"Overtime" by Invitation to Love
Review
It's been a long time (that is to say "far too long") since I had a chance to write about the enchanting Paradise of the Titans. My researches indicate it was a live review of three years ago.
Unfortunately this article won't be about the band either, but the good news is that curator of the Paradise Alice Weston advises me that their next EP is making progress & they have a gig at Just Dropped In on 12th September. In the meantime, she's been working with another local band Invitation to Love and they have activity I certainly can share with you right now.
So who are this band and how can you indulge in what they do?
Well Alice sings for Invitation to Love, as does Jim Bogue (their lead writer). Mason Le Long (whose band Batsch release their new album & launch it at The Tin tomorrow) plays guitar & synth and Mike Price of inlowercase does similarly.
You can check out a taster for their upcoming album in the shape of a video Jim has made for their track called "Overtime" at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZu9Q5VLH80
and you can hear their repertoire at Just Dropped In on Saturday 4th October when they'll be playing with Pink Shabab. This occasion may even serve as their album launch if it's completed by then. (Tickets via: https://wegottickets.com/event/668680/)
Until then we must confine our engagement & appreciation to the one track (it's a single by the way) which is fine by me: gives you more time to wallow in it & derive most pleasure.
Fans of the groups which the members have previously released music through will like this one: you can certainly feel the common ground which has drawn them together for this project.
As deliciously synthy-poptastic as Paradise of the Titans, nevertheless it's no clone or pastiche. This outfit did deeper into the bass spectrum (quite spectacularly so) and given the subject matter (an almost surreal sense of fetishism of long obsolete office based technology), the Kraftwerk vibes certainly evoke the era in which the items in question were used.
The theme itself should draw the attention of any right thinking person: anyone who shines a light upon a subject which firstly deserves to received greater scrutiny gets mine.
The double layers of icing on this particular cake are firstly that having done this, they can then introduce the subtext which relates to the nasty "greed is good" corporate mindset which was born contemporaneously with the rest of the content. Secondly, it's just a great, compelling & fleet-footed tune which jumps straight into your mind & takes up residence.
If this is characteristic of the entire album (I'm betting it is) then I can't wait to hear it all.
