Safe – Luke Tangerine/Matthew Mirliani (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

You can’t accuse Luke Tangerine of being slow when it comes to releasing his music. Safe marks the fourth time I have written about his sonic creations in as many months; a more than decent work rate, especially in these modern times when it can take years for some of the more significant acts to even get an album together. None of that tardiness is to be found here. No sir.

Safe sees Luke teaming up with Matthew Mirliani for another wander through the realms of modern dance-pop…for want of a better term. Again, this is music built around scintillating clubland grooves, echoes of the early eighties synth scene floating through the air, and a touch of nineties New Order, especially in the beats, vocals, and loads of forward thinking.

But, as I mention from time to time with his music, particularly with tracks such as Digital Sin, it is the forward-thinking aspects that always win out. All music has a whiff of the past about it; how can it not? But it is how things are put together here that makes it a track that leads rather than follows, and Luke Tangerine is an artist who is more about looking to define the musical future than being hemmed in by his own sonic past.

So, if loose and leisurely, dance-infused music is your thing, especially if that seemingly relaxed attitude comes by clever design rather than happy accident, then Luke Tangerine, and indeed Matthew Mirliani, are people that you should keep a close eye on.