Alphabet Girls- Beatnik Europa

In 1984 I was merely seven years old, falling in love with every new wave band that graced MTV during the good years of the channel, always wishing, once I got older that I could find bands which really captured what it would have been like to be in a London electro club in the mid-eighties experiencing this movement firsthand. Alphabet Girls have done it with their latest release ‘Beatnik Europa’ a delectable jaunt through synths, layered with simple, yet trance-like lyrics that will transport you back to the 80’s so fast you’ll be wondering if Ronald Reagan was still president before you finish the album. Any of these 14 tracks could easily slip into the soundtrack of any great film from that era, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles etc. and the remarkable cover of Patti Smith’s ‘Because the Night’ only solidifies their status as one of London’s most talented electro bands. The album’s opener ‘I am Sushi’ is a bubbly synth laden song with strange, yet forceful lyrics like “Swimming in a green sea, cyanide and seaweed” that has a dark overtone applied throughout. I was wondering through my many listens of the album, how they must apply these songs live, because it would have been nice to see more emotion from the lead singer in some moments, as most of the songs don’t vary in vocal pitch, and given the range of lyrical content, a few outbursts, whether somber or happy would have been welcome. The track that truly lets you know the melodic talent these girls bring to the table would have to be ‘The girl with the X-ray eyes’ a slightly trippy and very danceable tune that shows us that these girls can see straight through you, so don’t bother trying to hide anything from them. All in all though, one of the catchier electro records you’ll come across this year, so if you’ll kindly excuse me, I’m going to go listen to the album again so I can remember what real synthesizers sound like.

Artist Website/contact- www.alphabetgirls.com