The availability of affordable digital musical technology has meant that almost anyone can make music, especially that of a more EDM-driven pop nature. You could make an argument that isn’t necessarily a good thing. It has resulted in the popular sector of the music world using it to make quick, disposable records, all based on very similar sonic templates. You could also argue that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should, and a whole raft of sub-par music is weighing the pop realm down as a result.
So, we must give thanks for bands like The Heroic Enthusiasts, a band that makes dance-driven pop but does so in such a way that the results are sophisticated and ornate, that turn digital musicality, all those zeros, and ones, that digital dexterity, into seductive yet high energy pop, pop that is infectiously danceable and brilliantly creative. This is music that totally refutes my opening arguments.
There is a reason why none other than Stephen Hague, the man known for defining the genre working with such iconic bands as New Order, Depeche Mode, and Pet Shop Boys, is found at the helm, co-writing and co-producing; this is music made in the same vein.
“Jaded” is a driving and divine piece of energy – actually, make that euphoric – piece of dancefloor groove, with just an echo of that old New Romantic/darkwave sound that birthed such music in the first place. “Kiss Me Tonight” is both romantic and somehow melancholic, the sense of distance, loss, and longing palpable in every word, every beat, and there is even room for more balladic, understated tracks, “Play The Part” reminiscent of the sort of thing would have been a big hit for the likes of Marc Almond back in the day.
Illuminate is a great album that occasionally glances back to the heady days and golden age of synth-pop and electronic dance music but is focused on where that scene goes next. And, on the strength of The Heroic Enthusiasts’ music, next sounds like a real return to such times.
Discover more from Dancing About Architecture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
