Telefon Tel Aviv have mastered the art of balancing the bitter-sweet romance and occasionally excessive melancholy of so many 80s electro-pop pearls, dusting off their retro sleeves and presenting them in the form of lavish melodic epics. The new EP features the intoxicatingly beautiful album opener “The Birds” in its original version and in two remixes that could hardly be more contrasting: BPC label boss Ellen Allien spontaneously blows away the sombre fog clouds of the original with a crisp house beat and vibrant acid sequences.
Ghostly International co-founder and self-confessed Brian Eno fan Matthew Dear has already revealed his distinct fondness for sinister soundscapes on his own album Black City and his remixes for The Chemical Brothers, The XX and The Drums. His version of “The Birds” occupies ambiguous stylistic territory, combining amiable singer-songwriter elements with electronica of considerable atmospheric density. With the track “The Sky Is Black” TTA deliver a song that BPC aficionados have already encountered on the BPitch Werkschau compilation. Getting its first EP release here, The Sky Is Black follows on seamlessly from The Birds with its lavish use of fabulous hooks and atmospherics. None other than Cocteau Twins co-founder Robin Guthrie makes an appearance here as co-author, gitarist and soul mate – the perfect soundtrack, and not just for bleak winter days and frosty nights...