Perhaps sonic common ground brought them together, or maybe something rubbed off on Simon Starling when he worked with The Church frontman Steve Kilbey. More likely something of both. It might be lazy name-dropping on my part, and perhaps all too obvious a place to start, but, in my defence, it establishes a good reference point for The Argon Room‘s beguiling sound.
It’s a sound that is as forward-looking as it is an echo of the past, psychedelic-tinged, both ambient and energetic as required, dream-scaped and drifting, and comparisons aren’t hard to make to the likes of Japan or Bowie.
‘Holding My Head’ floats in on clouds of sonic seduction, with texture and cinematics to the fore; beats and swirling guitar riffs sit in the background, as if you are listening to it turned inside out, back to front—a brilliant and beguiling way to set the tone. ‘Empty Star’ echoes the best of 80s alternative sounds, more groove-driven than the opener yet cloaking itself in sounds drawn as much from what’s to come as from what’s been, especially as the song moves forward.
‘Tug of War’ sees The Argon Room (which I should point out is a duo with Damien Cassidy) at its most ambient, and ‘Maybe There’s Hope’ is the perfect sonic response, driven, restless, full of momentum, and the title track takes the form of cutting-edge, brooding, alternative pop. Not the sort of pop that will find much favour with chart-focused fans who value style over substance, but perhaps the sound of a pop we actually deserve. What a world that would be!
Algorithms For Happiness is an extraordinary album, one that feels both reminiscent of the past (Bowie’s Berlin albums could easily have inspired it) and paving the way toward a bright new future in a post-genre world.
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