HOWARD JONES - Dialogue

Howard Jones, who was he again? A pioneer to some, a one-hit wonder to others: certainly not just another synth-pop also-ran, given that over the course of his career he managed to land an album, the excellent "Humans's Lib", at the top of the UK charts and roughly a dozen singles near the top positions. He learned to play piano at just seven years old, before emigrating for a time to Canada with his family. Once back in England, he would go on to win over audiences with his one-man shows thanks to the help of John Peel, to the point of being crowned, according to one authoritative magazine, the "best keyboardist around".

Different times - it was 1986, and that laurel would turn out to be a crown of thorns: he never quite reaped what he deserved afterwards, but the synthesizer has never gone out of fashion, and now, at sixty-seven, the prolific imp from Southampton is back with an LP that's sure to delight nostalgics for vintage sounds, while not shying away from the occasional foray into modernity - starting with the Daft Punk-esque disco-party of opener "Celebrate It Together" and the funky-pop of lead single "I Believe In You".

Produced together with Ronnie Bronnimann and released via dTox Records, the label Jones himself founded in '93, "Dialogue" is the third chapter of an intended quadrilogy that began with "Engage" in 2015 and continued in 2019 with "Transform". It will conclude in 2023 with "Global Citizen", which we already know is in the works, and it's precisely the theme of the global citizen that runs through all four installments of the project. Where "Engage", as he stated in a recent interview, was about living as a protagonist rather than a spectator, and "Transform" was a call to action to change the world starting with ourselves, "Dialogue" is now meant to calibrate the right approach to doing so - namely, communicating by engaging with others and exchanging ideas in order to ward off isolation and the lack of human contact.

Conceived during lockdown, the album offers plenty of food for thought: back in 1985 "Things Can Only Get Better" was a smash hit on both sides of the ocean, and the underlying outlook here remains just as optimistic - the eight tracks on the record bear witness to that through pleasant midtempos and a string of encouraging titles.

The pulsing "Be The Hero" turns back the clock to good old wave, while the anthemic "Formed By The Stars" hypnotizes the listener with exotic little tunes somewhere between harlequin and pied piper. "My One True Love" is a sentimental sci-fi ballad in a Numanoid vein, while "Who You Really Want To Be", arguably the best track overall, lifts the spirits with sweeping melodies and electro-bizarre triangulations that strongly recall New Order.

The formula is simple, well-balanced and enjoyable, with "You Are The Peacemaker" shifting tone slightly, veering at times toward ambient atmospheres, and "To Feel Love" bringing back Moroder-esque dancefloor grooves.

The artwork is also worth noting, entrusted to his friend Steg Read, who forty years ago to the day had designed the cover of the debut "Human's Lib": it's neither retro melancholy nor anxiety to update, just a dive into the present to let everyone know Howard Jones is still here.

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22/10/2022