Artist: A Projection
Title: Section
Genre: Post-Punk/ Darkwave
Release Date: 25th October 2019
Label: Metropolis Records
Album Review
When you are two albums in and building up momentum and a fan base, losing your singer is not generally recommended. But Swedish Post-Punk band A PROJECTION survived this inconvenience, along with other personal and personnel issues, and have come bouncing back with album number three.
Wise, then, to start with something strong, to reassure the party faithful and make it clear there is no stepping backwards. ‘Something Whole’ - chosen as the first single, and rightly so - does just that, it’s got an urgency about it like it’s trying to shout in your ear while speeding by, flailing its musical arms about and generally saying “look at me”. It’s short, snappy, and will please fans of THE SISTERS OF MERCY from a time when they were something to get excited about. ‘Strange’ is tied tightly to a gothic hook, all sparkly and dark at once - melodically it’s somewhat predictable, but the execution is admirable, and it has a cavernous chorus that’s irresistible.
This is 2am dancefloor stuff. ‘Time’ is punchy, gnarly Post-Punk, again, short and to the point, ‘Fall’ a tumble of atmospherics and dark sulkiness and ‘Substitute’ is simply vast, pounding out it’s sullen heart in layers of spirited glumness. It’s all wonderfully black and bleak of course, but on the whole A PROJECTION avoid the trap of sounding overwrought or over serious. You could actually believe they had some fun making this record.
If ‘Verdicts’ is starting to sound too much like what has been before, ‘Lucy Shrine’ burbles along nicely enough and ‘Down’ is all spikey and twisty like early INTERPOL. ‘Diffusion’ is almost a pop song by comparison before ‘Live Again’ takes JOY DIVISION and adds extra pace and some barely restrained optimism. ‘Disbelief’ closes the album, grand and stately. Musically it sits somewhere around ‘Disintegration’-era THE CURE, vocally it’s restrained and as it all unfolds, simply beautiful. More of this please.
In a genre with not much wriggle-room - it’s all pretty much been done before, many times over - it’s down to the quality of the songs to see any post-punk project through. On the whole ‘Section’ is packed with melody, surprising nuances and a patient professionalism that belies the turmoil that very nearly scuppered it all. So, credit to A PROJECTION for a solid, enjoyably dark romp through a landscape littered with those who have-been, wanna-be and never-will-be. Quality always shines through.
Tracklist
01. Something Whole
02. Strange
03. Time
04. Fall
05. Substitute
06. Verdicts
07. Lucy Shrine
08. Down
09. Diffusion
10. Live Again
11. Disbelief
Line-up
Rikard Tengvall
Linus Högstadius
Jesper Lönn
Gustav Forneus
Website
https://aprojection.com / https://www.facebook.com/aprojectionband
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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