Okay, okay
Sometimes I almost hate the Eighties. It’s not even their fault, and it’s unfair too. Even incorrect. Some of you will know what I mean. It’s like there is an even nastier bug going around than the one that kept us at home for what felt like a decade. The I-love-the-80s-bug. Vicious little virus. Primarily hits people 40 and beyond. Some aren’t hit all too badly, they just develop a seemingly incurable affliction called Depechemoditis. Even really mediocre albums don’t have the power to get them off the hook.
But that’s kind of okay. Way better than what an even greater number of people are infected with. They are easy to spot. They are the ones that don’t even leave the dance floor when something particularly gruesome is played, like “Vamos A La Playa”. In the final stages the virus is able to go even deeper than the 80s, causing an inexplicable love for Boney M songs, and a relapse to beyond cringe dance moves, like spelling out Y-M-C-A with their arms.
Oh, come on, some of you will probably want to say, dude, don’t tell me you don’t do that too after having one or the other gin and tonic. Hell no. There is no way I could be that drunk. All you’d get is someone barfing their soul out somewhere really far away from the dance floor.
But.
You might also ask me for a list of 80s records in my collection. Why I still have them if the music of that decade triggers me so much. I do sympathize with folks who think that “Violator” is a great album. New Order is still one of my favorite bands, not just from that decade. And in times like these I would absolutely recommend listening to Heaven 17, especially “We Don’t Need That Fascist Groove Thang”. Go ahead, read the lyrics and be flabbergasted. Here’s a taste of it: “Have you heard it on the news? / About this fascist groove thang? / Evil men with racist views / Spreading all across the land”. 80s? 20s? Hm.
A few months ago, I bought represses of the two Groove Armada appearances on the Latenighttales series. One of them, the one with the tent on the cover, saw me astonished because I had to admit that I really enjoyed rediscovering “The Things That Dreams Are Made Of” in the League Unlimited Orchestra remix version. Great lyrics too.
The other time I indirectly felt my hidden little Eighties soul jingle was when I first watched “Drive”. The soundtrack! Damn! I am able to really like Synth Pop! Who would have thought? That’s probably where some 80s virus carrying people and I are on the same wave length. But how could you not like “A Real Hero”?
This sudden and surprising, innocently happy moment of realization is what “Shadow Of Love” is able to conjure up. Look at that. Take everything that was good about electronic music of the 80s, the sounds, the stories, the yearning, the carefree joy, and dress it up for our dance floors where we can finally admit that there was something really good about the decade. Just not what most people think it is.
Curses without Âme – that’s a different story though. Listening my way across the last albums was a strange experience. It’s as if someone had extracted everything that worked well in 80s music, all the way from Falco to Killing Joke, and turned every one of those recipes into new songs. My bet would be that people who haven’t spent their adolescence during that decade will have an easier access to his music.
“Shadow Of Love” is different. It doesn’t just take you back to another time, it lets you fully enjoy that time and how it felt and still stay in the here and now. Instead of delving in darkness and despair, you get to dance your butt off and smile. For me, Curses works way much better in a positive, expressive, danceable setup that doesn’t take itself all too serious.
I might dance to this. Seriously.
Release for review:
ÂME FEAT. CURSES – SHADOW OF LOVE – INNERVISIONS – IVLP16S1
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