by Fred Taghon » Tue Jul 26, 2022 6:49 am
Lol which is why I still love New Wave Outpost after all these years!
I totally agree about "In Stereo"! While I enjoyed "Drama" and "Viva" very much, "In Stereo" easily and immediately rose above both of those for me. I played it at home and in my car A LOT for several months after it's release. 10years separated the "Viva" and "In Stereo" albums, so I was not anticipating the emergence of "Masquerade" so soon (a mere 3 years). Its kind of nice, given the age of the internet and information overload, to not spend months EXPECTING and WAITING for a new release and instead to be surprised out of the blue lol! Kinda like the old old days of walking into a record store, only to find a brand new album by a favorite artist on display. In the few days since posting this, I have learned that the songs "Masquerade" and "Favourite" were made available prior to the album, but somehow both missed my radar (which I'm actually glad about).
I haven't received the new album yet so all I have to go on are the online audition bits, but what I've heard, I like. I think what stands out most for me when it comes to Bananarama, beyond catchy pop tunes, is their harmonies and the way they blend their voices with the vocal arrangements. As long as those elements are there, I'm along for the ride, and what I've heard of the new material does seem to meet that "basic bananarama standard" for me, personally. Looking forward to hearing all the tracks in their entirety!
I also think the decades long, deep and sincere friendship between Sara and Keren has been shining through in their music from 2005 to the present. They are clearly still having fun and enjoying collaborating with each other. Good for them!