Foretaste - Love on Demand

'Love on Demand' is Foretaste's third full album, however the prolific duo also have a host of live releases and EP's to their name.

Identifying themselves only as "Lover XX" and "Lover XY", the whole ethos of their website and image presents a very minimalist vibe, and while it can be argued their music takes a similar approach on first glance, a deeper look reveals this to be a complete album crafted with care, rather than a collection of simple songs.

The opening track "Alone with people around" sets the tone nicely with a well-paced melodic song that I?m sure Foretaste won?t mind me saying, brings to mind classics such as the Petshop Boys and Depeche Mode.
The song itself while being a good listen isn't necessarily one you will be singing in your head later that day, but this album comes into its own with its seamless transition into the second track: "Do what you can" by subtly slowing the tempo as it fades out. It's the little details that show the level care the artists have put into this.

They mix things up a bit by the time "End of Days" comes around, with stabby synths and rising pads driving it along, as opposed to the gentler sound of the previous songs. It would make the perfect soundtrack to a noir sci-fi flick.

One track that I have mixed feelings about is "Superstar", this has the feel of a big track right from the beginning, as the soft vocals and rising pads, coupled with the subtle bass rises and slow fade in of drums all give the feel of a song that is progressing somewhere big. When the chorus kicks in and the pads rise, the song really hits you. But just not quite enough! There is something missing, maybe doubling up on the vocals could have brought this out but it just slightly lacked the power I wanted in it, though that may just be personal taste.

My personal favourite is the last track "X Me", it is much more driving and knows exactly when to drop off into melodic sections, and when to kick in with the drums and announce itself.

In general, it's a solidly produced album, the sounds are spot on for what they are trying to achieve and the mix is very professional. The bass in particular is always very well presented. The main criticism would be the vocals, while in key and nicely melodic, they could use a bit of work to bring out some more power in the choruses.

It is a fairly transient album, one to drift off to with elements of coldwave in there, perhaps not one for those more into upbeat and driving synthpop like Ashbury Heights, but strong enough in its own right.

It's also worth mentioning that this album is also available as a special edition with live recordings, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

So overall I would say while this may not bring new people over to the Synthpop genre, it is well worth a listen if that is your cup of tea, and deserves to be heard. Jan 26 2013