Scenius - Life is a Thing

by Dave Goodwin

published: 3 / 7 / 2023

Label: Scenius
Format: CD

Exciting synth pop on second album from UK/French duo Scenius who look like they have a promising future

Review

It has been a while in the making, but following on from their acclaimed 2020 debut, 'Enough Fears', Scenius have returned with their second full offering. After the debut, they embarked upon a number of select live shows before hitting the studio again to bring us this new delight, 'Life is a Thing'. Scenius is a cross-channel project, composed of Steve Whitfield - based in Leeds, UK who delights in the tinkering of numerous synths - and Fabrice Nau who lives in Angers in France and takes care of the vocals side of things in good style. Here they carry on the robotic keyboard theme they are so good at making, but this album is another step ahead if that is even possible. The brilliance of 'Enough Fears' has been tamed slightly and they have unleashed yet another sonic beast to corner you, turn your brain to mush and transcend your mind to another plain. They did exactly that on the last album. but this one sounds a little more grown up. Scenius have found their feet and are walking directly into life's rich path of celebrations and failures, all the time poking and asking the questions and seeking the answers. 'Life is a Thing 'is so Depeche Mode/OMD that it's crazy. The title track and starter is just the first example of the brand of 80’s mid-tempo synth excellence they are becoming recognised for. Even when they get minimal and sparse it's heaven to listen to. 'High Low 'is a highlight and a dead ringer for Editors and a showcase for Fabrice’s accomplished vocals, whilst 'La Meme Nuit' wouldn’t have gone amiss in the Blitz Club. The faster 'Chinese Room' and the latest single to be released by the duo has me revisiting the likes of Egan and Strange’s Visage as does the next track 'Escalation.' 'Rise Above' is a dark masterpiece – Slower, moody and has Ultravox poured all over it. I can't help picturing Gary Numan's 'Telekon' era as everything comes to a drifting end with 'Hot Dust', a serenade to a troubled world. All the tracks are written by Scenius and the whole outing was mastered by Dez Ford at Rocket Fuel Audio. If you are old enough to remember some of the bands mentioned here and can pinpoint the feelings of listening to those bands back then and watching them grow into phenomenal artist. listening to this is in a way like that moment in time. It's like listening to a band before they got big. And on this showing they are sure to get big. It breeds excitement for what is hopefully yet to come. Go, Scenius!