RODNEY CROMWELL - FAX MESSAGE BREAKUP E.P.

Rodney Cromwell's The Age Of Anxiety was one of my favourite albums of 2015 and it's still one I play regularly, the dark edge to the album's synthpop remaining interesting and, importantly, hugely enjoyable after multiple plays. Fax Message Breakup comes from the album and it's a track that pays homage to New Order circa Power Corruption And Lies and that is never going to be a bad thing.

The track was inspired by Phil Collins' fax induced marriage breakup many years ago, but mercifully sounds nothing like any of his works. Instead, dark swirling synths, melodica and some quite wonderful lyrics all mix, creating a superb track and one that deserves to be heard and loved.

There are a couple of great remixes of Fax Message Breakup here too.  Happy Robots labelmate Hologram Teen remixes the track superbly, the Hologram Teen's Video Suitors Remix taking the track in a glitchy disco direction and AUW's Obsessive Perfection Remix brings more than a hint of Depeche Mode to proceedings. As a reader of this blog, (1) you'll know that appeals to me and (2) it will certainly appeal to you.

The e.p. is finished off with remixes of album tracks Cassiopeia (the Leaf Library Remix) and Baby Robot (the Chris Frain Remix) which offer cool takes on both tracks. I am a sucker for an album-track-remix-as-single-extra notion. That started off for me with Something To Do (Metal Mix) featuring  on the limited edition 12"of Shake The Disease and it's something many more bands should do.

That needless Depeche diversion dispensed with, Fax Message Breakup is an e.p. you want to have in your life. Rodney Cromwell is one of the most interesting and inventive artists there is on the electronic scene just now - you'll kick yourself if you don;t check him out.

Fax Message Breakup e.p. is available now on Happy Robots Records on cd and to download.

Happy Robots Records http://www.happyrobots.co.uk/entry
Happy Robots Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/happy-robots

HAPPY MEALS - FRUIT JUICE EP

Happy Meals album Apero was one of my favourite albums of last year, albeit it was released in 2014 - I was just a little slow to catch up. Its shimmering, space disco electronics are a joy to behold and it remains on heavy rotation in my house, When I spoke to their label Night School's boss Michael Kasparis last December (http://almostpredictablealmost1.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-almost-predictables-2015-no2-label.html), he said that one of the things he was looking forward to in 2016 was new Happy Meals material. He'd heard demos at that stage and was very excited. Their first release of 2016 is the Fruit Juice e.p.  and, presuming one or two of the tracks were among the demos Michael heard, he was right to be excited. This is a wonderful record.

What Happy Meals have done here is take the best bits of Apero and added a layer of pure pop to them. If You Want Me Now encapsulates that perfectly. The otherworldly feel of Apero is present initially as the sparse, bewitching electronics of the superb opening pair of tracks Run Round and La Labas bleed into it, but the song then veers off in a correctly unapologetic pop fashion, producing a curious but marvellous hybrid of experimental electropop and the kind of pop tweaks that were last heard in late 80's pop hits. Genuinely, there are a couple of points at the song's poppiest point that bring to mind a sort of SAW production feel and why not? It works perfectly. If You Want Me Now is impossible to ignore and it's a song that you are bound to love.

Wonderfully, the duo sort of reprise the song for the e.p.'s last track Now That You Have Me, turning it into a slice of aggressive electroinc disco, adding a layer of darkness and a spot on acid bassline that take the song into another, fascinating dimension. Outstanding. The track that precedes that, Suivez-Moi is a hint of where Now That You Have Me is going to go. It's immediately brings to mind the genius of Liaisons Dangereuses or D.A.F. or even early Human League - sparse, thumping electronics that showcase everything that is great about stripped down, powerful electronic music. Suivez-moi is another song you have to hear.

Fruit Juice is further evidence, if evidence were needed, that Happy Meals are onto something very special. It displays numerous facets of their sound and, thrillingly, despite the diverse feel of the tracks, all of them work perfectly together, producing a stand out release. Go and get your hands on this now. It'll be the best thing you do today.

Fruit Juice e.p. by Happy Meals is available now on Night School Records and is released digitally and on limited edition 12" in a hand marbled sleeve meaning no two sleeves are the same. Very cool.

Happy Meals Fruit Juice e.p. http://nightschoolrecords.com/index.php/2016/05/19/happy-meals-fruit-juice-e-p/

Night School Records http://nightschoolrecords.com/

Happy Meals Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hahahappymeals/?fref=ts

ZYNA HEL - CATACOMBS

Zyna Hel is a solo artist from Glasgow whose debut single Catacombs is yet more evidence of Glasgow currently being the home of electronic music. Catacombs is a flat out, stunning electronic pop stomper that you simply can't fail to love. Produced by Benjamin Power of Blanck Mass and Fuck Buttons, it has a huge, epic sound, and it's surely destined for success. Check it out below and keep an eye out for more from Zyna Hel -  Catacombs is only the beginning.

Catacombs by Zyna Hel is released on 10 July on Zyna Hel's own label Occult Babes. She is playing at Glasgow's Hug And Pint on 3 June.

Zyna Hel Facebook https://www.facebook.com/zynahel/
Zyna Hel  Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/zynahel

TONGUES - HEARTBEAT

Tongues return with Heartbeat, their first new release of 2016 and, as we've come to expect from Tongues, it's a track that you can't help but love. Balancing complex music which brings to mind the likes of Hot Chip and Radiohead in one of their better moods, with the band's trademark electropop and all topped off with a chorus that perfectly fits the currently summery feel of their hometown Glasgow, Heartbeat is a track you don't want to miss.

Grab the single at the following places and watch our for a new e.p. from Tongues very soon. You should also note that Heartbeat is the first release on Little Tiger, a brand new independent label run from the Riverside Music Complex in Busby. Keep an eye out for more from them too.

Hypem.com - hypem.com/track/2gmjs/Tongues.+-+Heartbeat
Spotify - play.spotify.com/album/2SIrnSrxFUrcHjZPONQ5hi
iTunes - itunes.apple.com/album/heartbeat-…8&ign-mpt=uo%3D1
Facebook - facebook.com/tonguesmusic

SALLY DIGE - HARD TO PLEASE

Continuing their theme of releasing nothing but outstanding records, Glasgow's Night School Records have just released Hard To Please, the debut album by Sally Dige, a Berlin based Canadian musician. The album is a collection of first class electropop and is quickly becoming one of my albums of the year.

Opener and title track Hard To Please sets the standard quickly with an A Broken Frame era Depeche Mode feel, especially with its Leave In Silence like baseline. Diego's vocals are captivating, both on this track and throughout and they match the music perfectly. Immaculate Deception follows and whilst I realise this is both (1) and obvious and (2) a tedious comparison, Depeche Mode spring to mind again with the track having a distinct Speak & Spell vibe, albeit one with Siouxsie on vocals if you can imagine such a thing. Trust me, it's a very good thing indeed. So Far Away has a harder sound with Pretty Hate Machine style beats and harder, less obviously poppy synths, before the superb Doppleganger finishes off Side 1 beautifully with a wonderful piece of cold wave synthpop. I say Side 1 because I managed to get my hands on one of the limited edition clear vinyl releases as you can see below

Side 2 continues where Side 1 left off with the Yazoo like Losing You. Don't let the comparisons to the early synth genius Depeche and Yazoo make you think this album is a retro sounding 80's thing by the way; that's just not the case. It takes influence from that era no doubt, but it retains a modern feel throughout. Your Girl and A Certain Beauty follow, the former following a Cocteau Twins path, the latter a more gothic one and both are a joy to the ears. The album closes with the dark Dance Of Delusion which reminds me of The Cure in the Faith and Pornography days and that can only be a positive.

Hard To Please is an album that is bound to appeal not only to fans of synthpop but also to anyone who enjoys artists who manage to combine a feel of experimentation with electronic pop which is never an easy balance to strike. Given that this is her debut album, and given that she strikes that balance so impressively, Sally Dige is an artist that I know I'm going to be keeping a close eye on. You should too.

Sally Dige Hard To Please is released on Night School Records and is available on vinyl and cd. GO to http://nightschoolrecords.com to find out more