Aciiiiiieeed! While other contemporary artists (Bat For Lashes, Thundercat) are influenced by the more wide-screen pop side of the mid-eighties, Newcastle duo Andrew Hodson and Steve Jefferis are seemingly drinking glo-sticks, necking “sweeties” and wearing retro smiley face T shirts.
This playful project mines the furthest reaches of rave culture, while still being rooted in the present time. And it really works well: it’s a nice dose of kinetic hyperactive energy when we most need it.
The title track is very Underworld in its chanted vocals, and instrumentals like Replication and False Positive have bubbly synths and an 80s-tinged optimism. I’m in.
Mainly though, it’s like a superior indie disco with its guest artists. Rozi Plain lends her warm folky vocals to Everyone Nervous, and The Orielles strut on the itchy Shake The Wheels.
Maxïmo Park‘s Paul Smith serves a nice kiss-off on Fools Tomorrow, but it’s the propulsive offering from The Lovely Eggs on Feel The Panic, and a seductive yet defiant Emma Pollock on The View From Nowhere that are the best tracks here. Guitars nag like loose teeth and complement the space age synths. Both tracks also manage to homage the Krautrock that informed the origins of rave culture, yet are unmistakable thanks to such distinctive singers.
Anyone with even a passing interest in both current indie and the squelch of acid house will find themselves dancing like Bez in a warehouse, even if it’s just an impromptu kitchen lockdown rave. Perhaps only Warm Digits’ acid pop crossover can save our sanity just now.