★★★★
Former Bamboos buddies Graham Pogson (G) and Ella Thompson (L) are a band on a mission.
The sound of their debut album lies somewhere in the realm of electro/funk/soul/R&B/pop, and while caring about fitting into an easily defined category is nowhere near the agenda, the duo’s obvious goal appears to be getting people dancing.
This generous 14-song collection will most certainly do that and more, revealing killer track after killer track, and at no point does the quality take a dip. A constant throughout is the ghost of ’80s electronica, albeit strained through a filter of contemporary Australian pop.
‘Number One’ is perhaps the silkiest track here, while single ‘Hallucinate’ brings the funk and ‘Grip’ the bass. Elsewhere, ‘Scully’ introduces a little menace and ‘Cheap Shot’ is Thriller-era pop with better vocals.
Thompson must be a contender for busiest musician of the year, having released a record with Dorsal Fins and a solo album in the past few months. As with anything she is involved in, it’s her voice that steals the show; she could probably sing pages of the dictionary and her soulful delivery would still melt the hardest of hearts.
Touch doesn’t sound like much else being released right now and debut albums aren’t often this assured.
GL’sTouchis available now through Plastic World/Midnight Feature.
