Anoraak - Figure EP

Anoraak
Figure EP
2016
Spotify

"Stranger Things" the Netflix series has brought a ton of people to synthy music that perhaps they thought was dead and gone in the 80s. They are seeing the beautiful soundscapes and emotion that can be put in to this kind of music and giving it the chance that it always needed. While this might not be the reason for this record, it certainly paints it in a new light, and a more beautiful one. Anoraak's approach to electropop definitely begins with a solid dance base. However that is only the beginning. The music swirls and hums with that electronic depth that you can only get from a well tuned synth. It straddles that border between darkness and light so well giving you this really euphoric feeling as it builds and builds. Each of the five tracks (four originals and one remix) have their own personality, not in the way that they don't sound like they are coming from the same person, but in how comfortable they are in their own space. "Heart Out" verges on Nu-Disco but never really ramps up to that fever pitch, instead it leans in to the sound and lets it's slow super melodic tones lull you into a state of full surrender.

The only drawback you  may find while listening to this EP is if you just can't get behind the electro-ness of it. The record relies heavily on those very specific sounds so if you are coming to it from a different starting point you may not be able to wrap your mind around what is going on. But in the end it is so clean and so precise it very well may bring you right back around. The Nu-Disco vibe is in full force on the remixed version of "We Lost" by LEFTI. It could be popped into an 80s movie and fit just perfect, but it also would light up any dance floor today. His music just really sticks with you, it holds on and doesn't let you go. Even after a song is long gone you still are finding little special pieces that make you keep coming back. The song structure is something you may not be used to but it fits so well with their sound that any preconceived notions you may have slip away. Figure is the start of something really interesting, and something really good. I can't wait to hear what comes next from Anoraak, but it will undoubtedly be incredible.

8.7 out of 10