One of the
things that I’ve always loved about minimalist synth music is that is has a strange tendency of aging really well. You could argue that this is a reflection of its continued esteem
in underground music, but I don’t think that explains it entirely. There is something
about the austere sound of bands like Kraftwerk, or Solid Space, or John Foxx's solo work, that continues to perfectly
echo the utilitarianism implied by the word “future”. Funny enough, here we are
more than 30 years after the heyday of such music, in the throes of a future
that is anything but austere, and the sounds still seem relevant.
Formed in
Amarillo, TX as the brainchild of Tyler Jacobsen and Elyssa Dianne, the duo
known as Roladex use an “arsenal of analog instruments” to construct their own
version of such a future. The project
has released a handful of tracks over the course of the last year to growing
acclaim, with their last mini-EP arriving just a couple of months ago on
Iowa-based Night People, the fabled label of the Shawn Reed (Wet Hair, Raccoo-oo-oon). However, we’ve already caught wind of the follow-up. On February
13th, Medical Records, our favorite local “purveyors of
minimal synth, cosmic disco, wave (cold/new), dream/gaze pop, and futuristic
music” will be releasing
Roladex’s 10 track debut full-length, ‘Anthems For The Micro-Age’.
In addition to
containing the 7 tracks previously only available on the Beko, AMDISCS, and
Night People releases (minus the “Pink Halloween” mixes which are still
available here), ‘Anthems For The Micro-Age’ will also include 3 brand new
tracks. The whole package is getting the proper "Medical" treatment including
pressing on 180g, transparent, electric blue vinyl, and an LP insert with
lyrics.
I feel like
people far more qualified than myself could spend hours arguing about the
nuances that make up Roladex’s sound; the good news is that none of that
discussion is requisite to falling under the spell cast by ‘Anthems For The
Micro-age’. Case-in-point is the record’s long-ish outro track, “Nuke It Out”.
While Medical describes the record in general as “Kraftwerk playing Steven
Merritt songs”, the track’s haunting melody is more reminiscent of 'Speak and Spell' era Depeche Mode, or the output of modern day cold-wave bands like
Black Marble. Whatever the most appropriate comparison is, I have little doubt
that you’ll have any trouble fitting this “apocalyptic disco track for the end of
the world” into any one of your remaining winter nights.
Stream and
preorder your copy of ‘Anthems For The
Micro-Age’ over at the Medical Records Bandcamp.
