*Love Spirals Downwards - Idylls. 1992 Projekt (CD). Purchased this way back in 1994. About four years ago I wrote about a band called Heavenly Bodies, a group I'd never heard before, but found themselves under the genre of "Ethereal Wave", a genre I'd never heard of before. At the time, I didn't realize I owned anything in that genre, though I did refer to Dead Can Dance which does intersect at times. I own plenty by DCD. I had completely forgotten about Love Spirals Downwards. There was a brief time around 1993 to 1995 that I was branching out into all sorts of directions. I was a bit groundless in my personal life (though professionally I was doing well) and lived in three different metro areas (DFW, Colorado Springs, and Denver). These experiences typically leads to exploring other avenues you would not necessarily drive down otherwise. Getting out of one's comfort zone is what we'd call it today. Today I hear Idylls with fond remembrance, and also it serves as a reminder that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to add a couple of more titles in this genre to the collection. The angelic female vocals against the electronics and guitars, creates such lovely soundscapes. I often refer to the 90s as the great decade, as it was the trajectory launch for me personally. So I tend to be more subjectively positive about albums like this. It was a point and time and Idylls brings back that era for me. Beautiful music really. If I find any of their other albums in the wilds, I'll be sure to build out a page for them. (4/30)
*A Flock of Seagulls - Listen. 1983 Jive (LP). I've owned this album since it was first released, and was one of the earliest New Wave albums for me to purchase. It has a haunting atmosphere that I find appealing, and the melodies have stickiness. They were much better than their reputation suggests, that of a vapid hairdo group. Their look, and their timing on the worldwide stage, gives the wrong impression. While they certainly weren't Berklee graduates, they did offer a lot of great ideas in their early years. To me they are one of the more representative groups of the English synth pop movement of the early 80s. (3/16)
Group 87 - A Career In Dada Processing. 1984 Capitol (LP). I had heard this album prior, many years ago, and appended a very low grade to it. As the first couple of tunes blow by, I can understand my initial disgust. Primarily the slick-as-a-butter-dish production, 80s drum machines, synthesizer tones, and overall gloss. Next to the definition of what mid 80s music sounds like, sits a picture of this album. 'Pleasure in Progress' borrows its primary melody heavily from Alan Parsons' 'Eye in the Sky'. Some of the electronic music isn't really all that far away from what Tangerine Dream were doing back then. Mark Isham provides his trademark atmospheric trumpet to the proceedings. Maynard Ferguson, he is not. Music like this really hasn't aged well, and one wonders if there will ever be a renaissance for it? I'm sure there will be. Primitive electronics is very popular now, and this is the opposite of that. From a technology perspective they were embracing the latest available to them. It all sounds so quaint today. Not really for me, but much better than I remembered. (1/16)
