the band demonstrates that it is as deft at McCartneyesque melodicism as any 70s powerpop outfit. Then Souvenir comes in to deliver the perfect sugar-rush with a truly memorable synth riff and Paul Humpreys’ fey vocals.

The beauty of OMD was that it was able to write experimental instrumental sound collages as well as hit singles. This appealed greatly to a music lover like me that appreciated the Beatles and Pink Floyd, ELO and Genesis. Sealand and the title track were great examples of this ability. In between, these tracks were two singles concerning Joan of Arc – both were top 5 hits – and together with Souvenir (which claimed the #3 spot) ensured that Architecture & Morality would be OMD’s best selling album (to the tune of 3 million copies sold).

For me, OMD was a fine example of a band that were recording for the sheer love of the music. The image of the band was communciated through stylish album covers (by Peter Saville) and artful yet infectious songs, all the while maintaining an experimental edge to their idiosyncratic songs.

The album closes with the bouncing Georgia and the thoughtful The Beginning and the End.

OMD would never quite attain the peaks of this album, with each succeeding album marking the band’s inevitable commercial and critical decline. Still, for having produced Architecture & Morality, OMD deserve their place in the post-punk hall of fame.

A truly essential album.

OWL CITY Ocean Eyes (Universal Republic)

I despair of the mainstream in 2010.

Sure, I can understand the rappers and Lady Gaga and how they figure in the grand scheme of things. But not Owl City.

I mean is this guy for real? The press releases try to paint him as the great white hope of indie pop. The fact is Owl City is as mainstream as they come. With auto-tuned, pre-fabricated crap that just happens to be presented in electronic format and suddenly this guy is “synth-pop”?

His sanitized vocals annoy the hell out of me, with every electronic sound so clean and perfect, this is how synth-pop would sound like if it went Disney!

So this is the mainstream’s answer to “indie-pop”? Emasculated and soul-less, saccharine and dumb? I guess so…

Sure, its popular and commercial, which is fine with me. Just ease up on the hyperbole. As long as you can ignore the awesome electronic music that has come before, you can put this on and pretend that Owl City is the absolute bee’s knees.

Me? I’ll be listening to my New Order singles compilation.

MGMT Time to Pretend EP (Cantora)

This was, of course, was the release that introduced MGMT to the world in 2005. Subsequently, the electro-psych-pop duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Vanwyngarden, would be signed to Columbia, record a full-length debut – Oracular Spectacular – produced by Dave (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev) Fridmann and take the modern rock world by storm.

This EP, the duo’s second, contains the original versions of Time to Pretend and Kids (two popular songs re-recorded for the breakout album) and four others not available elsewhere viz. Boogie Down, Destrokk, Love Always Remains and Indie Rokkers. This re-issue has been re-mastered by Greg Calbi and if you dig MGMT then it’s pretty essential, although personally, the version of Time to Pretend on Oracular Spectacular is virtually untouchable.

Still, more MGMT is always a good thing so I guess if you’ve only discovered MGMT recently, then this EP re-issue will tide you over till the next album.

You can buy the EP online and download Destrokk.