Becky Becky - Good Morning, Midnight

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 5 / 5 / 2014

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Welcome to electro pop at its best! Gemma L. Williams formerly of Woodpecker Wooliams and Peter J.D. Mason formerly of Fence Collective have unleashed their debut album 'Good Morning Midnight', and it has spawned some far off distant synth dance memories for this reviewer.. Formed in 2011 they recorded their first single, but held off for a little while to, well let's say, get to know each other better. As many relationships do, it broke down, and they both went their separate ways until it dawned on them both that this album was worth completing and they went back to working with each other in Prague. Apparently this album is lyrically influenced heavily by the writings of 20's and 30's author Jean Rhys, and as you might expect 80's and Noughties synth and dance. What is unexpected here though is Williams' meandering and haunting vocals which sometimes recollect Kate Bush and have a dark side that is hidden in the upbeat tempo of most of the songs on this album. 'House of the Black Madonna', for instance, tells of the death of a young child, while 'Sophia' tackles the subject of suicide and 'When the Dead Come Alive' delves deep into rape. Darkness in abundance indeed. And it continues with a woman's description of drunken madness and extreme sadness. By this time you might be thinking it is time to reach for a length of rope, but hold back because it is all disguised in those funky electro house disco thumpings that will surely define this album as a trip - if I can steal a title - back to the future. Williams has featured as a guest vocalist for various acts including Ghostpoet, Meltdown and Button Eyes, and Mason has also done remixes for the likes of Kid Canaveral and Pictish Trail. There are certainly some intriguing sounds on offer here. I can't help drifting back to early Classix Nouveau and Soft Cell at times, but it also has its own style to keep you in the mood. It is of course totally danceable. Williams' often distorted vocals wind around each track, and, as well as Kate Bush, also have elements of Florence Welch and Alison Goldfrapp. Highlights for me are the synth laden Kraftwerk-ish 'Let Them Call It Jazz' and 'Darkness' with its early Depeche overtones. All in all this is really quite good. There are a lot of bands out there at the moment trying to bring back that 80's synth sound, but falling short whereas this hits the mark. You might remember back in the 1980s when the obscure tracks were the ones that everyone wanted to dance too, but they came thin and far between. Well, this little package is full of them. Marvellous!

Track Listing:-

1 Quite Like Old Times
2 I Remember, I Remember...
3 House of the Black Madonna
4 Tigers Are Better Looking
5 Mask
6 Fire & Wings
7 When the Dead Come Alive
8 Let Them Call It Jazz
9 Darkness
10 Sophia

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/beckybeckymusic
http://beckybecky.com/

Label Links:-

http://feintrecords.com/

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