Detachments - Detachments

Picking up where The Normal left off, Detachments fit in with other such new wavers as Gary Numan and Cabaret Voltaire. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a lot of people’s mind, it’s hardly progressive. However, these people have overlooked just how talented these musicians were and how impressive it is to be seen in the same light.

Now, when it comes to 80s revival, I can handle the new Post Punk and the new C86, but that’s about it. I won’t lie; I’m with the Vaselines when they say ‘I Hate The 80s (because the 80s were shit)’. That being said, it’s imposable to ignore the talent behind such acts as the aforementioned Numan, and it is from the frame of mind that albums and music can be both liked and appreciated, independently of each other.

At least that’s how I approached it after hearing only the first few songs. Growing into the album from ‘Art Of Viewing’ I quickly realised that this has as much in common with the post punk movement as it does with the new wave. By the second listen, I finally got it – while the original synth pissed off punk so much as it was made and meant nothing, This still has little to say, but has the passion that the likes of Gang of Four possessed. I’m not here to say that all music should have a profound intellectual meaning – music can just be music – but it’s interesting to hear new wave music in a frame of mind that lets you just appreciate the music and the passion behind it. While this still sounds dated in places – the drum machines sound dated, and I’m certain there’s a penchant for asymmetric haircuts and wearing eyeliner in this band – it carries an air of the fresh, almost futuristic sounds of current music.

So yeah, it’s another throwback to an older style of music. But that’s no worse than POBPAH or The Vivian Girls, it’s just different here. It’s an interesting listen, and while the lyrics are throwaway and cheap, it’s music for the sake of music. They’re a band that makes music to dance to, to put on and zone out, to be listened to, and not studied. And that’s actually quite refreshing.