Warm Digits, aka Newcastle multi-instrumentalist/producers Warm Digits have released a album that neatly squares their own adventures in synth-rock/house/psychedelic music with a host of collaborations including The Orielles, Paul Smith, The Lovely Eggs, Rozi Plain and Emma Pollock.
Titled, appropriately enough, Flight of Ideas, it’s sees the band and their co-pilots blast of into this world of bubbling synths, otherworldly effects and mock space-age stylings.
At first glance in danger of being a mosh mash mess of styles and ideas, actually – despite all the collaborators bringing different things to the table, it holds together remarkably well, and can be confidently spoken on in hushed tones for synth-pop album of the year. If there were such a thing.
Rozi Plain breathes warmth through the bubbling funk of Everyone Nervous, while Paul Smith finds his inner Dave Gahan for the sizzling ‘Fools Tomorrow’. Holly Ross of The Lovely Eggs makes hay in the psychedelic punk of Feel the Panic, and Emma Pollock is delicious over this jumped up Robert Palmer like The View From Nowhere.
Best of all though it (currently at least) the gold touch of Halifax indie disco gods The Orielles, who make recent single ‘Shake the Wheels off’ a synth-pop classic, if not an (indie) dancefloor classic.
While the collaborators have led Warm Digits down various paths, they themselves aren’t afraid of exploring routes hitherto unexplored, their own tracks with ideas bursting from all corners, from the wonky, Chemical Brothers like opener Frames and Cages, through the hypnotic Replication to their own Born Slippy moment in the title track and parting shot of the record.
Packed with ideas and moods and held together with melodies and a gaggle of synths (it that the collective term) Flight off Ideas takes off, and ain’t coming down any time soon. And neither am I.
Flight of Ideas is out now via Memphis Industries.
