the stance - energizer
a group formed and developed through a love for technology, sigue sigue sputnik and computers.
the first thing that hits you about this is the sheer quality of the overall package. no expense has been spared on the packaging, the production of music is consistently high.
and speaking of the music ?
the band came to my attention via the sputnik mailing list so it came as no surprise to hear the opening track 'i am legend' with pounding sequencers/film samples and guitar licks, a very impressive opener. but this is no one trick pony, track 2 'the one' has taken a lot from classic era pet shop boys with a very nice touch of phased guitars/detached vocals, and a very catchy chorus.
in fact .. several tracks have very catchy chorus's - listen to 'happy jesus' just once and sing it all day, whether you want to or not.
as you get further into the disc the reference points are easily pinpointed :psb, erasure, sputnik, 80's electro pop, but then towards the end things get a bit more interesting and the mood heavier with 2 tracks that come over as long lost cousins of electronic body music (fromt 242/nitzer ebb) which made my ears prick up.
yes, this is a sound long lost, and there are a couple of spots which dont work as well as the rest (especially 'interference')- but with the current demand for all things 80's i can see many of these tracks really impressing certain electroclash devotees, if there are any ?
all in all i found this highly enjoyable, and repeated listening has revealed several nostalgic pop moments which made me smile.