SOFT METALS - Soft Metals

Ian Hicks and Patricia Hall (keyboards, synthesizers and vocals) have carried forward the evolution of their project, which began in 2009 and grew into a self-sufficient duo, so much so that it's now a personal, romantic affaire, thriving on a nostalgic and deliberately retro aesthetic sensibility.

Their first official release since the 2010 EP "The Cold World Melts" (also on Captured Tracks), which had already hinted at some of the duo's stylistic traits - starting with the instrumental and compositional richness of the synths, able to merge electro, Italo-disco and a soft gothic flavor into a single whole - the duo once again returns to the label run by Mr. Blank Dogs to organically sum up the steps taken so far.

The result is an album that seems repetitive and devoid of innovation, marked by a pronounced taste for '80s rhythms and a vocal style that oscillates between the softer side of Donna Summer and a more dreamlike quality at times. Moroder, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Absolute Body Control, Carpenter – the track "Voices" is unmistakably dedicated to him, and sounds like a continuation of the work done by Zombie Zombie – not to mention a clear nod to what Clan Of Xymox and our own Frozen Autumn have done.

Counterbalancing all this, however, is the duo's deeply dancey and chameleonic soul, which throughout the record retains the ability to rewrite certain precise stereotypes and stylistic devices of synth-pop and minimal-wave, offering a lively and genuine continuation of the exploration of songwriting in these genres.

Tracks such as "Psychic Driving", "Celestial Call", "Cold Wolrd Melts" and "In Throes" are scattered pockets of research and originality, even as they maintain an imprecise balance between homage to the past and creative independence.

A debut album, naturally with its inherent imperfections and inconsistencies of personality, but precisely for that reason worth a listen.

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14/08/2011