Circuit3 - The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 27 / 11 / 2019

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Review

Synth and electropop lovers will be delighted to know that Circuit3, the moniker of Irish musician Peter Fitzpatrick, has been switched on again and has sprung in to life with his second album, 'The Price of Nothing and the Value of Everything'. This is the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed 'siliconchipsuperstar', and offers even more bleeps, bibs and beats than the previous offering but still holds true to that mega era of 1978-1982 classic electronic pop. The debut album sold out, so Fitzpatrick spent all the money on more synths of the analogue variety. Ex-Human League and Heaven 17 star Martyn Ware is a keen listener to Circuit3's output likening it to Howard Jones. The first single to come from this album is the first track 'Safe to Sleep', which was co-written by Brian McCloskey from the Smash Hits Blog. For me it would sound exactly like a modern-day Numan track if it were not for its sample. It also reminds me of Visage. 'Dirty Little Secret is a slower affair, hearkening back to the artist's Irish homeland. 'Sold my Soul' is faster, again recalling Visage. Things get darker in mood as the album continues and 'DNA' drifts in, which is probably one of the stronger tracks on the album for me. 'Face in the Crowd' is more sombbe still, telling the story of the Syrian Boy that drowned in the Mediterranean in 2017 and whose image went global. 'The Rain' is possibly the strongest track on here. Sounding like early Depeche Mode or Classix Nouveaux it's typically 80's synth. Ending with the club-sounding 'For Your Own Good', this is a good step up from the debut. It has all the necessary components for me and is undoubtedly influenced by the Futurist/Romantic era, if you like Depeche Mode, Visage, Numan and Kraftwerk you will get into Circuit3.

Track Listing:-

1 Safe To Sleep
2 Dirty Little Secret
3 Sold My Soul
4 Electric
5 DNA
6 Fall In Love Again
7 Face In The Crowd
8 Breaking Point
9 The Rain
10 For Your Own Good

Band Links:-

http://www.circuit3.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/circuit03
https://twitter.com/circuit3music
https://circuit3.bandcamp.com/