"3000 Years in Show Biz" is bright synth-pop, decidedly more mainstream in sound than anything we've heard from Hannes Ferm so far, while "Flames" swirls and swells like the best Marc Almond solo releases. There's an orchestral sweep here that works spectacularly well, even if the "orchestra" resides in a keyboard and amid a few samples. Elsewhere, "Deep Water" and "Hot on the Heels of Love" sound mournful and spacious, with the latter song-title name-checking a Throbbing Gristle number even if the sound here is markedly warmer.
The last few cuts on Ryder hit a kind of peak, even if the musicality remains very similar on each. I think that's intentional, as "Can U Hear Me Calling", "You Shine on Me", and "My Fata Morgana" kind of build upon each other in such a way that the final stretch of Ryder feels a bit like a suite. Amid the glam elements of Hannes Ferm's approach, a premium is placed throughout this album on big melodies, and if things get too blissful and dream-like at times, it's safe to say that the hooks on Ryder are the best we've heard yet on a Holy record. This is, unsurprisingly perhaps, the best Holy album to date, and further indication of the kind of artist cultivation the folks at PNKSLM are masters of.
Ryder is out today via PNKSLM.
More details on Holy via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: PNKSLM]