Adelphi

Australian indie pop band Even as We Speak burned brightly for several years after forming in the mid-80s. As a favorite of BBC Radio 1 DJ and tastemaker John Peel and signees of the vaunted Sarah Records, the group made the kind of fuzzy, wistful, and melodic pop that characterized the C-86 movement. They broke up in 1993, but over 20 years later reunion shows led to work on new material, and eventually Adelphi, the bands second full-length studio album and first since their debut, Feral Pop Frenzy, arrived over 25 years earlier. Instead of simply retracing their steps back to the fuzzy pop of their past, Even as We Speak go to new places with Adelphi. The album begins with Someone, a space age pop song ornamented with funky guitar lines and driven by a blend of electronic rhythms and overblown drums. Vocalist Mary Wyers voice glides with precision over the songs hypnotic groove, sounding like a far more danceable Broadcast or Stereolab at their most elastic. Songs like the synthy ballad Unknown and the moody, robotic Signs continue the albums sci-fi undercurrents and adventurous exploration of arrangement and melodic structures. Lyrics shift between imagery of futuristic worlds and glimmers of the everyday trials of adult life, with references to therapy and romantic growth coming up alongside lyrics about Earth falling into the Sun. On the whole, Adelphi isnt a complete revamping of the bands sound. Even their 90s album had flirtations with electronics and drum machine sounds, and the singsong melody and jangly guitars of Forgiving sound simple and twee before the chorus erupts into a blast of synth arpeggios and futuristic harmonies. Stronger is upbeat and excitable, with the same kind of moody songwriting twists and tight harmonies as the bands earliest output. Instead of revisiting past inspirations or picking up right where they left off, the new places Even as We Speak venture with Adelphi make for a listening experience thats more engaging than it is nostalgic. ~ Fred Thomas