Electronic albums play a huge role in my fascination with music. For me, synthesizers and drum machines aren’t better or worse than live drums and guitars. They’re just different. They make music much more imaginative for me. I think Nick Rhodes’ synth parts on those early Duran Duran albums were some of my first loves. Shimmery one moment, jarring the next. Rhodes’ keyboard flourishes changed the complexion of every song. This month, I’m featuring my Top 15 electronic albums along with one featured track.
Album: The Innocents (1988)
The second of two albums where I’m featuring the synth virtuoso Vince Clarke. First was the Yaz record Upstairs at Eric’s. I would say that Yaz record was a pioneering effort in many ways. It helped define the genre of synth pop. Erasure’s The Innocents came along much later, a bit past the prime of the 80’s genre. But this album clocks in as my top 7 pick purely for nostalgia reasons. Few albums bring me back to my teenage years as awkwardly and beautifully as this one. We all know “A Little Respect” and “Chains of Love”, but “Phantom Bride” was the go-to track on this album, in my opinion.
I’m not going to get over analytical about the pros and cons of “Phantom Bride” and the entire Innocents album. It was just fun to listen to back then, and it’s fun to listen to today. “Phantom Bride” exemplified that circus-sounding synth world that Clarke created and explored over multiple albums. It was like a three-ring circus act: the synth hooks, electronic drums and Andy Bell’s vocals. The melody here is like confectionary sugar. Clumped together in heaps to be devoured.
“And in her mind she'd drift away. A secret place to steal away.”