Dan Sartain Century Plaza Vinyl LP 2016

Tracklists
Disc: 1
1. Walk Among the Cobras
2. Cabrini Green
3. Wipeout Beat
4. Black Party
5. Sinking in the Shallow End
6. First Bloods
7. Do You Hear My Voice
8. Feigning Ignorance

Staring out from the cover with (non-artificially) blackened eye, paranoid android Dan Sartain goes back to the future for 'Century Plaza' a new album of darkly nuanced electro-pop. While Suicide and Alan Vega have long been acknowledged influences (a cover of 'Wipeout Beat' features) 'Century Plaza' finds Sartain trolling the British synth-pop wave of '80-'84 particularly Depeche Mode for inspiration, opening the record with a funereal remake of 'Walk Among the Cobras'. Lead off track 'First Bloods' offers up further provocation, indulging a truly outrageous Van Halen-inspired guitar solo (notably the album's sole concession to the instrument). Crepuscular synths and metronomic beats dominate songs like 'Cabrini Green' & 'Feigning Ignorance' either could have been pulled off a Blade Runner or Escape From New York soundtrack in a parallel universe while 'First Bloods' and 'Black Party' are pathological US teen anthems that serve Sartain's particular brand of charisma especially well.