“We're far from EM and its complex structures. But at least you'll know it”
1 The Visitors 4:53
2 This Man 4:41
3 Youth 3:53
4 Picture in Eyes 6:38
5 Total Pain 4:20
6 How Do You Dream 5:17
(DDL 29:42) (V.F.)
(Synth-Pop, New Wave)
ENDLESS NIGHT is a significant title for an event Neil Fellowes was invited to attend, a night concert where he would perform synth-pop and electronic music at the Artificial 01, held in Norwich on August 21st, 2010. An evening that Geigertek would have wanted to last forever. But the Norwich synthesist knew that the music of The Timeless Mind would not really fit in this event. Inspired by the new wave movement and synth-pop like Ultravox, Gary Numan and The Human League, he dug into his archives to find material he had composed a few years earlier that would be more appropriate for the event. He wrote almost 40 minutes of music that he wanted to publish, and it's after asking David Wright for advice that this latter proposed him to release it on AD Music. A daring move that further expands the very diverse catalog of the English label and a completely unexpected, but secretly desired, mini album in Neil Fellowes' career.
ENDLESS NIGHT starts with a track very close to the Ultravox repertoire. After a rather ethereal intro, The Visitors pulsates with a bouncy sequential movement, wrapped in good layers of hazy synth. Neil Fellowes' voice emerges. Surprisingly, she is suave and tinted with a surprisingly melancholic approach. The first thing that comes to mind is John Foxx. This impression will follow us throughout this EP where the rhythms and melodies are strongly inspired by bands of this generation. I think of Youth and the nice ballad Total Pain where he surprises with a very moving voice. The Visitors twitches and pulsates on a good sequential movement and a heavy bass line that supports a well-structured melody. This is good synth-pop, like This Man where the use of the Vocoder brings us closer to Kraftwerk but with a more tempered rhythm and a good synth line with spectral flights. With its ambivalent structures Picture in Eyes is the most elaborated track of this mini album. And also, the one that comes closest to the universe of The Timeless Mind. Driven by heterogeneous synth blasts, the intro transposes itself on a drum machine that rolls the percussions and hammers a sustained rhythm surrounded by synth blasts with shouting solos. Heavy, the synth overlays a line of clear, wriggling sequences that bounce like steroid-fueled xylophone chords, a bit like Tears for Fears. The voice is in tune. The structure is melodic and catchy with abrupt movements, harmonious permutations and good arrangements. In my opinion, this is the track on this EP! How Do You Dream closes this Geigertek's and AD Music's fantasy with a frenzied rhythm where Neil Fellowes' voice amazes and floats with ease between the layers of synths that cover a rhythm with hypnotic pulses and frenetic sequences.
How to approach ENDLESS NIGHT? Well, like me! Without expectations and with a certain apprehension where we finally discover that the New Wave period is like an embarrassing memory that is good to remember. It's a nice little EP that will please the nostalgic of John Foxx and Ultravox, as well as Human League. We're far from EM and its complex structures. But at least you'll know it 😊. The album is now available only on Neil Fellowes Bandcamp page.
Sylvain Lupari (November 5th, 2011) *****
Available at Neil Fellowes Bandcamp
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