Audio Gothic

It can’t be easy fusing futuristic electro sounds with old school ‘80s pop hooks, but Dublin outfit Empire State Human do it with ease. It may be a bit of a tightrope walk at times (‘No Wires,’ ‘Ghosts In America’) but the trio make it look effortless for the most part. Production-wise, Audio Gothic is utterly flawless. The tracks are crisp, bright and vibrant and are everything you want from an electro act, but it’s the songwriting and ability to flirt with different genres that makes this particular slab of wax shine.
Quite cannily, singer Aidan Casserly (whose voice is a mix of Boy George and Dusty Springfield) realises that while some studio trickery may gain nods of approval from the techy snobs of this world, it’s the hooks that’ll bring in the mainstream and Audio Gothic has plenty of them. ‘Camera’ is a nu-pop masterpiece, aping the likes of Soft Cell but putting a modern spin on proceedings; ‘Melancholic Afro’ (which features former Kraftwerk wizard Wolfgang Flur) is a fresh and funky take on cyber punk; and the secret track after album closer ‘Sitting Solitude’ which features Aidan singing (more or less) a cappella is a reassuringly brave way to close what is an extremely classy album.