The first 30 seconds of this four-track EP makes several misleading starts. Something proggy? Hyperactive techno? Breezy electropop? Then their eponymous intro track settles into a sort of New Order-esque groove with a solid dancefloor-friendly beat. It’s pristine in production and overtly pop in orientation, but with darker edges. That shouldn’t be such a surprise: it was recorded with the involvement of factory Records’ lead engineer Michael Johnson.
If ‘Doom’ has elements of Heaven 17 and Depeche Mode about it, those elements are filtered through club nights and retro compilations ‘in the mix’. Still, there’s a certain gloominess to ‘Expecvt Anything’, even as it’s bursting guitars and techno drums that’s quite appealing – sounds like a mid 80s New Order outtake.
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The searing guitar atop a trance techno synth is a collision too far, but closer ‘Stone’ returns to the dark disco template.
But with all the tracks dragging on past the 6-minute mark, there’s a sense that we’re getting extended remixes rather than the songs proper: the choruses go on and on, and ill-fitting guitar solos and instrumental breaks interfere with the flow of the songs.
Men in the Sky Online
Men in the Sky Online
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