Two synthpop legends compete with their own legacy.
Retro synth-pop was an interesting phenomenon of the 2010s. One remembers indie acts like Kavinsky or Class Actress, who elicited better output from analog synthesizers than some role models from the eighties. Now these very role models of that era, the synth-pop legends Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure) and Neil Arthur (Blancmange) have teamed up with a producer named Benge to measure themselves against their own legacy with eleven cover versions.
Arthur had already recorded a song for Clarke’s project The Assembly in the 80s, but it was never released. It wasn’t until 2017 that he approached Clarke again; they would work for seven years to create an analog monument to their favorite songs. These include many pieces that were originally equipped with analogue electronics, such as Fad Gadget’s “Back To Nature”. And so it’s hardly surprising that the Doublespeak version doesn’t add anything to the original, except for a few effects and a little more oomph.
The originals have been wildly curated, from post-punk (Young Marble Giants) to Euro-pop (Abba) to country (Glen Campbell), there is a lot of curiosities on offer. But are they tying in with the sound of Blancmange or Yazoo from 1982? Nope. What was delicate back then is thickened today, the sound is consistently fat, sticky and sometimes one-dimensional.
