Comrades – Rodney Cromwell (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

It’s funny how music so much of the here and now, can at once sound both futuristic and retrospective, but that is the conundrum which Rodney Cromwell’s latest track, Comrades is built on. For whilst is sounds like the formative years of what would eventually coalesce into the post-punk synth-pop scene, that experimental and lo-hi era before it blipped on the industry radar, it also sounds like the sound of something yet to come a “a robotic turbocharged rebel song for the twitter generation.”

It balances an early motorik dance groove with the scope of modern digital creativity, one adding smooth textures and soft layers to the hard beats and sharp edges which lie beneath, all of which becomes more apparent on the extended dance mix, courtesy of synthwave pioneer Vieon. But it is the standard mix which has more drama, a shorter, sharper electro-shock treatment of the song, one building bigger soundscapes and delivering punchier blows, wielding sharper sonic scalpels against raw industrial backdrop.

I keep stumbling across new music which feels the need to say something, folkies writing new rebel songs, rockers shedding off the cliches to deliver articulate diatribes, indie kids turning their back on fashion and looking for truths. If you are someone who’s usual haunt os the clubs and dance floors, then Rodney Cromwell is the one to look too for answers in this post-truth world.