The second single culled from his recent "Alright on Top" album, "Stars And Heroes" finds LUKE SLATER again collaborating with THE ALOOF'S Ricky Barrow.
In fairness, it's a reasonable enough - and quite melodic - stab at writing a chart-friendly electro-parp song with (Whisper it...) echoes of early-ish DEPECHE MODE. Pleasant certainly, but - unlike the previous "Nothing At All" - not good enough to sink grappling hooks into your mind. All a bit ho-hum really.
The CD version of the single also features a lengthier take with additional remixing from current in-demand dude FELIX DA HOUSECAT to up the cred factor. Felix does little harm, encouraging the track to breathe free air and get spooky with Barrow's vox, but like so many of these remix shenanigans, is ulimately overlong.
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The closing "Look At The Stars" could peg back some lost ground, with its' insistent (hey) ARCHIVE-style beat and tumbling piano interludes, but the robotic, vocodered vocals grate and destroy the feeling, rendering the whole thing rather toothless.
So, while LUKE SLATER may well be one of the heavenly bodies in dance's night sky, this one doesn't shine too brightly in the firmament.
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