tempobet yeni adresi
like this vinyl review

30/10/2013 : PHOSPHOR - Youth & Immortality

PHOSPHOR

Youth & Immortality

MusicVinyl
Cold WaveDarkwaveSynth WaveSynthpop

[95/100]   

Desire Records
30/10/2013, Philippe BLACKMARQUIS

Better late than never... This album was released in March 2013 but I only noticed a few days ago that it hadn't been reviewed by our editors yet. A shame because it's simply one of the five best albums of 2013, in my humble opinion.

PHOSPHOR was formed in 2011 in London by Nathalia Bruno and Jake Ambridge, the brother of Ryan Ambridge (Hetaera & I.F.A. Electronics, ex-Linea Aspera). Hélène de Thoury, from France, joined the duo a few months later. The band released two EP's and one of their song, "Skull" received some exposure thanks, a.o., to its presence on the Mannequin Records compilation curated by Mushy: "The End of Civilization".

"Youth & Immortality", their first LP, was released by the French label Desire Records and it's an amazing album. It can be described as a combination between top-notch synth-pop and darkwave with a touch of shoegaze psychedelia. The fact that Jake and Ryan Ambridge are brothers is no coincidence: in PHOSPHOR, you find the same brilliant drum and synth arrangements as in Linea Aspera. Another resemblance is that both bands rely on the quality of vocals, lyrics and melodies. But both bands differ in the presence of Jake's shoegaze/postpunk guitar and in the overall atmosphere: PHOSPHOR has a more "dark emotional", "gothic" feeling, while Alison Lewis' universe is colder, more academic and industrial.

"One Night In Rome" is an upbeat song that evokes the Cure and Tropic of Cancer: a great opener! With "Entropy", we enter a dark and ghostly world dominated by drone synths, a robotic snare drum sound and hypnotic, reverberated vocals much in the style of Cocteau Twins.

"Rotary" is my favorite track: the chorus "You can't control what you feel inside" really takes you far away thanks to Nathalia Bruno's ethereal vocals and Hélène de Thoury's beautiful synth melody. The song as a whole has a very nice fetish and gothic flavor which made me think of Die Form, Athamay, Tristesse De La Lune, Love Is Colder Than Death,... "City Lights" evokes perfectly the loneliness that the band experienced when they moved to London: a droning bass leads you into yet another luminescent chorus adorned with regal synth chords.

"Tortured Soul" starts like a modern Dead Can Dance tune: slow, majestic and mesmerizing. Nathalia's voice is sepulchral, in the style of Zola Jesus and the overall feeling is appropriately witchy... The title song is probably the most poppish, with its nice syncopated drums and 80ies keyboards. The chorus is immediately memorable and has the same seductive effect as Sally Dige's "Immaculate Deception". To close the album beautifully, "Dark of Summer" is another gem of romantic synth-pop while the Curesque "Internal" features Jake Ambridge's heavily flangered guitar and verses nicely sung in French.

As a conclusion; this debut album is simply a masterpiece. A must-have for all lovers of synth-pop with a dark edge. I had the opportunity to meet the band after their concert in Köln: they are very nice people! Check the interview here!

Philippe BLACKMARQUIS
30/10/2013


 

Next reviews
AMBASSADOR 21 • X
GREGG ARAKI • Nowhere
STEVEN WILSON • Review of the concert at Het Depot in Leuven on 24th October 2013
DOBERMANN CULT • Lions share of The Dogs Years
GREGG ARAKI • The Doom Generation
LINEA ASPERA • II
KRAFTWERK • Eindhoven, Evoluon (18/10/2013)
THE EXPLODING BOY • Four
THE DARLING BUDS • Pop Said
FRANTISEK VLACIL • The White Dove

 

Same genre: COLD WAVE
AGENT SIDE GRINDER • Jack Vegas
AGENT SIDE GRINDER • Jack Vegas
SYGO CRIES • In Outside Places
BALVANERA • Courses of Action
THE ULTIMATE DREAMERS • Live Happily While Waiting For Death
SYGO CRIES • End Of A Century
FAUST PROJECT • The Future Comes On Sleeping Pills
THE MIDNIGHT COMPUTERS • Anxious
HYSTÉRIE • Deuil
MANNEQUIN • From a distance

 

Same genre: DARKWAVE
ENZO KREFT • Shelter
DER KLINKE • Facing Fate
PLASTIKSTROM • Eskalation
NEL & JP • Zelfbeeld van Denaldie
ABSTRACKT BLACK • Unheimlich
THE MARS MODEL • Primal Urge
KILL SHELTER • Asylum
TERMINAL SERIOUS • Gift For You
DARK • Nightmare
LA SCALTRA • Cabaret

 

Same genre: SYNTH WAVE
ELM • Penetrator
STAATSEINDE • Fehlerlinie
PARADOX OBSCUR • Intercourse
STAATSEINDE • Staatseinde live @Kinky Star - 14 mei 2022
MAGNETIC RUST • Multicolor
STAATSEINDE • Crazy Earthlings Collab Tape - Episode II
RADERKRAFT • Dust & Debris
NUOVO TESTAMENTO • New Earth
ABSOLUTE BODY CONTROL • A New Dawn
BLACK SNOW IN SUMMER • Lost Feelings

 

Same genre: SYNTHPOP
VANGUARD • Spectrum
FRAGRANCE • Salt Water
VARIOUS ARTISTS • Electropop 18 (Super Deluxe Edition)
IMPERATIVE REACTION • Mirror
ERASURE • THE NEON
ASSEMBLAGE 23 • Mourn
TUKT • Tukt
COLD IN MAY • Isolation songs
DARK-O-MATIC • A cage with the door wide open
THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE • DIAMONDS

Music reviews

20
08
AMPHI FESTIVAL 2023
Thunder in Cologne
07
08
ENZO KREFT
Shelter
06
08
DER KLINKE
Facing Fate
27
07
2ND FACE
utOpium
26
07
MOTOR!K
4
19
06
AGENT SIDE GRINDER
Jack Vegas

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

NEWS

25
09
Today, exactly 36 years ago The Klinik released 'Plague'!
22
09
Today it’s been exactly 31 years since Nine Inch Nails released Broken (EP)
08
09
Electronic Band, royb0t Drops The Cyber Punk-Inspired, Void Guide LP
07
09
40 Octaves Below Drops the 18-Track ‘MetaVersUs Remixed’ Release
04
09
42 years ago, Soft Cell's version of ‘Tainted Love’ reached the number one position in the British hit parade!
28
08
46 years ago Iggy Pop released Lust for Life (29th August 1977)

Concert reviews

09
09
ENZO KREFT - DARK MINIMAL PROJECT - CAUSENATION
@B52 Music Club Eernegem
23
08
AMPHI FESTIVAL 2023
A second opinion...
18
06
ERATO - BLACK SNOW IN SUMMER
Black Planet Fest - @ B 52 Music Club Eernegem - friday 19th of may
18
06
KORINTHIANS, NEL & JP, NONA PROBLEMO
@Charlatan Ghent - 25 mei 2023
06
05
SIOUXSIE
The glorious resurrection after ten years of silence.
27
04
ORANGE SECTOR - STURM CAFE - DELERITAS - AD:KEY
Darkest Night 2023 - An EBM-galore!

GET A COPY OF OUR MAGAZINE
SEND TO YOUR HOME

INTERVIEWS

10
08
ENZO KREFT
The fate of humanity rests in the hands of villains who will not hesitate to drag anyone into their fall.
28
07
PORNO KARAOKE
Some songs and artists deserve a bit more respect than others... Hahaha
22
12
DERISION CULT
An Interview With Dave McAnally of Derision Cult
16
12
OK LION
I didn't convince Patrick Codenys to work with us, it was his idea!
30
11
THE JUGGERNAUTS
Let’s leave the love dramas and (fake) feel good theme to pop music and the brain dead Tik-Tok generation.

PHOTOS

11
09
YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS
Bochum Rockpalast Matrix
09
09
THEN COMES SILENCE
Kulttempel Oberhausen
02
09
ELM
Twilight Oostende
02
09
MILDREDA
Twilight Oostende
02
09
PROJECT PITCHFORK
W-fest Oostende
02
09
OMD
W-fest Oostende
02
09
LAVVI EBBEL
W-fest Oostende

ADVERTISE
IN PEEK-A-BOO

VIDEO CLIPS

25
09
REIN
I Dont Get Anything but Shit from You
24
09
THE CURE
The Lovecats
23
09
AROMA DI AMORE
De Nacht en Zijn Kwaad
22
09
NO!ON
6
21
09
DIE KRUPPS
The Machieneries Of Joy
20
09
ANNA CALVI
Ghost Rider
19
09
0KONTROL
Bombs