Everything sounds like something else. That is not a criticism; it’s just the way it is: there are only so many notes, keys, and chords, and in contemporary music at least, echoes of what came before will show up in new music, whether subliminally or by design. Once you accept that, you only need to do two things: don’t make such echoes too obvious, and use tasteful reference points. And that is what we find Talk in Code expertly doing here.
After all, if you are going to be influenced by pop past, then who better than the likes of Deacon Blue, Prefab Sprout, The Blue Nile and Roddy Frame’s later, more commercially minded Aztec Camera to take notes from? (Make what you will of the fact that most of those are Scottish.)
Here, Talk in Code give us a clever mix of the 80s golden age of post-punk-pop and cutting-edge modernity, analogue artistry and digital dexterity, chart finesse, and more muscular guitar sounds, a blend that defines ‘What I’ve Been Missing’ and, indeed, the band’s sound in general. It’s a balancing act which makes Talk in Code sound simultaneously brilliantly fresh and wonderfully familiar…how cool is that?
In just over three minutes, they ride effortless dynamic deftness – synthy soundscape and staccato chops, chiming keyboards and guitar crescendos, understatement and the anthemic, contagious groove and pop poise, all woven together into a future-nostalgic sound that fits effortlessly into the present.
Perfect pop for the present day, and, for those of us who have been around the block a time or two, a brilliant reminder to give Aztec Camera’s iconic album Love a few spins! And anyone who can do that, well…
Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
YouTube
Instagram
