Brooklyn's Psychobuildings latest self-titled EP sounds like a sonically lush and somewhat bizarre reinterpretation of the sound of the 80s. While listening to this record our ear kept detecting a myriad of elements reminiscent of many of our favorite electronic bands from that decade, in particular Japan, Duran Duran, and early Simple Minds - vocalist Peter LaBier could be the new Jim-Kerry-before-he-went-mainstream (revisit the Scottish band's first 4 albums if you don't know what I'm talking about). Even though the band's choice of sounds has strong ties with the "decade of the mullet", the final result is actually extremely original, their songs coming across like a weirdly "re-processed" version of something you are already very familiar with, but that's not quite the same.
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG
