Tag Archives: serious glass
gonzo (circus) review: hours
compilation: gonzo (circus) mind the gap #109 (cd)
chain d.l.k. review: hours
This new release is a digital single from the already reviewed last album from this outfit. As stated in my review, the musical outcome is ‘a sort of modern postcard from a distant era’ and is something that, perhaps for the nostalgic effect, is really easy listening in the best meaning of the word. The first track is the second single taken from Heat and is constructed as an almost classic synth pop track from the early ’80s with luminous melodic development. The really interesting part is the two remixes: the first one, from The No, is focused on the juxtaposition of an hard edge beat over the melodic lines of Serious Glass, while the second one, from Drvg Cvltvre, entirely deconstructs Highway Hypnosis taking it in darker and more evocative territories making and interesting use of noises as it doesn’t erase the pop allure of the tune. As almost every single this is a collector’s item, however the Drvg Cvltvre remix is something worth a listen and could even acts as a possible line of development for Hunter Complex. Nice.
Andrea Piran
lyrics: heat
heat
come on out into the open
and feel the heat
when you want to
I’ll be there
when you need to
I’ll be near
serious glass
looking back on Wednesday
you can waste a war
when the deal is long
kinky star radio // 16-10-2013 // by kinky star radio (featuring serious glass by hunter complex)
album: heat (lp / digital)
release date: september 6 2013
format: lp / digital
label: narrominded
info
Heat is the new LP from Holland’s Hunter Complex, a record that looks to balance a functional (and very Dutch) ‘utility pop’ with a whole host of disturbing hints and suggestions. It’s a slightly unnerving listen, despite its attractive and powerful sweeps of melody. Recorded between 2010 and 2012, Heat manages – often very successfully – to persuade the listener that they’re tuning into a strange mix of Moroder’s film scores and ‘81-‘82 era Simple Minds. Digital synths, like the Roland D-50 and Yamaha DX7, give everything a suitably ‘period feel’. And the keys on Space are straight off Sons and Fascination, for example. Severed Heads covering China Crisis? Chris and Cosey making symphonic advert music in downtown LA? We can but dream.
But enough comparisons. Despite the LP wearing its sources of inspiration on its sleeve, and despite the fact that our descriptive narratives have (inevitably) to follow suit, it’s a seductive listen. Queasy, paranoid synth washes, rich, gloopy bass tones and weighty electronic stabs of rhythm drive the music on. The record’s got a feel of Stalker about it; cinematic, a taste of future-past served up on a plastic plate. Joep van Lieshout’s vision for communal living maybe, or a future that’s just out of reach, probably because it never escaped being imaginary.