Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Emil Eliav 'Autumn 85' Review





Artist: Emil Eliav




Title: Autumn 85




Label: Cosmicleaf Records




Released: 10th July 2019









One half of Israeli psy-chill duo Zero Cult, Emil Eliav releases this E.P. of futurepop/synthwave tracks under his own name. One of the issues I have when reviewing this retrospective release is I was around at the time it was ground breaking new music and you can’t help but compare. Personally I always preferred the electro (at times with a darker edge) of Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget and Visage to some of the new romantic pop acts. However, I find myself liking some of those more now than at the time. So I’ll attempt to review this on it’s own merit.


The E.P. consists of two Synthwave mixes of previous releases (which I haven’t heard) and two completely fresh tracks. The first piece ‘Coming Home’ begins with a church organ like intro and accompanied by a reasonably ear friendly vocal, synth stabs take over as the beat drops and eventually it’s joined by simple synth sounds that are reminiscent of the 80’s. Overall it’s not a bad track at all. The second remixed track ‘I’ll Be Better’ provides more of the traditional synth sounds you associate with the 80’s from the off. In fact, I’d say O.M.D. springs to mind. The female vocal is a bit too pop for my tastes (but that’s just me, make up your own mind).


Now on to the completely new material, the title track again sounds 80’s from the off. I like the retro analogue synth sounds employed and again it’s not bad at all. There’s no vocal to enhance or spoil it so I guess it depends whether you like instrumental music or not. Finally to see us out is ‘Man With Sax’, which you probably have guessed is an 80’s sounding piece of synth-pop with accompanying saxophone. It’s chilled, summery and I like it. In fact it’s my favourite track on the release.


Reviewed by Woodzee


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