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As he did on his 2019 debut LP Couch (which I reviewed in issue 85), Seattle’s one-man EDM virtuoso Paul Furio rotates between Depeche Mode/OMD/New Order synth-pop/new wave and tougher, Front 242/Nitzer Ebb techno/industrial on this follow-up five-songer, the first of three EPs planned for 2020. Despite his robotic, treated vocals, Furio overcomes electro’s rigid boundaries by crafting tense, ominous music that is not only dancefloor-friendly, but melodious and lyrically insightful. To wit, the blippy “Toxic Friend” describes a corrosive, deceitful relationship, the thumping “PropagandaWerks” questions manipulative political tactics, the glitchy “Pretty Pictures” condemns narcissistic Instagram influencers, the snarling “Anger is Your Drug” describes our addictive tendency to use hate as a weapon, and the pulsating (and topical, given our sudden COVID-19 calamity) “Consider the Titanic” examines the fateful roles we unwittingly fall into when a disaster strikes. (watchclark.bandcamp.com)
