Heterotic

This is the debut release from Heterotic, the husband and wife team of Mike Paradinas (aka IDM producer µ-Ziq and Planet Mu label boss) and Lara Rix-Martin. Four of the eight tracks on the album feature the lyrics and vocals of Nick Talbot (otherwise known as Gravenhurst). Blending contemporary production with '80s pop, and even some piano house on "Blue Lights," the album will hit those nostalgia buttons for listeners old enough to remember the late '80s and early '90s electronic dance scenes. Varied in tempo and style, this release hangs together well, not feeling at all disparate, but more like a scrapbook of nostalgic yearnings and current obsessions. It's not your typical Planet Mu release — not that there really is such a thing — drawing from New Order, Ultravox and Vangelis as much as rave or techno. The Gravenhurst collaboration is especially surprising, but it works and Love & Devotion is a quality departure from solid musicians that should stand as a stark lesson to the armies of artists out there producing dreamy, '80s-inspired synth-pop of lesser quality.