Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless
I talked a lot about him in my previous post, so we can just skip to the album itself. Not surprisingly, it's an album about technology. More specifically, it's about the merging of technology with our lives. Dolby consciously pairs electronic and acoustic instruments, and sings about how we actively use technology in our modern lives, what that does to our mental state, and how we might love or loathe it at a subconscious level.
The common critical reading of this album emphasizes the peculiar nostagizing of the post WWII generation who grew up hearing the stories rather than directly experiencing that era. Being once over removed from that experience, i both recognize that nostalgia and don't quite understand what creates it. What comes across to me is an almost Noir atmosphere. As though this beta test of true modernity is untrustworthy, something intangibly sinister is happening around the corner but you never quite catch up to witness it.
Quite a few of the tracks are very Bowie-esque, but i'm not afraid to tell you i like Dolby better.
This is also the quirky, jerky, paranoid side of New Wave (not punk at all) i've mentioned before, "Urges" being the most overt example.
I'm sure i mentioned that he thought of himself as a mediocre keyboard player and that sparked his interest in electronic music, but he's such an incredible composer that i honestly forget he's making most of this music with various bits of clunky hardware by the equivalent of hunt-and-peck typing. These aren't rock songs with a synth melody on top, they are fully orchestrated compositions built around pop style verse-chorus lyric structures. They aren't full of silly or pointless catchphrases either, the lyrics are highly literate and nuanced.
I think Dolby's music requires repeated listens to fully appreciate. He can come across as weird and obtuse on casual listen, but the more you live with his work in your head, the more you realize how concise and meticulous his music actually is. Everything has a purpose for the song, and the songs play off each other without sounding stale or repetitive. He builds incredible sonic worlds and atmospheres that wiggle and shimmer or lurk and turn sour, but never sound cheesy or dated. I guess what i'm trying to say is it doesn't sound like early 80s synth-pop thrown together by a salaried producer, it sounds like a well crafted work of art by a serious composer and that's really enjoyable for me. I really can't recommend this album enough, it's required listening and worth every penny if someone is dumb enough to sell you their copy.
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