Building on her two previous tracks Grip and Feel, Touch is a synth driven pop masterclass that has a real depth to it a huge sound and a superb chorus. It's only going to add to the Glaswegian's reputation and a song like Touch displays a real knack for electronic pop, which is always going to be a good thing. Check it out below:
Priest are Madelaine Priest and David Kazyk, a synthpop duo from Orlando who have just released their self titled debut album. Mixing influences from the present such as Chvrches or Warpaint with classic synthpop influences like Erasure, The Cure in their Japanese Whispers period and, yes I spotted it, Depeche Mode, Priest have produced a really rather lovely album that I'd put very much in the highly recommended category.
Here's the thing: everyone loves pop music. Unless the first song you heard was by Black Flag or Einzturzende Neubauten, you grew up loving pop music and, while you might have drifted away from it, there's still a place in your heart for it. This album immediately finds that place and repeatedly tickles you with top notch synthpop from the start to the end. Opener The Game is a prime example of Priest's talents. A beautifully melodic slice of synthpop joy, The Game is one of those songs that you hear and immediately feel like you've known it for years. It's followed by the harder sounding Heartbeats, a song that's more beats dominated than The Game but has an equally strong and, frankly, magnificent chorus that holds the song together perfectly. A very strong start is then continued by White Nights which has much more of a dream pop/indie pop feel than the preceding two tracks but all three amount to a hugely strong start to the album. Staring At The Walls is next, a sparser, more mournful track before another of the album's standouts Broken arrives, mixing a distinct 80's influence with a superb vocal and a chorus that is just about the most perfect chorus of all time. Once you reach this point in the album, you'll be hooked - trust me on that
Strong Hearts has the tricky task of following broken and decides to go full on POP with a the sort of synthpop track Erasure would be proud of. It's a bright, bubbly thing and instantly catchy. The pace slows with When The Strings Are Cut, a slower track bathed in icy electronics which leads to Day Drinking, another effortlessly excellent track. The penultimate track on the album Waiting For The End To Come is a celebration of classic film soundtracks, classic synthpop and all things 80's but in a very good way indeed. Like The Game, you hear it and instantly think you know it. I know it's boring and repetitive, but I have to again point out the chorus here - it's undeniably brilliant. Go and seek this track out and hear for yourself. We end on Lying on Your Grave, a soft, slower closer that rounds the album off nicely.
There are many highpoints on this this album and some tracks that are among the best electronic pop tracks I've heard in a good while, but most importantly, Priest works as a whole album rather than a collection of songs punctuated with two or three outstanding tracks. It's a wonderful, superb synthpop filled album that I'm going to be playing a lot from start to finish and once you hear it, you'll do that too
Priest's self titled debut is available now on Itunes, Amazon and other digital retailers. A cd is available from the band's online store
As regular readers probably know, we've a bit of a soft spot here at Almost Predictable Almost for Glasgow six piece The Insomniac Project. Combining disco, electronica and synthpop (think of LCD Soundsystem versus Giorgio Moroder), the band caused quite a stir with their recent demo release campaign (here) and they were one of the featured acts in our Glasgow Electronic Too blog in March this year.
The band are set to release their debut single In And Out (Of My Head) on August 31 and we're delighted to bring you the world exclusive premiere of that track today
Produced by Lewis Gardiner of Prides, In And Out (Of My Head) is a full on disco belter that will tempt even the most reluctant among you to hit the dancefloor. The song's relentless groove is added to with a full on pop chorus that most bands would kill for and it builds to a quite wonderful, glitterball filled crescendo. Have a listen below - I guarantee you that you will start grooving around in your seat within seconds.
As is now traditional on this post, I find myself apologising for this band only being "new" in the sense of being new to me. Edinburgh synthpoppers Aquafaux are a trio, formed in 2014 and they immediately caught many people's attention with their really rather catchy 80's influenced pop. Their debut e.p. Spellbound (available here https://aquafaux.bandcamp.com/album/spellbound-ep ) is an excellent debut and one you can enjoy as a free download at the address above or by streaming below
The whole e.p. is worth your time with See The Rain, which featured on this week's Almost Scottish Fiction ep, a superb example of electronic pop music. She Will Deceive You is another great track and I especially love it's Cure like guitars that have a wonderfully spiky feel to them. It's a another, really rather wonderful track. Pleasingly for these ears, Fame Game, the e.p's closer sounds a lot like a lost Yazoo track and that is a very good thing.
Aquafaux will be recording a new e.p. soon and appearing live and I for one hope to catch them soon. Keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.
