France :: Grand Tour (Astral Rectangle)

The synth pop resurrection has produced some excellent new labels and artists. Imprints like Aube, Das Drehmoment and La Forme Lente crossed the lines between minimal pop, synth wave and italo disco. Astral Rectangle have done the same with France. It’s an extraordinarily fine line between getting this mixture right and very wrong, but France do themselves proud.

Italo and synth pop are sounds steeped in the spirit of the 80s. Modern attempts at the sound can be triumphs of tribute or homage horrors. Those who do it right are often well praised for their efforts, those who fail lambasted. But on the odd occasion, some undertaking can fall through the net. Introduce France and their début EP, Grand Tour on Treue Um Treue’s sublabel Astral Rectangle.

The arpegiatted rumblings of the title piece opens. A solid beat cuts through the candied chords, vocals en francaise backing. The track is proper electro pop reproduction; innocent and addictive. “France En Transe” follows. There’s a shadow of new wave coming through in the disco infused synth movements. Echoes of Automelodi ruminate, with a hazy quality balancing pop and wave. The flip drives into the neon dappled metropolis with “Sur Les Routes De France.” Cosmic streams run into the full bodied vocals as the synths rumble. A warm and hear-felt piece of synth pop. To end this outing is “14 Juillet,” a short vocoder work to close.

The synth pop resurrection has produced some excellent new labels and artists. Imprints like Aube, Das Drehmoment and La Forme Lente crossed the lines between minimal pop, synth wave and italo disco. Astral Rectangle have done the same with France. It’s an extraordinarily fine line between getting this mixture right and very wrong, but France do themselves proud. Warm and catchy with just the right amount of distance. An excellent first outing and a must for those out there looking for some well made modern italo streaked synth pop.

Grand Tour is available on Astral Rectangle. Where to buy.