Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the basement, synth pop makes a reappearance and escapes the shadows and heads for the airwaves once more. The basement in question this time around is in Canada and heading for the airwaves is Honor Angeles with her album “Little War”.
As the synth pop reference might suggest to the cynical amongst you, there is a distinct retro feel to “Little War” with all those eighties locked to the beat of a drum machine memories being rapidly exorcised for another spell in the limelight. However, whilst you can occasionally hear the influence of the dance floor of the past this album, the lyrics suggest that darker motivations have been the true inspiration for the creative process. “Come Back”, in particular, highlights the effectiveness of this downbeat approach although “The Weight Of The World” isn’t far behind in evoking the flipside of the emotional coin.
Likewise, a certain misanthropy of the spirit pervades “Hard To Hide” yet the catharsis, in musical terms, seems left to a curiously respectful and covered to the click version of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”. All things considered, “Little War” is deeper and bleaker than you would expect of synth pop these days and that is credit indeed to Honor Angeles.