Relatively soon after their "return" album, Part-Primitiv, the classic Factory act has released another long player of new material that channels their classic post punk days into a more modern context, though here with an almost overly nostalgic bent that leaves it sounding a bit dated.
The 12 tracks that make up this album are almost evenly distributed between more melancholy songs with vocals by Larry Cassidy, and the other half featuring Beth Cassidy, daughter of the late Section 25 vocalist Jenny Cassidy. For this reason, the band retains its signature sound throughout, and does feel like the natural follow up to their previous 2006 album.
Bookended by two short tracks of gated reverbed drums and stiff sequenced keyboards, the nostalgia factor is pretty overt immediately upon hitting play. This segues nicely into "Singularity," which is propelled by extremely low restrained rhythms, staccato guitars and dramatic synth flourishes. The vocals are kept pretty much in the foreground, and the 1980s make an appearance via stiff bass sequences. "L’arte Du Math" has a similar structure, but with its dry vocals and bass melodies it starts to resemble some more of the later period New Order material. "One Way Or Another" is the most forceful track on here, and Larry Cassidy’s vocals are a bit more acerbic, and the guitars are more riff rather than note based. By no means is it an aggressive or angry track, but it does contrast the otherwise more restrained stuff.
The songs with Beth Cassidy on vocals take a much more electronic and dance quality, acting like the Hacienda days to the other track’s earlier works. "Remembrance" features her delicate voice with untreated guitar, 4/4 thump drums, and a bit of acid squelch synths. While there is a darker overcast here, "Attachment" comes from a similar palette, but is more upbeat and pop in nature, the tight sequences push it almost uncomfortably close to cliché 1990s dance music. "Mirror" also comes from a techno pop background, but a bit more sparse in the mix, with Beth Cassidy doing spoken word over a simple 808 beat and ambient synths. The sound is still definitely "pop," though the sonic textures are more adventurous here in comparison.
To my ear, the sounds here lean a bit too much on the '90s era of the Factory legacy, and end up a bit too focused on electronic pop, which lacks the timeless quality that the post-punk era stuff has managed to retain. Some of the tracks start to feel too much like the faceless dance music that clogged the era. There are good moments to be found here, but unfortunately it’s not as consistent of an album as it could be.
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