OR   Search for Artist/Title    Advanced Search
 
you are not logged in...  [login] 
All Reviews    Edit This Review     
Review: 'Introflirt'
'Temporary Heaven'   

-  Album: 'Temporary Heaven'
-  Genre: 'Pop' -  Release Date: '12th August 2016'

Our Rating:
‘Temporary Heaven’ is the second album by Californian new wave electropop trio Introflirt. Yes, it’s a pretty awful name as far as puns go. Ploughing the furrow of what the band call ‘croonwave’, their sound has the stark electronic feel of early Depeche Mode and some of the 80s techno/industrial crossover acts which emerged from the US and mainland Europe, and combines it with a vocal delivery that blends the soulfulness of Dave Gahan circa ‘Songs of Faith and Devotion’ with the arch gothic theatricality of Marc Almond. The drifting croon style also calls to mind Wild Beasts, Everything Everything, and The Associates in places.

Singer Ben Benjamin has said that “‘Temporary Heaven’ finally arrives at the place that the first Introflirt album was trying to get to. Introflirt needed to get to know itself, and it did that with the songs on the debut album – it was exploring its own personality and deciding how it wanted to communicate… ‘Temporary Heaven’ – both musically and lyrically – represents an Introflirt that’s confident in its vision and the musical space it holds.”

According to the press release, the album was ‘inspired by the struggle to overcome sexual repression’ and ‘the themes explored pick up on the lingering trepidation that moral laws often produce’. As such, the lyrics touch on themes of ‘disappointment in people, the fragility of relationships, and the path towards sexual liberation’ – well-established tropes for outsider music, in many respects, but imbued with a personal, intimate resonance.

Propelled by insistent beats and a classic whip-crack 80s Akai snare sound, there’s something of a vintage vibe to ‘Temporary Heaven’. Moreover, the strong grooves lend the album an accessibility that make it possible to enjoy without getting completely locked into the lyrics or the politics of sexuality: the slow seduction of single cut ‘Frozen Lace’ has hints of NIN in its deliberate, hypnotic rhythm, and elsewhere, the New Order-esque ‘Not Like Mine’ has immediate appeal, as does the album’s other pre-release single ‘Orange Light’.

Introflirt on Badcamp

  author: Christopher Nosnibor

[Show all reviews for this Artist]

READERS COMMENTS    10 comments still available (max 10)    [Click here to add your own comments]

There are currently no comments...
----------



Introflirt - Temporary Heaven