Happy Holidays! It's just hours before the end of the year and what better way to celebrate the end by listening to some twitch inducing music? Electronic, formed in 1988, was a joint effort between ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/guitarist Bernard "Barney" Sumner from New Order. Guest musicians were also involved such as Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe from The Pet Shop Boys and Karl Bartos from German synth pioneers Kraftwerk. Electronic existed after the demise of The Smiths (Marr) and in between and during an extended absence from New Order (Sumner).During that time, they released 13 singles, 3 full-length albums, and a compilation "best of" album (released in 2006). Electronic's sound represents only a fraction of the vast and creative nature of the Madchester scene going on in the U.K. at the time. Using a mix of analogue synths and guitars, they set out to make an impact with some successful singles such as Getting Away With It, Get The Message, and Second Nature.
For today's post, I'm introducing their self-titled debut album released by Factory Records. It's very obvious Electronic sounds very much like how New Order would sound if Peter Hook took a break from playing bass, but with Johnny Marr on guitar and helping out with writing some of the songs, the similarities become less obvious. Some notable tracks in this album include Tighten Up, Gangster, and Try All You Want. With the exception of Tighten Up, I was surprised that Gangster and Try All You Want weren't released as singles! I wasn't very fond of Getting Away With It, although it has a catchy chorus, it's a very cheesy song with somewhat awkward and simplistic lyrics. Well now, it looks like I've ran out of words, excuse me while I'm off celebrating and anticipating the beginning of the new year!
Details:
Electronic - Electronic - CD (1991), U.K.
1. Idiot Country
2. Reality
3. Tighten Up
4. The Patience Of A Saint
5. Getting Away With It
6. Gangster
7. Soviet
8. Get The Message
9. Try All You Want
10. Some Distant Memory
11. Feel Every Beat
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