Modern Christian Rock & Metal New singles : “ Constant War ” and “ Out Of My Head ” out now ! Mark Gontarz ( bass ) Jeff Krause ( vocals ) Mike Pounovich ( guitars )
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18 illinoisentertainer . com march 2023
Romantic ? All of the hits are present , made more vibrant in the context of the albums that produced them . The band had recently reinvented itself following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware ( soon of Heaven 17 ) and Ian Craig Marsh . Philip Oakey and visual director Philip Adrian Wright subdued the band ' s earlier experimental forays in favor of pop accessibility while still employing cutting-edge sounds , including the first use of the era-defining Linn drum . The group also benefitted from the promotion to full-time status of touring guitarist Ian Burden ( who serves here as a co-writer with Oakey and as a synthesizer player alongside Jo Callis ) and the canny addition of then-teenaged singers Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley . Oakey ' s quirky baritone is instantly familiar on electropop album tracks and UK singles like " The Things that Dreams are Made Of " and " Open Your Heart ." " The Sound of the Crowd " bristles with irrepressible krautrock energy . The Penultimate and semi-autobiographical track " Love Action ( I Believe in Love )" draws inspiration from punk icons Iggy Pop and Lou Reed , and was the band ' s first top-ten hit at home in the UK . However , it ' s the album ' s tenth and final track that explodes with equal parts nostalgia and youthful vigor , as pulses of icy synthesizer announce the beginning of the worldwide smash " Don ' t You Want Me ." The song ' s duet between Oakey and Sulley offers a doomed portrait of the power politics dividing a once happy but ambitious couple . The song flooded dance floors and went to number one in several countries including the UK and the US . The album ' s sounds and textures are retro-futuristic today , bridging the gap between predecessors like Gary Numan and successors like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark . Dare appears on sky-blue vinyl . The band capitalized on its success with 1983 ' s Fascination ! The EP ' s club-friendly title track featured the new element of a guttural bass guitar groove and a wickedly distressed synthesizer riff , as well as increased presence by Catherall and Sulley in the vocal blend with Oakey . The lyrics are fluff , but Oakey ' s charisma is gigantic on the catchy pop-funk track . " Mirror Man " borrows a Motown groove a la The Four Tops ' " I Can ' t Help Myself " and fuses it with New Romantic rhythm akin to Duran Duran ' s " Rio ," which had appeared the prior year . Oakey eventually revealed that the song was about Adam Ant and his thought that the " Goody Two Shoes " singer might have been succumbing to his own hype . " Hard Times " is a Dare B- side appearing on the translucent green EP . The galloping synthpop of " I Love You Too Much " would be reworked for 1984 ' s Hysteria . Hysteria itself was the difficult follow-up to Dare , appearing here on sunshine-yellow vinyl . The project burned through three producers and sales ultimately stalled as singles like Callis and Oakley ' s " The Lebanon " failed to scale the charts . In addition to " I Love You Too Much ," the band recycles another earlier B-side in " Don ' t You Know I Want You ." The synthetic R & B of " I ' m Coming Back " may have stiffed in 1984 but sounds today like a precursor to Gorillaz ' hit " Stylo ." Oakley has fun with a taut cover of " Rock Me Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again " by Lyn Collins and James Brown , distinguished by addition of Callis ' funky guitar . Slashing Flock of Seagulls-styled guitar adds bristling tension to " The Lebanon " and its story about locals struggling to cope as their homeland is torn apart by war . The Human League ' s fortunes rallied in 1986 thanks to a partnership with Minneapolis producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis , who lent their Midas touch to Crash after delivering a monster success with Janet Jackson ' s Control . Jam and Lewis ' thumbprint is fully apparent in the writing and production of the ballad " Human ." The song and its twist ending revealing mutual infidelity sent the band back to the top of the charts in the US but renewed fortune came at a steep cost to the band . Callis had departed and was replaced by Jim Russell , who co-wrote much of the album with Burden and Oakey . Despite having four songwriters in the lineup , the powers that be pushed another Jam- Lewis song as the second single from Crash . " I Need Your Loving " was badly received by critics and fans alike , unhelped by a music video that did not rise to the band ' s MTVfriendly standards . This song and " Swang " sound every bit like mid-80s Prince or Morris Day outtakes . It became apparent that the band ' s instincts were suppressed in favor of making a Jam-Lewis album . The experience prompted the departure of founding member Wright and key member Burden , who was sidelined during sessions . Oakey and Russell ' s " Jam " and " Are You Ever Coming Back ?" balanced R & B grooves
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