There is a theory in music that sonic fashion and the revival of styles seem to be caught in a 30-year (approx.) loop, a figure somewhere akin to the span of a generation. This makes perfect sense. The takeaway is that kids growing up with the sounds of the previous generation’s music acting as a soundtrack to their formative years either rebel against such music or embrace it, destined to at least be influenced by it in their own later music-making efforts.
Now, I don’t know anything about Grant Leon and Mark Neat’s upbringing but somewhere along the line, something of the sound of the 80s gothic heyday has worked its way into their consciousness. Okay, a bit more than 30 years, but music is anything but an exact science.
And I don’t mean that in a bad way; this isn’t the sound of a band riding the coattails of past gothic glories, but you can’t deny that the echo of that sound and scene is certainly strong in their music.
But, as “Jessica” proves, the relentless, clinical backbeats, the brooding baselines, and the shimmering washes of synth are put to a more modern purpose now. This is not just a glimpse of the past, nor just a prediction of the future, but an alternative take on pop music, something we are in dire need of at the moment. The gothic sound has always ticked a lot of the same boxes in terms of groove and gravitas, infectiousness and beat, danceability and glamour, so let’s just term this dark-alt-pop, slip on our black stretch jeans and dancing winkle-pickers and head to the nearest alternative night club with a copy of this clutched tightly for the DJ to play.
Take notice of pop music; the fightback starts here.
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