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and Mick Ronson . The guitarist enjoyed massive radio success during the ‘ 80s with Spandau Ballet , scaling the charts as the songwriter of singles including “ True ” and “ Gold ” and playing before the packed Wembley Stadium crowd at Live Aid in 1985 . More recently , Kemp was reintroduced to audiences as co-frontman for Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason ’ s band Saucerful of Secrets . It has been a long stretch since Kemp produced his first solo album with 1995 ’ s Little Bruises , but the time is right for Kemp ’ s Insolo . As he enters his 60s , Kemp has stated that making the album was a way to come to terms with the state of the world and his place within it . The elegantly orchestrated title cut is a melancholy ballad examining the too-common phenomenon of feeling isolated even in crowded urban surroundings . The tense R & B of “ A Rumour of You ” finds Kemp trapped between desire for an old flame and the fear of being twice burned . “ Waiting for the Band ” highlights Kemp ’ s lifelong passion for witnessing live music and finding a new hero under the spotlight , with memories of days as a starry-eyed , teenaged music fan in the ‘ 70s . The song ’ s middle section captures the rush of euphoric anticipation while entering the venue . Theo Travis ’ saxophone solo shares time with audio of Bowie fans in 1978 being interviewed before a show outside Earl ’ s Court . The effect echoes a similar passage during Pink Floyd ’ s “ Us and Them .” More than a nostalgic look , the song connects Kemp ’ s past to his present and reveals the energy that has consistently driven him . A similar sense inhabits “ I Am the Past ,” as Kemp reconciles how the person he was will create the person he ’ s yet to become . The 70 ’ s
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FM-pop inflected “ Ahead Of The Game ” is sparkling , starlit and breezy , with lush harmonies drawn from period favorites like Wings , 10cc and Supertramp . The song expresses admiration for a fearless and even impetuous young soul who has the world at his or her feet . The cinematic “ I Remember You ” unfolds with the hint of a tango , remembering a friend who once had it all but is now left bereft by the ravages of time . As the song reaches its emotional peak , Kemp turns the camera eye onto himself . “ Too Much ” is a reflection of life in 2020 , overpowered by bad news around the globe and civil unrest at the doorstep . Producer Toby Chapman provides pensive piano for Kemp ’ s musings . The song provides no answers , but honestly identifies overwhelming feelings while struggling to find a way for one person to make a positive difference . Kemp helms the project more than capably and plays most instruments . There is no shortage of deft guitar melodies to remind you of his New Romantic days with Spandau Ballet . Nonetheless , a dream team of additional musicians and trusted friends elevate the production . Kemp ’ s Saucerful of Secrets bandmate and longtime collaborator Guy Pratt plays bass on most of the album . During “ The Feeling ” and “ Waiting for the Band ,” Kemp is joined by his brother and Spandau Ballet bandmate Martin Kemp . Lee Harris of Saucerful of Secrets adds lap steel guitar to “ A Rumour of You .” Peter Gabriel drummer Ged Lynch plays on songs including “ I Remember You ,” and Queen ’ s Roger Taylor drums on “ Too Much .”
Listen to Insolo , and you ’ ll know this much is true : it ’ s a beautifully rendered session of self-therapy by someone with the tools to mine peace ( or at least , perspective ) for himself and offer it to others .
– Jeff Elbel
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have to discuss the new reigning pandemic Scream Queen , the brainy Samara Weaving of Mayhem , The Babysitter , and Ready or Not fame . But she has plenty of time to address the mascara-sporting white elephant in the room , singing along on “ How Not to Drown ,” a certain Mr . Robert Smith , The Cure being another musical influence that Cook and Doherty took on Screen Violence board .
“ I still feel very what-the-funk about it — I can ’ t believe that it actually happened ,” Mayberry gasps , sounding fangirl giddy . “ But honestly , it was just a bizarre , happy accident , which I feel has been on par for us . The biggest things to have ever happened to Chvrches have always been the loose things — it ’ s never been something that we wanted desperately or tried to get to happen in some way . It ’ s always been some weird accident , where somebody met somebody at a bar and said , ‘ Oh , I LIKE that band !’” This boon came courtesy of Chvrches ’ manager Campbell McNeil of Lunatic Entertainment , who casually informed a lawyer he shared with The Cure that his trio ( which now unofficially includes drummer Jonny Scott ) wouldn ’ t mind opening a few upcoming dates for the band since Smith was finishing a new album . Nothing more invasive than an innocent have-their-team-contactour-team request , she swears . “ Campbell was just looking ahead , you know ? Doing what good managers do ,” she recollects . “ But Robert Smith doesn ’ t HAVE a manager
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, so then he got an email from him saying , ‘ Aloha , Campbell ! I hear you have been looking for me . What do you want ?’ So then Campbell had to call US up and go , ‘ Uhh , guys ? I just did a thing … so what DO you want ?’ And we were like , ‘ What ?! What do we ask for ? I have no idea where he even came from !’” Chvrches dutifully sent Smith early Screen demos as work examples , she adds , and he happily opted to contribute to “ Drown .” “ That was the one that he picked out ,” she says proudly . “ And hearing his voice on that song is so insane , but hearing him sing words that I wrote is incredibly bizarre , as as well , especially given what the song is about . It ’ s really a full circle , so you never know where things are going to end , I suppose .”
Script-wise , however , it ’ s supposed to end with the Final Girl dispatching the masked serial killer with his own chainsaw . Or , as Mayberry warbles blithely in the anthem of the same name , “ And you know that she should be screaming .” But this defiant auteur enjoys no longer taking cues from any directors . “ And with some movies , if you package them in a certain way , people are going to want to watch them , and they ’ re going to take on — and engage with — the ideas in a way that .
Might not have otherwise ,” she firmly believes . So with Screen Violence , she concludes , “ I like that there are layers to it . Like , if you just want to listen to this record and think , ‘ Oh , it ’ s a horror concept album that Chvrches made because they love horror movies because they ’ re geeks like that ,’ then that ’ s fine . But it ’ s also a bit meta because it isn ’ t really about that at all .”
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