The past never stays in the past. And never is that truer than in music. Most music worth its salt echoes as much with the sound of what has gone before as it does with the chimes of progress and invention, how could it be any other way? But the fact that nothing is one hundred percent new isn’t a problem; the resulting music, when done properly, tends to be the perfect balance of the fresh and the familiar, creating a beguiling mix of accessibility and adventurousness.
Never was that more so than with the new single from Reduction in Force, which asks us the pertinent question, “What’s Next?” It does so by dancing over a sea of sonics blended together evocatively and running the gamut of the most discerning music fans’ record collections. (Yes, I still call them records, but the sort of person who Reduction in Force appeals to is likely to still have their old vinyl kicking around, too.)
There are New Romantic pop-rock threads underpinned by the brooding, robotic, and darkly cinematic synth grooves, the sort of thing that puts you in mind of the likes of Depeche Mode. On top of that, indie-rock guitar salvos squall and soar, and the vocals remind us that leaps of faith are always more rewarding than convention and conformity.
This is anthemic stuff, stadium-ready, radio-friendly, fist-in-the-air, end-of-festival grandeur. Music that joins the dots between decades and fashions, genres and geographies, and scenes and sounds. Music that is both big and clever. That’s what the people want…even if they haven’t realized it yet!
