Roman Candles - Purple Nights (self-released)

There has been a bit of an ’80s revival going on for a while now. There is nothing wrong with that; music has always been cyclical. It is a process often driven by potential audiences growing up on their parent’s record collections and an appreciation of those older sounds and sonics finding their way into the next generation’s music. What is a shame is that most of the 80’s sounds we hear in today’s music echo synth-pop, disco bands, and the later New Romantic chart sound. Such sounds might seem necessary as part-time popsters are rewriting the history of the 80s, but that wasn’t the real essence of the decade, as someone who spent most of their youth stood in a muddy field, wearing a CND t-shirt, watching a succession of era-defining bands cross my path. Where are all the rock bands looking to plow a bit of an 80s-infused furrow?

Well, I know where one such band is. They are in Charlotte, North Carolina and called Roman Candles; their new release, “Purple Nights,” is the perfect blend of rock punch and pop awareness, nostalgic sounds, and forward-thinking attitudes, digital and analog. It’s where power-pop deliveries soften the more abrasive rock edges, where R&B grooves rule and soulful guitar licks and soaring saxophone drive the song.

The neat thing is that whereas modern rock bands seem to think that volume and velocity are needed to impact the audience, “Purple Nights” reminds us of another, more creative and effective way. It is through the careful layering up of sounds, the weaving of various sonic tones and musical textures, that you better make your presence felt, and it makes for a better and no less impactful delivery.

And if you want to know what that sounds like. Just play “Purple Nights” again. And again. And again and again and again…

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