Psychic Twin - Strange Diary

Everyone loves channeling the 80s in electronica nowadays. There's something in that warm nostalgia that really brings something out of its listener. However, there's a fine line between a sweet nostalgia and just boring and unoriginal. That's the trap Psychic Twin falls into on their debut record, which beams with hope but doesn't amount to much.

The duo currently consists of vocalist Erin Fein and drummer Rosana Caban, a strong pair, but this lineup wasn't achieved without lots of error. Their debut Strange Diary was a long work in progress - written when Fein was in the process of divorce. Written on the group's Facebook page is an introduction of sorts to the record, which states: "In dreams, we rarely know what we are running from or toward. We only know we must keep running, continue searching... Strange Diary lives in that state of surreal urgency. What’s in front of us or behind us can’t be described, but we are sure in our bones that what we are searching for exists just a few steps away. "

Fein reprimands - and sometimes begs for - an anonymous "you" in plenty of songs, and while it's not certain who it's about, it seems to point in the direction of a lover whom she was with or desires to find. This is most evident in 'Strangers', a song released in 2013 as a single that has found its home at the beginning of the record.

There's a surreal urgency, as they put it, in this album, and it's clearest in that song, with the spiraling synth arpeggios providing a pulsating flow. It's lyrics croon to the mysterious "you", the chorus explaining, "I know the way that I lie awake for hours / And you don't even know the night is all I have / But even when we build these mighty towers / I know that we can take them down again." "You" is the force that's keeping her up.

The sad thing is, this album essentially lives off of that sentiment. There's not much to discuss as far as song meanings go - it's all just the standard songs of love and desire, without any memorable lines or melodies to justify them. The middle chunk of the record is boring as a whole, from the wobbly synths of 'Stop In Time' to the lackluster 'Hopeless', there really isn't much to stick around for. It's a collection of dream pop songs with occasional sweet synths but no punches.

Psychic Twin seems to have been driven too much by their heartbreak to be focussed on anything else but that. Breakup albums are always good, but those have some emotional punch to them. Strange Diary is very monotonous and overall just boring. There's not much more to say about it. If you like minimal dream pop above love songs with lo-fi vocals, this'll be a great album for you. If you're looking for something unique and memorable, you may want to keep searching.

Favorite Track: Strangers

Least Favorite Tracks: Unlock Yr Heart, Stop In Time Hopeless, Stop In Time

Rating: 57 / 100

New Arcades - Where We Were Before (ft. Sarah Bird)

Synthpop is a new wave of 80s revivalism. It's been on the rise ever since CHVRCHES brought it back in 2013. CHVRCHES, however, always had a taste of modern in their music. There are many other artists how harken back to the 80s album by the books. New Arcades sounds like this, but there's promise in their music.

Sparkling synths and electronic drums are the signature of the English duo's new song 'Where We Were Before' featuring Brighton singer Sarah Bird. The track is very classic feeling, the bright splashing synths sound like an old movie where a boy and girl in love run through puddles in a rain storm. It's nostalgic, for sure. It's instrumental is pretty standard beyond that, but does a good job of supporting Bird's longing vocals. It's a love song, and that's evident through both the instrumental's mood and the lyrics. The boys of New Arcades handle the vocals in the verses, speaking of the stories of a past love: the second verse chants, "I said I wanted to have something that would make us feel alive," before Bird and the band transition between the choruses and pre-chorus: "Now everything falls into place / Like where we were before / I tell myself that we won't break / The voice I'm hearing is yours."

Beyond the obvious components of the track, there really isn't much else to explore. There's a little guitar in the bridge, but it sounds more like a gimmick than an honest component. It gets buried in the mix for the outro before it can become something big and worthy of stirring up a new emotion, hidden beneath the standard synths that loop throughout the song. This band has such a solid grip on the elements of electronic music and the vibes of the 80s. They don't seem ready to tread away from the same synths and sounds and into something unique.

New Arcades has a lot of potential, but their not quite there yet. Their music captures 80s soundscapes and nostalgia perfectly, but not in a unique way. It's a style we've heard before and all too many times. They bring in partners from their local music scene to spice things up, which is a good thing, but their core has not changed. By the time they hit their first LP, hopefully they'll find their niche. For now, their music will keep being the old nostalgic inducing electronic music that many cherished so well. I guess there's not so much wrong with that, after all.

Rating: 70 / 100