Ireland’s Richard O’Flynn (drums), Norway’s Guro Gikling (bass) and Brazil’s Luis Santos (guitar) are All We Are. The group makes propulsive art-pop. Luckily, the brand is one you can dance to or think about. And the newest album from this crew, Providence, drops on Domino on Friday.
The title cut is nearly a dance number, while "Heart of Mine" is more supple. This one, like lots here, has a bright sheen and a catchy hook, so the busyness of the tune is redeemed by that. Elsewhere, "Bad Advice" pops with promise, the sort of thing that'd be worthy of hitting the Top 40 even, even as "Beauty in Loss" is more elegant and soulful. This number, like a few things here, suggests that All We Are can mimic the sort of electro-pop that soundtracked the Reagan years, and fueled early Gaga compositions. All We Are manage to make most of this work fairly well, and it's likely to find receptive audiences out there among listeners maybe younger than me.
Providence is out tomorrow via Domino.
More details on All We Are via the official website.
[Photo: Rebecca Hawley]