ELECTRONIC
TWISTED TENDERNESS (1999)
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Electronic's debut was a good record with some excellent songs, but sounded a bit too similar to New Order to establish Sumner's side-project as anything really new. On their third album they hit their real stride. Johnny Marr swaggers to the fore to make it considerably rockier than before, Arthur Baker lends his incredible production skills, Sumner brings his trademark melodies, and Jimi Goodwin, who surfaced as frotman with Doves a year later, is on bass. Its one big party really, an incredible sound with really complexity in its production and layering yet a strong, catchy core melody.
There's the brilliant 1-2-3 opening of the epic 'Make It Happen', the catchy, jump-up-and-down chorus of 'Haze' and the simply brilliantly constructed and angsty single 'Vivid', which is a fantastic lyrical turn from Sumner. 'Can't Find My Way Home' sees the return of Marr's trademark jangling simultaneous lead-and-rhythm guitar style that he popularised with the Smiths and 'Twisted Tenderness' ploughs a great, poppy, New Order-like furrow, with its stabbing keyboards and aching melody. 'Like No Other' starts funky and rocky, but its chorus could have been written for a boyband - which sounds awful, but they pull it off by keeping the musicianship accomplished. Finally 'Flicker' is a simply incredible yearning pop song again with touching lyrics.
This ranks as highly as almost anything done by either Sumner or Marr and proves that Electronic can add up to sum of its parts, as supergroups so often can't. Its one of the most vastly under-rated records ever made, and is highly reccomended to either fans of The Smiths or New Order, particularly those who liked their last record Get Ready, which seems to have been highly influenced by this album. Its in turn life-affirming, beautiful, cools, complex and catchy.
1. Make It Happen
2. Haze
3. Vivid
4. Breakdown
5. Can't Find My Way Home
6. Twisted Tenderness
7. Like No Other
8. Late At Night
9. Prodigal Son
10. When She's Gone
11. Flicker
password: MOODSWINGSmusic
3 comments:
WOO-HOO!! THANKS!! THIS IS A GREAT CD!! NOW THAT I"VE BEEN ABLE TP PROPERLY PREVIEW IT, I"M HEADING OVER TO A RETAILER TO ORDER A COPY. THANKS!!!!
Nice to read that!
That's the whole spirit of New Moodswings fullfiled!
TT is indeed a terrific recording! I recall it taking a year before it was available in the states. Cheeky bastards. I always felt that "Twisted Tenderness" and "Get Ready" felt like companion pieces -- of sorts.
"When She's Gone" is one of my favorite tracks from the album.
David
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