Mineral -Plastic Ekphrastic (2013) review
Mineral “Plastic Ekphrastic” (359 Music, 2013)
Mineral is an electronic quartet from Paris and Dublin that
offer bouncy dance music with chanting vocals and funky backbeats that will fit
in nicely with your St. Etienne, Air, Gainsbourg, and Daft Punk records. The
album’s centerpiece is the 13-minute “Atoms”, which quietly saunters around the
room on swirling synths, bubbling keyboards, and Craig Walker’s monotonic,
doomy/gloomy vocals until a dreamy middle section floats off into U2 territory
with a quite entertaining, pop flourish that’s equal parts (McCartney)
Beatlesque and Rundrenesque prog. Picture yourself inside the spaceship that
floats through the bloodstream in “Fantastic Voyage” while listening to this
one! It’s really a 3-song suite, and each section could’ve stood alone quite
naturally, but Walker’s intro/outro brings it full circle.
offer bouncy dance music with chanting vocals and funky backbeats that will fit
in nicely with your St. Etienne, Air, Gainsbourg, and Daft Punk records. The
album’s centerpiece is the 13-minute “Atoms”, which quietly saunters around the
room on swirling synths, bubbling keyboards, and Craig Walker’s monotonic,
doomy/gloomy vocals until a dreamy middle section floats off into U2 territory
with a quite entertaining, pop flourish that’s equal parts (McCartney)
Beatlesque and Rundrenesque prog. Picture yourself inside the spaceship that
floats through the bloodstream in “Fantastic Voyage” while listening to this
one! It’s really a 3-song suite, and each section could’ve stood alone quite
naturally, but Walker’s intro/outro brings it full circle.
“Cynical”
may sound like New Order light, but that doesn’t make it any less infectious,
and the rest of the album is just as perky and effervescent, including early
single “Love Divine”, the lushly romantic “Mi-Clos” (featuring a breathy, tres
sexy, coo-coo-cachoo vocal from S. Armelle), and the album’s best track, the
nostalgically giddy New Wave sing-along, “1989” (think St. Etienne-meets-Human
League).
may sound like New Order light, but that doesn’t make it any less infectious,
and the rest of the album is just as perky and effervescent, including early
single “Love Divine”, the lushly romantic “Mi-Clos” (featuring a breathy, tres
sexy, coo-coo-cachoo vocal from S. Armelle), and the album’s best track, the
nostalgically giddy New Wave sing-along, “1989” (think St. Etienne-meets-Human
League).
With
the first two releases on Alan McGee’s new imprint focusing on
singer-songwriters, it’s encouraging to hear him branch out into other musical
styles and augurs well for the variety we eagerly anticipate with his next
round of releases.
the first two releases on Alan McGee’s new imprint focusing on
singer-songwriters, it’s encouraging to hear him branch out into other musical
styles and augurs well for the variety we eagerly anticipate with his next
round of releases.
Review made by Jeff Penczak/2013
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013
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